Review: MURDER FOR TWO Kicks Off the New Year With a Bang at Sacramento Theatre Company

Mix Vaudeville, Agatha Christie, and the board game Clue, and you come up with the hilariously clever Murder For Two. Written by award-winning duo Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair, this show highlights just two actors who play ALL of the parts-10, to be exact. 90 minutes of zany comedy comes to a shocking finale where we find out if Mrs. Whitney did it in the entryway with a knife or if the psychiatrist did it on the porch with a gun...or was it someone else entirely?

Sacramento Theatre Company newcomer Paul Helm exercises his crime-solving protocol as ambitious detective-to-be Marcus Moscowicz. Helm brings with him a familiarity of the role, having played it last year in Florida. Sacramento audiences will reap the benefits of his comedic talents and impressive musical resume.

Playing the rest of the characters, collectively known as The Suspects, is one of my favorite local artists, David Taylor Gomes. David is an accomplished composer, musical director, and actor who was last seen at STC in The Musical of Musicals: The Musical. In Murder For Two, he again shows off his prowess on the piano while creating a new standard for character acting.

Watching these two actors interact belies the fact that they haven't been performing together forever. Helm's charmingly naive Marcus complements Taylor Gomes' seamless transition from character to character...to character. Coupled with both men's skill at piano playing and audience engagement, this is a show that shouldn't be missed.

Murder For Two plays at Sacramento Theatre Company through February 10th. Tickets may be purchased online at tickets.sactheatre.org, by phone at (916) 443-6722, or at the STC Box Office at 1419 H Street, Sacramento.

Photo Credit: Charr Crail Photography