Winter Park Playhouse is putting the “laughter in manslaughter” with the return of one of the theatre’s most popular shows, the Off-Broadway sensation “Murder For Two,” starring local legend Kevin Kelly and Boston star Jared Troilo.
The show, which runs Aug. 5-28, kicks off Winter Park Playhouse’s 20th anniversary season.
“This show is so much fun,” Kelly says. “I could do this show for the rest of my life and be happy.”
“Murder For Two” is a whodunit murder mystery blended with a musical comedy that features about a dozen characters but only two actors. One actor — in this case Troilo — plays Marcus Moscowicz, a small-town policeman with dreams of making it to detective, and he is investigating the murder of wealthy novelist Arthur Whitney who has been killed at his own birthday party. The other actor, Kelly in this production, plays all 10 party guests who are suspects in the crime.
“It’s two actors and a piano,” Kelly says. “We play it ourselves; we play for each other. It really is a laugh-a-minute type of show.”
Kelly, who has been performing in the Orlando area for more than two decades, is quite familiar with this show. He has played the policeman in previous productions of “Murder For Two,” including a 2017 production at the Winter Park Playhouse and nearly once at a staging in The Villages.
“I was in rehearsals and we were about to open another production of this in The Villages with a different theatre company and we got shut down the day before we opened because of COVID,” Kelly recalls.
Because of his past involvement with this show, Kelly is able to bring an interesting perspective to this production, knowing the strengths of each role as well as knowing what challenges each actor will come up against.
“If you ask me in this moment, I’m finding it more challenging to be the suspects,” Kelly laughs, “but both roles are challenging. The suspects bring so much to the show, trying to throw the inspector the entire time while he has to keep everything moving forward. But the writing for this show is so brilliant and every character is captured so clearly in the script and in the music that it is just pure fun playing on the stage.”
“Murder For Two” was first presented by the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in May 2011 to critical and commercial success, running for six months and being extended four times. The show, which was created by Kellen Blair and Joe Kinosian, ran Off Broadway from 2013-14 and had its first national tour in November 2014 which wrapped at the Straz Center in Tampa in May 2016.
The 90-minute production is a tour de force for its actors, especially for Kelly who plays 10 different characters without even leaving the stage.
“There are no costume changes and only two of my characters use a prop: I have a pair of glasses for one and a cigar for another. That’s it, the rest is just physicality,” Kelly says. “On top of that, we sing, dance and play the piano. It is almost all us.”
It is “almost all us” because the two performers will be joined on stage by Sam Forrest, Winter Park Playhouse’s local percussionist. Christopher Leavy will music direct and Playhouse Artistic Director Roy Alan directs and choreographs this production.
“Murder For Two” will launch Winter Park Playhouse’s historic 20th anniversary season which will see six of the theatre’s most popular shows brought back with new sets, new staging and some new casts.
The season’s next show will be Roger Bean’s “Sh-Boom! Life Could Be a Dream,” a ‘60s-inspired musical about a fledgling doo-wop singing group preparing to enter the Big Whooper Radio contest to realize their dreams. The show will feature hits of the era like “Fools Fall in Love,” “Tears on my Pillow,” “Runaround Sue,” “Unchained Melody” and many more. “Sh-Boom!” runs Sept. 23-Oct. 16.
The Playhouse finishes up 2022 with “Steppin’ Out with Irving Berlin,” celebrating the life and career of the legendary American composer behind such iconic hits as “White Christmas,” “Blue Skies,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and “Steppin’ Out With My Baby.” “Steppin’ Out with Irving Berlin” plays Nov. 11-20 then again Dec. 1-17.
The new year will kick off with Dan Goggin’s “Nunsense: A-Men!,” an all-male version of Goggin’s original “Nunsense,” a show about a group of nuns who discover that their cook has accidentally poisoned and killed all but five of the sisters. Winter Park Playhouse performed this show last in 2018 with an all-gay male cast. “Nunsense: A-Men!” plays Jan. 20-Feb. 18.
Next, Winter Park Playhouse heads back to the ‘60s with “Shout! The Mod Musical, A Swinging 60’s Sensation,” an Off-Broadway musical by Phillip George and David Lowenstein. “Shout!” goes back to 1960s London during the liberating days that made England the center of the music revolution. Five female singers — simply called Orange, Blue, Green, Yellow and Red — write to the advice columnist at Shout! Magazine. The show features musical hits by the likes of Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Lulu and more. “Shout!” runs March 17-April 22.
The season wraps up with “Desperate Measures,” a musical western by David Friedman and Peter Kellogg based on William Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure.” When Johnny Blood gets into trouble, can a crazy cast of characters including a wily sheriff, an eccentric priest, an authoritarian governor, a saloon girl gone good and a nun out of the habit pull off the greatest caper yet, or will he be left hanging? “Desperate Measures” plays May 12-21 and then again June 1-11.
“Between all the different cabarets and shows, I have performed at [Winter Park Playhouse] a lot. I have been working with them probably for the last 12, 13 years, and there is just something about that place,” Kelly says. “They always use live music never canned music, which I love, and I just love connecting with this audience. They are always right there, ready to have a good time.”
For ticket information on “Murder For Two,” and all of Winter Park Playhouse’s upcoming shows, go to WinterParkPlayhouse.org.
