Murder for Two

Last updated
Murder for Two
MusicJoe Kinosian
LyricsKellen Blair
Book Kellen Blair, Joe Kinosian

Murder for Two is a musical comedy, with book and lyrics by Kellen Blair and book and music by Joe Kinosian. The musical is a whodunit for two actors, who both sing and play an onstage piano. One actor performs the role of a policeman investigating a murder, and the other performs the roles of all the suspects and other characters. [1]

The musical premiered at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2011, [2] where it won a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Musical. [3] From 2013 to 2014, it ran off-Broadway at the McGinn/Cazale Theater and New World Stages in New York, [4] where it was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, [5] as well as an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. [6] The original Off-Broadway cast featured Jeff Blumenkrantz as the Suspects, and Brett Ryback as Marcus. The production was directed by Scott Schwartz. [7] The musical toured the United States in 2015, [8] has been licensed for performances in St. Paul, [9] Fort Worth, [10] Boston, [11] and Seattle, [12] and has been performed abroad in Canada, [13] the United Kingdom, [14] Argentina, [15] and Chile. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Lane</span> American actor (born 1956)

Nathan Lane is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been seen on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. Lane has received numerous awards, including three Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, two Obie Awards, the Olivier Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Lane received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, The New York Times hailed Lane as "the greatest stage entertainer of the decade".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drama Desk Award</span> New York theater awards

The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Following the 1964 renaming as the Drama Desk Awards, Broadway productions were included beginning with the 1968–69 award season. The awards are considered a significant American theater distinction.

Will Eno is an American playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. His play, Thom Pain was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2005. His play The Realistic Joneses appeared on Broadway in 2014, where it received a Drama Desk Special Award and was named Best Play on Broadway by USA Today, and best American play of 2014 by The Guardian. His play The Open House was presented Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre in 2014 and won the Obie Award for Playwriting as well as other awards, and was on both TIME Magazine and Time Out New York 's Top Ten Plays of 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson Mays</span> American actor

Lewis Jefferson Mays is an American actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, two Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and three Obie Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie J. Block</span> American actress and singer (born 1972)

Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.

The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspapers, digital and national publications, and other media beyond Broadway. The awards were first presented during the 1949–50 theater season, celebrating their 70th anniversary in 2020. David Gordon, Editor-in-Chief at TheaterMania.com, currently serves as president.

Celia Keenan-Bolger is an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for portraying Scout Finch in the play To Kill a Mockingbird (2018). She has also been Tony-nominated for her roles in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005), Peter and the Starcatcher (2012), The Glass Menagerie (2014), and Mother Play (2024).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santino Fontana</span> American actor

Santino Fontana is an American actor and singer. He began his career in 2006 playing Hamlet at the Guthrie Theater and soon gained wide acclaim for his leading performances on and Off-Broadway. He has received a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Obie Award, and Clarence Derwent Award. In 2019, Fontana won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his lead performance as Michael Dorsey in the stage adaptation of Tootsie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LaChanze</span> American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1961)

LaChanze Sapp-Gooding, known professionally as LaChanze, is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson in The Color Purple. In 2023, LaChanze received two more Tony Awards, this time as a producer. She served as co-producer on Kimberly Akimbo, which won the Tony for Best New Musical and Topdog/Underdog, which won for Best Revival of a Play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Shiner (clown)</span>

David Shiner is an American actor, clown, physical comedian, playwright and theater director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Jue</span> American actor and singer (born 1963)

Francis Jue is an American actor and singer. Jue is known for his performances on Broadway, in national tours, Off-Broadway and in regional theatre, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area and at The Muny in St. Louis. His roles in plays and musicals range from Shakespeare to Rodgers and Hammerstein to David Henry Hwang. He is also known for his recurring role on the TV series Madam Secretary (2014–2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart F. Lane</span> Broadway producer, director, playwright and former actor

Stewart F. Lane is a Broadway producer, director, playwright and former actor. He has also written books, including Let's Put on a Show! and Jews of Broadway. He has also produced in Dublin. In addition to publishing two plays, he has directed across the country, working with Stephen Baldwin, Shannen Doherty, Chazz Palminteri, and more. He is co-owner of the Palace Theatre (Broadway) with the Nederlander Organization and a partner in the Tribeca Grill with Robert De Niro, Sean Penn and Mikhail Baryshnikov. He has written three books: Let's Put on a Show!, Jews on Broadway: An Historical Survey of Performers, Playwrights, Composers, Lyricists and Producers, and Black Broadway: African Americans on the Great White Way.

Warren Carlyle is a British director and choreographer who was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England. He received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Director of a Musical for the 2009 revival of Finian's Rainbow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Baldwin</span> American singer

Katherine Baldwin is an American singer and actress known for her work in musical theater. She received a Tony Award nomination for her work in the 2009 Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow. She also co-starred opposite Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce, and Gavin Creel in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!, for which she received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle award nominations for her work as the saucy millineress Irene Molloy. Baldwin continued with the production until it closed in August 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Cromer</span> American actor and director

David Cromer is an American theatre director, and stage, film, and TV actor. He has received recognition for his work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in his native Chicago. Cromer has won or been nominated for numerous awards, including winning the Lucille Lortel Award and Obie Award for his direction of Our Town. He was nominated for the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his direction of The Adding Machine. In 2018, Cromer won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for The Band's Visit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Greenberg</span>

Gordon Greenberg is an American stage director, a theater and television writer, and an Artistic Associate at The New Group.

Jessica Ruth Mueller is an American actress and singer. She started her acting career in Chicago and won two Joseph Jefferson Awards in 2008 and 2011 for her roles as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel and Amalia Balash in She Loves Me. In 2011, she moved to New York City to star in a Broadway revival of musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance as Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. She went on to receive two additional Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award nominations for her leading roles in Waitress (2016) and the Broadway revival of Carousel (2018).

Disgraced (2012) is the first stage play by playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Ayad Akhtar. It premiered in Chicago and has had Off-Broadway and Off West End engagements. The play, which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater October 23, 2014. Disgraced has also been recognized with a 2012 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work – Play or Musical and a 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting. The 2014 Broadway transfer earned a nomination for Tony Award for Best Play in 2015.

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill is a jukebox musical featuring several of Billie Holiday's most famous songs. The play was written by Lanie Robertson and recounts some events in the life of Holiday. It premiered in 1986 at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, and soon played Off-Broadway. The play opened on Broadway in 2014, and also played in London's West End in 2017.

Reed Birney is an American actor. Birney is known for his performances on stage and screen often acting on and off Broadway. Birney gained acclaim in 2016 for his role in The Humans winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He was also nominated previously in the same category for his performance in Casa Valentina in 2014.

References

  1. Isherwood, Charles (25 August 2013). "In the Musical 'Murder for Two,' One Man Is Many Suspects". The New York Times.
  2. Jones, Chris (17 May 2011). "Without a real killer, this 'Murder' a misdemeanor". The Chicago Tribune.
  3. Jones, Chris (7 November 2011). "'Madness' and 'Candide' are top Jeff Award winners". The Chicago Tribune.
  4. Isherwood, Charles (29 June 2014). "'Murder for Two' Moves to New World Stages". The New York Times.
  5. "2014 Drama Desk Award Nominations - GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE Leads with 12; Followed by BRIDGES, FUN HOME, ALADDIN, ROCKY & More". BroadwayWorld.com. 25 April 2014.
  6. Gans, Andrew (12 May 2014). "64th Annual Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Announced; Gentleman's Guide Wins Four Awards". Playbill.
  7. Gioia, Michael (June 29, 2014). "Mystery Solved! Off-Broadway's Murder for Two Closes". Playbill.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. Gioia, Michael (2 December 2014). "Whodunit Musical Murder For Two Announces Tour Dates in Nine Cities". Playbill.
  9. "Park Square's 'Murder for Two' is more about fun than mystery". The Pioneer Press. 25 September 2015.
  10. Shaw, Punch (22 November 2016). "'Murder for Two' slays with music and mirth". The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  11. Aucoin, Don (27 November 2016). "A whimsical duo at the scene of the crime in Lyric Stage's 'Murder for Two' - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
  12. Brendan, Kiley (4 October 2016). "How to build a theater season — ACT director John Langs takes us behind the scenes". The Seattle Times.
  13. Hobson, Louis B. (29 June 2017). "Stage West's Murder for Two relies on versatile actors in high-energy whodunnit". The Calgary Herald.
  14. Gardner, Lyn (31 January 2017). "Murder for Two review – hotshot duo deliver a musical whodunnit". The Guardian.
  15. ""Asesinato para dos" en el Cultural San Martín". Parabuenosaires.com (in Spanish). 8 May 2017.
  16. "Cuti Aste y José Martínez actúan, bailan y cantan en Las Condes". La Tercera (in Spanish). 24 June 2018.