If you're planning to get last minute tickets to a show for Halloween tonight I can't think of a show that would fit the theme better than Murder for Two. The spoof musical is playing right now at New World Stages, they might even have rush tickets available for tonight, since I know they usually have rush for Avenue Q and Peter and the Starcatcher.
I saw Murder back when it was playing at the Second Stage Uptown theater. I didn't know very much about it going in and ended up having an amazing time watching it. The show is hilarious from the very beginning and extremely clever.
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| Brett Ryback and Jeff Blumenkrantz |
The two person show features Brett Ryback as a police officer investigating a murder and Jeff Blumenkrantz as all of the suspects. It's amazing how full the stage feels with only these two on it. Not only do they portray over a dozen characters they also provide their own orchestra music by taking turns playing the piano together and apart throughout the show.
I loved them both! Brett is extremely cute in this show, you can't help but enjoy his performance and laugh at all of his lines. Jeff is an outright physical theater genius. He's able to portray a dozen different characters in the span of 90 minutes and somehow make each one distinct and memorable. Jeff's switch to a new character is usually indicated by a small prop or hat he puts on but even without those props Jeff does an amazing job of changing his physical pose and voice to nail each character. I especially loved his portrayal of a group of 9 year old boys in which he constantly switches back and forth from boy to boy while on his knees. I also loved his portrayal of Steph, an annoying and overwhelming college girl who has a crush on the police officer.
There was nothing about this show I didn't like. If you're looking for a reasonably priced show where you can have a good time, laugh a lot and see some amazing acting skills check this out. It's currently in previews at New World Stages with an official opening date of November 6th and a closing date of January 5th.
Oh and also, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (I couldn't resist sharing the piggies!)
