Comedy, music and mystery will be bursting from Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Stage as Murder For Two written by Kellen Blair and Joe Kinosian shows at Neptune until Nov. 5.
The whodunit is only 90 minutes in length and features just two actors—but one of them plays twelve characters.
Murder For Two follows buffoonish Officer Marcus Moscowicz (Scott Pietrangelo) as he illicitly takes it upon himself to solve the murder of great American novelist Arthur Whitney. There are a broad array of suspects (Jackson Sieb), all with a probable motive, most notably because they have all inspired unflattering characters in Arthur’s books.
After a false confession, another shocking death and a surprising amount of sexual tension, the murderer is finally revealed, and it’s perhaps the most surprising character of all.
Enormous talent
Director Jeremy Webb says in the program that the play was a “casting rollercoaster” and “possibly the most challenging play of the year!”
This is not surprising considering that both actors not only act but skillfully play piano, dance around stage, sing beautifully and masterfully interact with the audience in their hour and a half of stage time.
The star of the show is undoubtedly the boisterous Sieb who is tasked with playing so many different characters throughout the night. He seemingly has endless amounts of energy as he catapults himself over the piano, dashes through the audience and belts out his numbers.
However, Pietrangelo’s strengths cannot be discounted, as he remains the calm to Sieb’s storm. With each line and facial expression, Pietrangelo nails the protocol-obsessed, slightly dishonest wannabe detective with a slightly shady past. He perfectly anchors the improvising, chaotic Sieb.
The greatest strength of the show is the way Pietrangelo and Sieb compliment each other. One tall, one short; one turbulent, one grounded; they contrast in both physicality and demeanor, and this contrast makes the play tick. It also makes the romantic scenes between the two of them hilarious.
Breaking the fourth wall
Time and time again Sieb and Pietrangelo break the fourth wall, a necessary choice considering the amount of audience participation involved in the show. More than once, unsuspecting audience members are coaxed onto stage, often during the most climactic moments.
Breaking the fourth wall also makes sense considering the amount of characters that Sieb plays.
“I didn’t even do the number and I’m out of breath,” he quips after one of his characters just finished a particularly rigorous song, and he has immediately transitioned into another character.
A few times Sieb is overtaken by giggles, which is endearing because the fourth wall has already been broken.
Humour
The play gains strength with time. At the beginning, certain jokes don’t land, and some of Sieb’s transitions between characters are awkward. But as time goes on, the actors find their rhythm, and the jokes begin to get more people laughing.
Throughout the whole performance, certain jokes appear too cheesy. Though it was done purposefully, it should still be done with caution and restraint.
Luckily the play made an amazing recovery from the rocky beginning, and, by the end, the audience is left with tears in their eyes.
Comedic highlights include musical numbers So What If I Did? and Steppin’ out of the Shadows where Sieb shows off his amazing musical and physical comedic abilities.
And of course, credit has to be given to the certain audience members who were included in the play without their prior knowledge and whose dramatic improvised performances on stage had the audience in stitches.
After exiting the theatre, an audience member remarked that recently, things have felt so serious, and performances like these are what we need right now.
If you are in agreement and just need a break from the heaviness of the world, Murder For Two is the perfect show for you. It will take your mind off things for at least 90 minutes, and probably more, because you’ll be left with an array of memories to make you smile.
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