MURDER FOR TWO Begins Tonight at the CLO Cabaret

By: Oct. 22, 2014
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

Pittsburgh CLO has announced the Pittsburgh Premiere of the Off-Broadway sensation Murder For Two, today, October 22-January 18 at the CLO Cabaret. Everyone is a suspect in this exciting production where classic musical comedy meets Agatha Christie. In this witty and winking musical homage to old-fashioned murder mysteries, TWO performers play THIRTEEN ROLES -- not to mention the piano. Murder For Two is the perfect blend of music, mayhem and murder!

Officer Marcus Moscowicz is a small town policeman with dreams of making it to detective. One fateful night, shots ring out at the surprise birthday party of Great American Novelist Arthur Whitney and the writer is killed...fatally. With the nearest detective an hour away, Marcus jumps at the chance to prove his sleuthing skills-with the help of his silent partner, Lou. But whodunit? Did Dahlia Whitney, Arthur's scene-stealing wife, give him a big finish? Is Barrette Lewis, the prima ballerina, the prime suspect? Did Dr. Griff, the overly-friendly psychiatrist, make a frenemy? Marcus has only a short amount of time to find the killer and make his name before the real detective arrives...and the ice cream melts!

Murder For Two was developed at Adirondack Theatre Festival and 42nd Street Moon. Chicago Shakespeare Theater presented the World Premiere Production in May, 2011, which was extended four times and ran for more than six months. Murder For Two opened at Second Stage Theatre's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre, in July, 2013. It was extended twice due to popular demand. The Second Stage production transferred to New World Stages in 2013.

About the Creative Team

Murder For Two is the creation of the talented writing team of Joe Kinosian (music and book) and Kellen Blair (lyrics and book), who first met in the BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop, where they're currently Advanced Members. Kinosian and Blair's song "If He Knew Me" recently had its Broadway debut at the 2013 Theatre World Awards. They're proud members of ASCAP and recipients of the 2013 ASCAP Foundation Mary Rodgers / Lorenz Hart Award. Their work has also been showcased at the York Theater's 2012 NEO concert, Adirondack Theater Festival's Second Act Cabaret, The Kennedy Center's "Broadway Today and Tomorrow" series, the Kauffman Center's "Bound for Broadway" concert, and a November 2012 New York Theatre Barn Concert. Their past work includes Pirates Don't Change Diapers for TheatreWorks USA and two Christmas songs for the 2009 and 2010 Lincoln Center Annual Holiday Songbooks. They also took part in the 2010 Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project, where their song, "You're Mine Until," was selected to be part of a gala concert honoring Stephen Schwartz. They received a 2011 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Musical for Murder For Two. Currently, Kinosian and Blair are in development on several new musicals, including The More Things Change, a backstage musical comedy about two middle-aged actors battling to set the record straight about their shaky romantic past.

Joining Pittsburgh CLO for the first time to direct is Scott Schwartz, who will return to the director's chair after directing Murder For Two off-Broadway and in its run at Second Stage Uptown. On Broadway, he directed Golda's Balcony and Jane Eyre (co-directed with John Caird). His Off-Broadway work includes Bat Boy: The Musical (Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards, Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical; Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical), tick, tick...BOOM! (Outer Critics Circle, Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical; Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical); Rooms: A Rock Romance; The Foreigner starring Matthew Broderick (Roundabout Theatre Company), Kafka's The Castle (Outer Critics Circle nomination, Outstanding Director of a Play), and No Way to Treat a Lady. He also directed Golda's Balcony on tour, in London, in Los Angeles at the Wadsworth Theatre and in San Francisco at American Conservatory Theater.

Mr. Schwartz directed the world premiere of Séance on a Wet Afternoon at Opera Santa Barbara and subsequently at New York City Opera. His other recent credits include the world premiere of Secondhand Lions (5th Avenue Theatre), the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck's What We're Up Against (Alley Theatre), Arsenic and Old Lace starring Tovah Feldshuh and Betty Buckley (Dallas Theater Center), Othello and Much Ado About Nothing (Alley Theatre), A Room With A View (Old Globe), and a re-envisioning of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Paper Mill Playhouse, Theatre Under The Stars, Theatre on the Square and North Shore Music Theatre; 2008 IRNE Award, Outstanding Director of a Musical). He is the Artistic Director of Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an Associate Artist at the Alley Theatre, and a graduate of Harvard University.

Tickets to this Pittsburgh premiere will go on sale in late July and will be available online at CLOCabaret.com, by calling 412-456-6666 or in person at the Theater Square Box Office. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets now and should call 412-325-1582 for information on group discounts and special event planning.

Murder for Two Performances:

Wednesdays 7:30pm

Thursdays* 7:30pm

Fridays 7:30pm

Saturdays 2:00pm & 7:30pm

Sundays 2:00pm

*Select Thursdays at 1pm with optional buffet lunch. Call Group Sales for details.

Since 1946, the Pittsburgh CLO has been the driving force behind live musical theater in Pittsburgh and the entire Southwestern Pennsylvania region. Under the direction of Van Kaplan since 1997, this not-for-profit arts organization appreciates the support of nearly 200,000 patrons each year and produces a subscription series, educational programs, national tours and develops and invests in new works, including 19 Broadway shows (25 Tony Awards) featuring the current productions of Cinderella, Kinky Boots and Matilda. Its dedication to the musical theater art form extends to include such programs as the CLO Academy, the CLO Mini Stars, the Gene Kelly Awards, the Richard Rodgers Award the National High School Musical Theater Awards, the Construction Center for the Arts and the CLO Cabaret.



Videos