Review: THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940 at The Arctic Playhouse

 The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 opened at the Arctic Playhouse on Friday, February 27 to a full house. 

Two comedians who aren’t quite the talk of the town yet, and a dancer who is vague about her training, arrive for an audition. The production crew — the librettist, music writer, director, and producer — last seen together two years ago, are reunited under the same roof. 

They soon discover the play audition is phony and the real purpose of their reunion is to solve the murders of two years ago. Some appear just way too eager to weasel out of the pickle. But as the genre demands, a light snowfall soon turns into a massive blizzard, trapping the party inside a mansion with a dozen secret passageways, where a murderer is on the loose. 

Built on clever dialogue, the play starts out slowly, laying the foundations for what’s to come. The tension quickly builds up when the hostess, Elsa von Grossenknueten (Emily Carter), who changes her outfit for every serving of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, reveals the true purpose of the gathering, setting in motion a manhunt. Then, the lights go out. The first murders take place, and it’s suddenly clear there’s more than one killer haunting the house.

The pacing of the performance is spot on, accelerating quickly as the bodies pile up on fresh snow. Death is treated with deliberate absurdity as the bodies are dragged and shoved into closets almost casually. That, and the comedian’s desperate attempts at humor, only add to the tension.

United by the shared purpose of staying alive, the crew is a wild mix: the famous director whose work is not yet released, the maid whose accent changes by the minute, the musical writer who hates singing dancers.

And yes, there’s a police officer — perhaps, even more than one, but whose presence does little to restore order.

The chemistry between the cast is palpable, and the jokes land one after another, making the audience erupt in laughter. And, when no one expects it, the most unlikely of heroes stands up to the challenge.