Review: THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940 at Oyster Mill Playhouse

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending Oyster Mill Playhouse for the first time.  I was there to review their sold-out performance of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.  The show was a definite crowd pleasure.

Just like Grape Nuts has neither “grapes” nor “nuts”, The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 is not a musical.  The plot does deal with a group of wacky show biz types getting together to put on a musical for a potential backer with deep pockets. Nancy Parson plays that backer, Elsa Von Grossenkneuten.  The one-setting show takes place in her mansion library, along with her servant, Helsa Wenzel (Gerren Wagner) and an invited police detective, Michael Kelly (Chuck Bagley).

The show starts off with a mostly silent murder, yet all is not what it seems, and the victim seems to be doing just fine despite being stuffed in a closet moments ago. Was it a trick? A dream? A look-alike?  The audience is required to patiently wait and see.  As with most farces, my advice is “just enjoy it, don’t ask too many questions!”

We are then introduced to the rest of the cast, a bunch of show biz folks. There are directors, composers, actors, comedians and the like. These cast members include Nikki Crandall (Jess Haag), Ken De La Maize (Michael Hosler), Eddie McCuen (Brian Silva), Roger Hopwell (Randy Stamm), Patrick O’Reilly (Aiden Storm), Marjorie Baverstock (Marcie Warner), and Bernice Roth (Becky Winter).

It would be a disservice to the production to try and highlight any specific performer, since this is definitely an ensemble piece.  The focus of the cast ebbs and flows with each individual having multiple moments of laughs, action, and attention.

Set construction by Joel Persing is effective, compact, and interesting.  At times, the mansion looks like a real-life Scooby Doo episode, and the actors take full advantage of their surroundings.

Director, Andrea Stephenson knows how to get maximum laughs from her cast.  Audience members around me were cracking up loudly and frequently. I also appreciated the decision to downplay a bit of humor that may been seen as problematic for a 21st century stage.

If I had one recommendation for the production, I would encourage a re-examination of the use of  darkness in the play.  During the second act, the lights go out for a substantial amount of time in the script.  Even from the third row, it was a little difficult to fully appreciate all the details.

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