Review: MURDER FOR TWO at Music & Arts Community Center

Good actors spend a lot of time creating backstory and motivation for the character they are playing. Imagine how much work goes into doing this preparation to take on more than a half dozen roles. That is the task faced by Robbie Harrison in Murder for Two, a musical comedy/mystery now being offered by Southwest Florida Theatre Company in conjunction with Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre. This is the first collaboration between the two.

The plot revolves around the murder of a novelist at his own birthday party. The suspects include the author’s wife, his niece, his psychiatrist, the ballerina he is having an affair with, and the bickering couple who live next door. Secrets of each of them have been revealed in one or another of the deceased’s numerous books, so they all have motive.

And Harrison manages to differentiate each of them through voice, accent, walk, and minimal props. In addition, he scoots around the stage on his knees to portray three boys in the chorus hired to entertain the party guests. Wow.

Josh Glacken is the not-quite-a-detective trying to put all the pieces together and earn a promotion.

Besides singing, both actors play the piano, sometimes at the same time. Victor Legarreta has directed and choreographed these moments beautifully.

The show by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair is packed with dialogue that moves at breakneck speed and funny lyrics that you’ll miss if you aren’t paying close attention. The audience at the performance I attended, though, got the jokes with delight.

If you want to experience something far from run of the mill, call 239.277.1700 for tickets. Murder for Two runs through March 15 at the Music & Arts Community Center, 13411 Shire Lane, Fort Myers.