Review: MURDER FOR TWO at Portland Stage

The scenes may seem a little frenzied in the 2025 late-summer show at Maine’s Portland Stage.  But that’s only if you don’t surrender your imagination to a pair of high-energy performers taking on thirteen roles in the madcap mystery/musical/comedy Murder for Two.

A co-production with New York’s Cortland Repertory Theatre, the 95-minute-without-intermission show by Joe Kinosian (book and music) and Kellen Blair (book and lyrics), under the direction of Melanie Keller, contains enough clever, witty, and silly fun to satisfy most theater fans out for a light, lively, and tuneful time at the theater.

Recorded film noir movie music leads us into an isolated mansion where a surprise birthday party for a famous author quickly morphs into the site of a murder investigation when the honoree of the gathering is shot dead.

Enter officer Marcus, played by Joe Bliss, an earnest cop with a sadly romantic side.   He’s a detective wannabe who’s temporarily assigned to the case.  His dedication to investigative protocol sets the structure of the action as he deals with eccentric party guests, each of whom may have had a motive for the crime.  Bliss also often provides the piano accompaniment for Robbie Harrison, who absolutely immerses himself in multiple roles as The Suspects with little more than a change of accent and demeanor. 

Though Bliss is no slouch, it’s largely Harrison’s show, as he moves from portraying a flighty ballerina to a stodgy psychiatrist to three teenage delinquents to several other roles, quickly establishing their significance to officer Marcus’ investigation.  His performance of some offbeat choreography also befuddles the cop.  Harrison, remembered for his recent contributions to Angels in America at Portland Stage and a diverse list of other productions, including works by Shakespeare, lets it all out here.   

When Harrison and Bliss share the piano playing to launch into the many well-wrought musical comedy style songs in the show, one realizes the root cause of this relatively small show’s award-winning success.  The tunes, such as “Protocol Says,” “He Needs a Partner,” and “A Friend Like You” are very catchy and great fun to watch the pair perform. 

The scenic design by Anita Stewart establishes the modest furnishings of the lived-in old home of a bookish man who, though murdered, left all the human pieces in place for a tuneful and fun whodunit.

Murder for Two runs through August 19

website: portlandstage.org

photo of Robbie Harrison (standing) and Joe Bliss by Noli French – French’s Fotos Photography