Review: MURDER FOR TWO at STAGES St. Louis is Murder Most Fun!

Stages St. Louis opens their 39th Season with the hilarious musical murder mystery MURDER FOR TWO. Originally premiering at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in 2011, Murder for Two is a music hall vaudevillian whodunit with a single piano, 10 suspects and one police officer played by jjust two actors. 

Following its award-winning 7-month run in Chicago, Murder for Two opened off-Broadway in 2013.  The show written by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair was nominated for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. The musical had a small U.S. tour and productions have been mounted internationally.  That same season another musical comedy with similar themes, the Tony Award winning sensation A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, also opened on Broadway.

There are few similarities between Murder for Two and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, most notably the comedic portrayal of multiple characters by a single actor.

In Gentleman’s Guide Jefferson Mays played 7 members of a royal family who were in line for the throne. His tour de force performance was divine physical comedy, but Mays was afforded the benefit of costume changes with different wigs and prosthetics when he was playing different characters.

In Murder for Two the actor playing multiple roles does not have the luxury of different costumes for each character. That actor must rely primarily on physical acting to delineate one character from the nine others.  

Jeremiah Ginn takes on all the ten murder suspects who are being interviewed by a local police officer named Marcus (Ian Fairlee.) Marcus desperately wants to be promoted to detective and believes solving this case will earn him that promotion. Fairlee and Ginn work in tandem, acting out a wacky shenanigan-filled musical while accompanying themselves on the piano.  

The ten suspects include the victim's wife Dahlia, cranky neighbors Murray and Barb, the victim’s dim niece Steph, Barrette the ballerina, the small-town psychiatrist, Henry the fireman, and three members of a boys' choir. 

Ginn magnificently changes character by adopting small gestures, shifting posture, altering his gait, and adjusting his vocal delivery. He is only afforded the benefit of a single prop or simple costume piece (eyeglasses, baseball hat, pipe) for each character. His physical representation, sight gags, and line delivery are a feat unto themselves, and then he plops at the piano to play and sing his half of the score. 

All Ginn’s characterizations get laughs, but it’s his Molly Shannon-esque physical embodiment of college student Steph and ballerina Barrette that are the funniest.. Steph is a blend of sorority sister/valley girl majoring in criminal justice who is just pesky enough to really annoy Marcus. Barrette dances, stretches, pliés, and Tendus all over the house. Ginn's balletic split leaps and toe pointes make for brilliant physical comedy and draws hearty laughs.  

Fairlee is equally adept at physical comedy and elicits his share of laughs from the audience as well. His Marcus is earnest, loveable, and charming. His warm tenor and his technical mastery on the keys are flawless. While his role only requires him to play a single character, his performance is no less magnificent than Ginn’s. He and Ginn have magnetic chemistry with impeccable comedic timing. 

Director Micheal Kostroff has built a fantastically funny show and milked every laugh from the text. He has found dozens of sight and sound gags to amp up the humor. He's empowered Fairlee and Ginn to lean into every joke. It is obvious Kostroff’s leadership inspires his actors and designers to enjoy their work and that enhances the audience’s amusement. 

Broadway World interviewed Kostroff the day before rehearsals started on Murder for Two. During the interview he was texting back and forth with his set designer Ann Beyersdorfer. They were chatting about the portrait that hangs over the fireplace and working to find the silliest rendering of the victim. They settled on a clownish cartoon like image that adds to the set’s levity. 

Beyersdorfer’s set of the victim’s finely appointed mansion is a masterpiece in antiquity. The house's ornate woodwork, gold inlay, and elegant ornamentation reeks of wealth. It's a stunning set design with creative functionality. Plus, it holds some very funny surprises.  

For a smallish two-actor show, Murder for Two has superior production design. Kostroff and his technical teams have designed a beautful production. Sean M. Savoie’s lighting enhances the opulence of Beyersdorfer’s set piece. His shifting back lighting during scene changes elevates the humor. Hankyu Lee’s sound design also includes some very funny bits.  

Stage manager Monica Dickhens is a theatrical MVP handling the many lighting and sound cues in STAGES Murder for Two. There wasn’t a miss in the entire production. Kudos to Dickhens, assistant stage manager Gus Kickham, and their entire technical team.  

STAGES St. Louis has a hit with their zany Muder for Two. Kostroff keeps the fun coming for the entire 90-minutes in a fast-paced audience pleasing comedy. The script is goofy and the lyrics witty, but it is the comedic physicality of two immensely talented actors, singers, pianists, and entertainers who fearlessly earn every laugh. Fairlee and Ginn make a sharp comedic duo who mine plenty of giggles, chortles, guffaws, and thigh-slapping laughs. 

Murder for Two continues at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center through June 29, 2025. 

 PHOTO CREIDT: Phillip Hamer