On Friday, April 26th, North Carolina Theatre's latest production, Murder for Two, opened at the A.J. Fletcher Theatre in Raleigh. My husband and I were in the audience enjoying a date night out away from the kids. If you've been following us at Macaroni Kid Downtown-Midtown-North Raleigh for a while, then you might already know that seeing live shows together is one of our favorite date night activities. I always feel incredibly lucky to have North Carolina Theatre at our fingertips, bringing everything from large-scale Broadway productions to smaller, art-house style shows. Murder for Two I believe falls into the latter category coming from an off-Broadway run and taking place in the intimate A.J. Fletcher Theatre (where there really is not a bad seat in the house). My husband and I were not familiar with the plot of Murder for Two, so we had no idea that we were in for such a treat.
 | About the show: Officer Moscowicz is a small town policeman with dreams of making it to detective. One fateful night, shots ring out at the surprise birthday party. With the nearest detective an hour away, Marcus jumps at the chance to prove his sleuthing skills—with the help of his silent partner, Lou. But whodunit? The perfect blend of music, mayhem and murder! In this hilarious show, 2 performers play 13 roles—not to mention the piano—in a witty and winking homage to old-fashioned murder mysteries. You won’t want to miss this killer musical comedy! |
The show opens with the 2 actors on stage playing the piano and preparing the audience for the upcoming murder mystery. What follows is just over 90 minutes of non-stop laughs. Actor Brandon Lambert is delightful in the single role of Officer Marcus Moscowicz throughout the show, so it is left to the comedic genius of actor Martin Landry to convince the audience that he's in fact several distinct, individual, (hilarious) suspects of the crime in question. From a bickering married couple, to a group of 9 year old boys, to a ballerina with a secret, Landry adopted each persona seamlessly and had us laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes during nearly the entire show. It's a challenge to fully describe how this single-actor-portraying-multiple-characters effect plays into the comedy of the show but it is one of the best performances I've seen by an actor in a long time. The whole concept just works to deliver a one-of-a-kind show.
 | Since the show is a mystery, I won't give too much else away. All I can say is this was a gem of a show that my husband and I are still quoting and giggling over. You don’t need to be a theater or Broadway fan to enjoy Murder for Two either. We’ve been describing it as murder-mystery meets Saturday Night Live, only so much better. With some mature content, adult situations, language and innuendos, I would not recommend the show for children, however, if you are looking for a fun date night that is sure to make you laugh out loud, go see Murder for Two while you still can! |
Murder for Two runs through Sunday, May 5 in A.J. Fletcher Opera Theater at Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Visit nctheatre.com to purchase tickets or call (919) 831-6941. For groups of 10 or more, call (919) 831-6941 x6949.
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