Murder, mystery, music and madcap comedy are coming to a North Delta stage next week.
For three shows May 12-13, the City of Delta is mounting its first in-house production: Murder for Two, a musical comedy that pays winking homage to good old-fashioned whodunnits.
The 90-minute play follows Marcus Moscowicz, a small town police officer with dreams of being promoted to detective, as he investigates the death of great American novelist Arthur Whitney during his surprise birthday party.
“With the nearest detective an hour away, Marcus jumps at the chance to prove his sleuthing skills, with the help of silent partner Lou. But whodunnit? Did Dahlia Whitney, Arthur’s scene-stealing wife, give him a big finish? Is Barrette Lewis, the prima ballerina, the prime suspect? Did Dr. Griff, the overly friendly psychiatrist, make a frenemy? Marcus has only a short amount to time to find the killer and make his name before the real detective arrives,” reads the play’s synopsis.
Adding to the chaotic, fast-paced hilarity, two actors — Tehya Lorenson and Lois Warwick — will play all of the show’s 13 roles.
Lorenson, a 17-year-old Grade 12 student at North Delta Secondary, is playing Marcus, who she describes as anxious but trying to put on a brave face and impress everyone.
“He’s a detective who’s just starting out, it’s his first job and he’s trying to prove himself to everybody,” she said in a interview with the Reporter.
“[A detective] is not a character I’ve played before, so it’s very fun to explore that. It’s been really fun to try and create this character and to see Marcus’ personality come out a little bit. [There have been] some challenges, definitely, figuring out the character because he’s very complex.”
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Murder for Two is Lorenson’s first role outside of her school’s theatre productions.
“The audition was my first actual audition,” she said. “When I got the email [saying I had been cast], I literally screamed a little bit. It was very exciting.”
“I’ve only ever really done school theatre, so doing something on this scale is pretty cool.”
Last month, Lorenson played Princess Winnifred in NDSS’s production of Once Upon a Mattress, a musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale The Princess and the Pea.
Lorenson said it’s difficult to compare the two experiences as they’re so different from one another.
“School’s a lot slower. (…) This is a lot more fast-paced than I’ve been used to in the past,” she said. “At school, everybody is learning; here, it’s not so much like that.”
With Murder for Two, the turnaround from being cast to the curtain lifting is much shorter than for NDSS’s shows — less than two months — and the much smaller crew and complexity of having two actors take on 13 roles add to the “chaotic” energy around the production.
But Lorenson said the small cast also means you can build better bonds with your co-star.
“With a cast at my school there’s like 35 people, it’s not as close and connected.”
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For Warwick, who plays the 10 murder suspects (she and Lorenson also voice a few other ancillary parts), Murder for Two offers both a unique challenge and the opportunity to use her background in clowning and character creation.
“One of the reasons I love this show so much is because it’s silly,” she said. “I went through [Douglas College] theatre school and in both of the shows that I did I was the tyrant, and I just kind of kept going through life being, ‘Oh yes, I’m the Dramatic Actor.’ Then I got asked to do a clown thing with the City of Surrey and I was like, oh right, I got into clowning because I adore just being absolutely ridiculous.”
“That’s why this show is so great, because I’m going to go on stage and just be a complete goof for an hour and half in front of whole audience. This is what I live for, it’s great.”
The 23-year-old Surrey resident said the challenge of creating and portraying so many distinct characters is a big part of what drew her to the project.
“The whole reason I do acting is for that kind of work. So this play was just the perfect option for me.”
And while she has a hard time choosing a favourite character to play — “They’re all absolutely bonkers! I love them all, they’re all just so strange and peculiar and wonderful” — she does have a couple that stand out from the crowd.
“Murray and Barb [Flandon] are this feisty old couple and they’re always fighting. They’re kind of a unit, and they’re just absolutely hilarious to work with.
“And then also Dahlia Whitney; she’s older, she used to be a dancer and is now a housewife and hates it, and just want’s all the attention. I gave her a little Southern accent — it just makes it so much more fun to be an over-dramatic Southern belle.”
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Playing at the new North Delta Centre for the Arts (11425 84th Ave.), Murder for Two is the city’s first foray into in-house production, with Cultural Services staff serving as director, technical director, producer, choreography and the show’s piano player.
“The city has this wonderful theatre and incredible in-house talent working for Delta. We wanted to try it and see if we could do it,” reads an FAQ sent out by the city.
“It’s Delta’s first venture into in-house productions so we wanted to start small and work with what we have. North Delta Centre for the Arts is an intimate theatre and Murder for Two is a smaller musical, which allows us the freedom to cut our teeth if you will.”
General admission tickets for the evening performances on Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13 (doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30) are $25 — $20 for seniors and students — and available at eventbrite.com/e/murder-for-two-tickets-601688816447.
There will also be a matinee on Saturday (1:30 p.m., doors at 1); tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for senior and students.
As well, the city is offering discounted “buy three, get one free” family packs of tickets to all three shows.
And for those coming to a show, Warwick has one request:
“Come prepared to laugh,” she said. “I think sometimes we go to see theatre and we think we shouldn’t laugh out loud, and this is very much a show where we want your worst, your most ridiculous, your most embarrassing laughs.”
“Your cackles!” Lorenson added.
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editor@northdeltareporter.com
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