What happens when you combine an Alfred Hitchcock mystery with slapstick comedy? The result is John Brown University theater program’s “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” which opened on Sept. 25 at the Berry Performing Arts Center.
A comedic murder mystery, “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” is set in the winter of 1940 in Chappaqua, New York. Quirky theater financier Elsa Von Grossenknueten, played by junior Julia McCarty, invites a creative team to her mansion to audition for a new musical. The team hopes to recover from the last production, which flopped when the elusive “Stage Door Slasher” stabbed three chorus girls. The actors, composer, lyricist and director all arrive at Elsa’s grand mansion as a blizzard rages outside. Trapped by snow and spooked by Elsa’s quirky German maid, the team discovers mysterious secret passageways in the mansion. Will the “Slasher” strike again? Bodies drop, fingers are pointed and what was once an audition quickly dissolves into chaos.
“The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” demands skill and precision to properly portray each character, deliver witty dialogue and execute stage combat. JBU’s talented cast rose to the challenge: freshman Daniel Goodlin as director Ken De La Maize and sophomore Kate Enoch as producer Marjorie Baverstock go full throttle with pretentious and insufferable personas, complete with accents reflective of the time period.
Meanwhile, endearing scenes between actress Nikki Crandall, played by freshman Sadie Snodgrass, and struggling comic Eddie McCuen, played by sophomore Jaxon Davis, provide a brief respite from the play’s constant chaos. Comical yet realistic, the play’s slapstick stage combat made the audience first gasp in surprise then laugh in amusement. As a whole, the cast functions as a unit; they deliver banter and simultaneously maintain each unique personality, like Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s” movies but with a 1940s flair.
“The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” set and lighting design is outstanding because it operates as if it were a character itself. Not only is Elsa Von Grossenknueten’s mansion period accurate and beautiful, but it is also functional: revolving doors in the set reveal secret passageways, adding an element of suspense and a sort of playground for the cast. The show’s lighting design skillfully accentuates the set, the cadence of dialogue and the actors’ placement on the stage.
“The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” invited its audience into a fast-paced comedic mystery with an aesthetic 1940s atmosphere. Next up for JBU's Theatre and Music department is "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." The musical will open Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and will have showings on Oct. 31 and Nov. 6-7 at 7:30 p.m. as well as a 3 p.m. matinee on Nov. 8.
Photo provided by Devyn Davis.
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