Murder for Two. Book and lyrics by Kellen Blair. Book and music by Joe Kinosian. Directed by Richard Carroll.Hayes Theatre Co. in association with Adelaide Cabaret Festival. The Space. Adelaide Festival Centre. June 19-21 2024
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
 |
| Gabbi Bolt and Matthew Predny in Murder For Two |
With two young super talented performers like Gabbi Bolt and Matthew Predny, the future of cabaret in the country is looking great! After seeing their performance in Murder For Two at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, I predict that they are destined to be cabaret stars of tomorrow Billed as a musical comedy to die for , Murder For Two is a wacky zany parody of the classic whodunit. With book and lyrics by Kellen Blair and book and music by Joe Kinosian, Murder for Two is written for two actors who sing and play the piano on stage. Bolt and Predny are perfect in the roles. Bolt plays the straight role, the rookie with aspirations to becoming a detective and stepping in to solve the murder of famed novelist Arthur Whitney shot dead in the forehead at his surprise birthday party until the real detective arrives. Predney is hilarious as the various suspects, the neurotic widow ,the German psychiatrist, the Scottish fireman, Miss Willis the fey prima ballerina and some of the twelve members of the boy’s choir. Predney’s performance is at times high camp or pure ham, deliciously funny, utterly ridiculous and tightly directed by Richard Carroll. The timing is slick, quick and precise. Both performers switch with alacrity from performance to piano, with adroit double acts at the keyboard as well as solo numbers. Bolt’s Protocol Says about police rules and regulations and Predny’s showstopping So What are highlights. The tunes are recognizable as snatches of Off Broadway melodies. There is a familiarity which warms an audience to the music and the plot.
Originally created as an off Broadway show by Blair and Kinosian, Murder For Two has entertained audiences around the world with its madcap spoof, physical mayhem and sheer hilarity. It’s all meant in good fun, unashamedly derivative but with the touch of ingenuity. Its success relies almost entirely on the casting of the two performers and in this respect Hayes Theatre has scored a bullseye. It may be the comic who gets the laughs but it is the straight guy who plays the foil and keeps the musical on plot. As such, Bolt and Predny are the ideal complementary couple.
Like any good whodunit it should come as no surprise that the murderer is caught and it doesn’t take much to work out who stole the ice-cream. And so, it all ends happily ever after, except for poor Arthur Whitney and the murderer.
About half way through the performance, a member of the audience collapsed and the rest of the audience was asked to go into the foyer until the person had recovered and was well enough to leave the theatre.. Such interruptions can feed the Adrenalin and there was a lift in energy that also tapped into the comedy and absurdity of the musical. Bolt and Predny ratcheted up the pizzazz and the performances skimmed along with the help of an unwitting audience member to momentarily play the unlucky psychiatrist.
Murder for Two is the perfect showcase for two future stars of the Australian cabaret scene. The musical comedy is witty, clever, tricky and sheer entertainment. There is no great message, no didactic proselytizing and no epic grandeur. It is.fun for all and all for fun!
