Arizona Theatre Company Launches National Tour of Off-Broadway's Zany Comedy Whodunit, "Murder for Two"

 

From: scarr51@gmail.com [mailto:scarr51@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Steve Carr
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2014 4:12 PM
Subject: Arizona Theatre Company Launches National Tour of Off-Broadway's Zany Comedy Whodunit, "Murder for Two"

 

Media Contact: Steve Carr, 602-317-3040, scarr@fastq.com 

ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY LAUNCHES NATIONAL TOUR OF OFF-BROADWAY'S ZANY MUSICAL COMEDY WHODUNIT, MURDER FOR TWO 

TUCSON, Ariz. (Nov. 18, 2014): The national tour of the off-Broadway hit, Murder for Two, a laugh-out-loud musical comedy whodunit with the classic feel of a murder mystery and a contemporary homage to vintage comedy – with some cheeky references to murder mysteries that have come before thrown in – takes off in its Southwest premiere at the Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Ave., from Nov. 29-Dec. 20.  Arizona Theatre Company's 2014-15 season is sponsored by I. Michael and Beth Kasser.

Murder for Two channels composer Joe Kinosian and lyricist Kellen Blair's love for both Agatha Christie and the Marx Brothers into a zany 90-minute blend of classical musical comedy and madcap mystery with killer laughs and two performers playing 13 roles – and the piano.  The New York Times called Murder for Two "Ingenious! A snazzy double-act that spins out a comic mystery animated by funny, deftly turned songs."

It's the story of Officer Marcus Moscowicz, a small-town cop with dreams of making detective.  One fateful night, shots ring out at the surprise birthday party of Great American Novelist Arthur Whitney and the writer is killed --- fatally.  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?  Did Dahlia Whitney, Arthur's scene-stealing wife, give him the big finish?  Is Barrette Lewis, the prima ballerina, the prime suspect?  Did Dr. Griff, the overly-friendly psychiatrist, make a frenemy? Marcus only has a short amount of time to find the killer and make his name before the real detective arrives … and the ice cream melts!

Directed by Scott Schwartz, Kinosian (The Suspects) and Ian Lowe (Marcus) from the off-Broadway production make their Arizona Theatre Company debuts in Murder for Two.

BMO Harris Private Bank is the Opening Night Sponsor for Murder for Two.

ATC follows Murder for Two with the world premiere of Five Presidents, Jan. 10-31; Romeo and Juliet, Feb. 28 to March 21; and A Weekend with Pablo Picasso, April 4-26.

For more information, visit www.arizonatheatre.org.  For tickets call (520) 622-2823.

Murder for Two

Book & Music by Joe Kinosian

Book & Lyrics by Kellen Blair

Nov. 29 to Dec. 20

 

Tickets for Murder for Two start at $37 and are subject to change depending on time, date and section, and are available at www.arizonatheatre.org or by calling the box office at (520) 622-2823.  Discounts are available for seniors and active military.  A $10 student ticket pricing is now available for all performances.  Half-price rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the ATC box office (subject to availability). Tickets for this performance are available for a suggested $10 donation. (Tickets must be purchased at the Temple of Music and Art starting one hour prior to curtain. Tickets are first-come first served.  Cash only. Two tickets maximum per person.) For discounts for groups of 10 or more, call (520) 622-2823

 

Arizona Theatre Company offers accessibility services for patrons with disabilities for select performances.  Audio Description provides patrons with vision loss a running audio description of the movement and activities onstage through an infrared broadcast system.  An Audio-Described performance is offered on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m.  Interested patrons with vision loss may request a tactile tour one hour prior to curtain. American Sign Language Interpretation is presented by professional, theatrically-trained ASL-interpreters for people who have deafness or hearing impairment.  An ASL-interpreted performance is offered on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Open-captioning allows patrons to read the play's dialogue on an LED screen as the play progresses.  An open-captioned performance is offered on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. For open-captioned or ASL-interpreted performances, patrons should request seats best suited to ASL interpretation or captioning when purchasing tickets.  Large print and Braille playbills and infrared listening amplification devices are also available at every ATC performance with reservation. TTY access for the box office is available in Tucson at (520) 884-9723 or via Arizona Relay at (800) 367-8939 (TTY/ASCII).

 

Fact Sheet:
Murder for Two

Book & Music by Joe Kinosian

Book & Lyrics by Kellen Blair

Directed by Scott Schwartz

 

Venue:
The Tempe of Music and Art

330 S. Scott Avenue

Tucson, AZ 85701

 

TUCSON:
Previews Begin: Saturday, Nov. 29 at 8 p.m.

Opening Night: Friday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Closing Performance: Saturday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m.
 
Cast (in alphabetical order):

Joe Kinosian (The Suspects)

Ian Lowe (Marcus)

 

Creative Team
Book and Music: Joe Kinosian

Book and Lyrics: Kellen Blair

Director:  Scott Schwartz

Scenic Designer: Beowulf Boritt

Costume Designer: Andrea Lauer

Lighting Designer: Jason Lyons

Sound Designer: Jill BC Du Boff

Music Director: David Caldwell

Choreographer: Wendy Seyb

Casting: Calleri Casting

Production Stage Manager: Kat West

 

Biographies:

Joe Kinosian (The Suspects, Book and Music) Joe is the co-recipient of Chicago's Joseph Jefferson Award recognizing Murder for Two as Best New Musical following its record-breaking run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Joe was also nominated for Best Actor as The Suspects. Murder for Two had its Off-Broadway premiere at Second Stage Uptown, going on to a year-long run at New World Stages. Joe's work with Kellen Blair has been showcased at The Kennedy Center, The York Theater, and on Broadway at the Theatre World Awards. Joe received the ASCAP Foundation Mary Rodgers/Lorenz Hart Award and the Harrington Award from the BMI Workshop. He also appeared in Dirty Blonde with Emily Skinner (Hangar Theater) and the NYC premiere of Dear Edwina Off- Broadway. wwwkinosianandblair.com

Kellen Blair (Book and Lyrics) Kellen is the Drama Desk-nominated co-creator of Murder for Two (Off-Broadway: Second Stage Theatre and New World Stages. World Premiere: Chicago Shakespeare Theatre).  Kellen and co-writer Joe Kinosian are the recipients of the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Musical Work in Chicago (2011) and the ASCAP Foundation Mary Rodgers/Lorenz Hart Award (2013).  Their work has been showcased on Broadway, at the Kennedy Center, and theaters across the country.  Kellen is excited to be developing a new musical farce with Joe titled The More Things Love.  Updates, videos, song demos and sheet music can be found at www.kinosianandblair.com.

Ian Lowe (Marcus) Off-Broadway: Murder for Two (New World Stages); Nikolai & the Others (Lincoln Center Theatre); Bayonets of Angst (NYMF); and 12th Night (Sonnet Repertory Theatre). Regional theatre credits include Fingers in Fingers & Toes (Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Regional Premiere), Heartbreaker starring Christine Andreas (Adirondack Theatre Festival, Regional Premiere); plays and musicals at Capital Repertory Theatre, Riverside Theater, Charleston Stage, Dorset Theater Festival, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Ivoryton Playhouse and others. 2014 Lotte Lenya Competition Semi-Finalist. B.A., Yale University. Next Up: More Murder for Two across the country! www.theianlowe.com

Scott Schwartz, Director returns to ATC where he directed Backwards in High Heels.  Scott directed Murder for Two in its run at New World Stages and Second Stage Uptown.  On Broadway, he directed Golda's Balcony and Jane Eyre (co-directed with John Caird).  His Off-Broadway work includes Bat Boy; The Musical (Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards, Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical; Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical); tick, tick…BOOM! (Outer Critics Circle, Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical; Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical); Rooms: A Rock Romance; The Foreigner starring Matthew Broderick (Roundabout Theatre Company); Kafka's The Castle (Outer Critics Circle Nomination, Outstanding Director of a Play); and No Way To Treat A Lady.  He also director Golda's Balcony on tour, in London, in Los Angeles at the Wadsworth Theatre and in San Francisco at American Conservatory Theater.  He directed the world premier of Séance on a Wet Afternoon at Opera Santa Barbara and subsequently at New York City Opera.  Schwartz's other recent credits include the world premiere of Secondhand Lions (5^th Avenue Theatre), the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck's What We're Up Against (Alley Theatre), Arsenic and Old Lace starring Tovah Feldshuh and Betty Buckley (Dallas Theater Center), Othello and Much Ado About Nothing (Alley Theatre), A Room With a View (Old Globe), and a re-envisioning of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Paper Mill Playhouse, Theatre Under the Stars, Theatre on the Square and North Shore Music Theatre; 2008 IRNE Award, Outstanding Director of a Musical).  He is the Artistic Director of Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an Associate Artist at the Alley Theatre, and a graduate of Harvard University.

 

Ticket Info:

Ticket prices currently start at $37 and are available in-person at the Temple of Music and Art box office, via phone at (520) 622-2823 or online at www.arizonatheatre.org.
 
About Arizona Theatre Company:

Touching lives through the power of theatre, Arizona Theatre Company (ATC), is the preeminent fully professional theatre in the state of Arizona. Boasting the largest seasonal subscriber base in the performing arts in Arizona, ATC is the only resident company in the U.S. that is fully based in two cities providing its wide array of programming and community outreach across the region. Now in its 48th season, more than 130,000 people a year attend our performances at the historic Temple of Music and Art in Tucson, and the elegant Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix. Each season of home-grown productions reflects the rich variety of world drama—from classics to contemporary plays, from musicals to new works—along with a wide array of community outreach programs, educational opportunities, access initiatives and new play programs. Designated The State Theatre of Arizona, ATC is led by Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein, Interim Managing Director Matt Lehrman, Managing Director Emeritus Jessica L. Andrews, and a dedicated Board of Trustees. 

 

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