The fall comedy features two actors, 13 suspects and one piano

By Jim Flint

At Oregon Cabaret Theatre this fall, murder comes with a melody — and more than a little mischief.

The zany musical comedy, “Murder for Two,” which opened Sept. 19 and will run through Nov. 9 at the Ashland dinner theater, blends a classic whodunit with show-stopping piano and breakneck character work.

The twist? The entire story is told by just two actors. One plays Officer Marcus Moscowicz, a small-town cop determined to prove himself as a detective. The other plays all 13 suspects in the killing of a celebrated novelist — from a loopy widow to a trio of choirboys. And both actors accompany the action live on the piano.

For this production, artistic director Valerie Rachelle — who co-owns the Cabaret with her husband, Rick Robinson — saw the perfect pairing in actors Anna Stefanic and Trent Dahlin.

“We were looking for two multitalented, character-acting, singing pianists,” Rachelle said. “Two performers who wanted to tackle an incredibly fun yet difficult show who were also wonderful collaborators.”

Stefanic auditioned at the Cabaret’s New York casting call last year.

“She walked in the room and played the most difficult song in the show — singing it in the key written for a tenor/baritone voice — all the while playing two characters at the same time,” Rachelle said. “She was incredible. We hired her the very next day.”

Rachelle had worked with Dahlin before, at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, where she had seen him play multiple roles in Shakespeare productions.

“I didn’t even know he could sing, let alone play the piano,” she said. “I knew he was an extraordinary actor, and then seeing him play and sing sealed the deal.”

Two actors, one stage

Stefanic, who makes her Oregon Cabaret debut as “The Suspects,” said the show is both thrilling and daunting.

“This is probably the biggest challenge I’ve ever had as an actor, totally aside from playing the piano,” she said. “At the same time, this is the hardest score I’ve ever played onstage in an actor/musician show.”

Stefanic, a Wisconsin native now based in New York City, has performed across the country in roles ranging from Viola in “Twelfth Night” to Caroline in “I and You.” But taking on more than a dozen characters in one night requires a special kind of preparation.

“I started before rehearsals began, by learning the music and trying to find what the characters’ voices sounded like to me,” she said. “While we rehearsed, Alex (director Alex Boyles) and I worked together on how they move and where they exist in space, to make sure it’s clear when switching from one character to another.”

Stefanic discovered her passion for performing in youth theater, an experience she says was “very central to both my social life and my identity.”

She had been to Ashland only once before, on a children’s theater tour.

“We visited hundreds of cities, and Ashland was my favorite,” she said.

Dahlin, her co-star, plays Marcus, the would-be detective trying to keep the investigation — and himself — on track.

Like Stefanic, Dahlin is also new to the Cabaret stage. A veteran of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Lyric Repertory Company in Logan, Utah, he relishes the chance to bring both comedy and sincerity to his role.

“I love Marcus’s earnestness and innocence,” he said. “Beneath his silliness, there’s a real heart — and that’s what makes him so fun to play.”

Dahlin grew up in Cedar City, Utah, where watching the Utah Shakespeare Festival inspired him to pursue theater. But the seed was planted when he was 10. A girl in his class invited him to audition for “Oliver!” at Southern Utah University, where he later earned a BFA in musical theater.

“I remember sitting outside after rehearsal one night, waiting for my dad to pick me up, humming those tunes from ‘Oliver!’ and thinking, I’ve never been happier.”

He says the blend of farce, music and sincerity in “Murder for Two” keeps him on his toes.

“With only two people on stage, it becomes an energy-intensive, frantic dance,” Dahlin said. “That challenge hopefully makes it even more fun to watch.”

Chemistry between the two performers is crucial to the show’s success, since each is the other’s only scene partner.

“We’ve quickly had to learn to trust each other,” Stefanic said. “We’re not only each other’s scene partner, we’re also accompanying each other on the piano. A lot of the time, Trent has to be the anchor of the show and drive the action, while I’m running around him, making goofy faces.”

Dahlin agrees that their dynamic is the heart of the comedy.

“The good news is my scene partner is an absolutely brilliant actress and comedian,” he said. “Since she’s the clown and I’m the straight man, I get to just give her truthful reactions and let her run around the stage being hilarious and wild.”

As the only two cast members, they collaborated closely in shaping the show

“We shared ideas for jokes, bits and storytelling beats,” Dahlin said. “It has felt like in this process we were painters, not paint.”

At the helm

Guiding the two actors through the high-wire act of “Murder for Two” is director Alex Boyles, a familiar face to Oregon Cabaret audiences in productions ranging from “Kinky Boots” to “The Odd Couple.” Boyles also serves as understudy for both roles, meaning he must be ready to jump in at the piano and on stage at a moment’s notice.

“There is a lot to deal with,” he admitted. “For example, I started learning the piano music months before rehearsals started.”

Directing and understudying does have its advantages, he said.

“As the director, I know the show intimately, including blocking, which means I know where to stand because I’m the one who told them to stand there in the first place.”

A pianist since age 3, Boyles said the musical demands of the show took him by surprise.

“It’s been very daunting,” he said. “It’s a lot of work and the piano work is more difficult than I imagined it would be, but it’s so beautiful and clever that it’s been a load of fun to learn.”

As director, Boyles focused on keeping the comedy sharp without losing the mystery’s suspense.

“Both the comedy and the suspense come from the truth of the situation, and that’s really what I try to focus on,” he said. “We can craft in the moments of comedy or suspense but if it isn’t coming from a set of circumstances that are truthful and from a character we believe and understand, then it falls flat. So, truth is key.”

What he hopes audiences take away is simple: joy.

“I hope audiences walk away with a sense of delight from seeing such a well-crafted murder mystery, performed by two virtuoso actor-musicians,” he said. “You don’t often get to see two people play the piano, sing, and play multiple characters. Add to that the incredible script and design and you have an evening you won’t soon forget.”

Grounding the absurd

Though the show is filled with absurd suspects and slapstick humor, both actors say the murder mystery at its center has to feel real.

“There’s so much silliness that it’s easy to get lost in the absurdity,” Stefanic said. “But in order for the story to have stakes and be compelling, each of the suspects has to actually be suspicious for a reason.”

With its fast-paced comedy, piano-driven score and intimate staging, “Murder for Two” offers Oregon Cabaret audiences a theatrical experience that’s part vaudeville, part Agatha Christie and entirely original.

Oregon Cabaret Theatre is located at 241 Hargadine St. It presents both matinee and evening performances, each with an optional meal prior to the show. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit oregoncabaret.com.

Jim Flint’s Curtain Call column publishes on the second and fourth Mondays of the month. Email Jim at jimflint.ashland@yahoo.com.