Wichita Community Theatre’s latest production takes audiences into a murder-mystery whodunit in The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. Directed by first-time solo director Ben Bolinger, this play is a zany, quirky comedy that is just as humorous as it is entertaining. Written by playwright John Bishop, the production debuted on Broadway in 1987, and it pays homage to the many noir films of the 1930s and 1940s.
The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, which is not an actual musical but a fast-paced comedic play, takes place in the library of a spacious, highly unusual Westchester mansion in December of 1940. Mansion owner Elsa von Grossenknueten has invited a group of theatrical folks to her home for a backer’s audition for a new musical. The guests arrive and soon realize that they have been brought together to figure out the identity of the infamous Stage Door Slasher, who had previously murdered three women after performances of a musical comedy they appeared in. As the troupe begins to put the pieces of the murders together, they come to realize that they are snowed in by a blizzard and that the crime runs far deeper than they had imagined.
WCT’s cast is stellar, and director Bollinger has put together a production with a strong, energetic ensemble, making the play’s material extremely entertaining. I appreciate the humor and physicality they brought to the characters. Veteran actress Diane Tinker Hurst plays Elsa von Grossenknueten and brings the energy of an old-money, eccentric, batty but delightful heiress to the character. Tinker Hurst handles all the chaos, silliness, and slapstick with aplomb. Anthony Larkin-Valdez, Ashley McCracken, Duane Ellis Jackson, and Ashley Ferrer create a fantastic group cast as the musical’s director, composer, lyricist, and producer. You believe there’s actual history between them, which makes their bickering, jests, and jabs even more fun to watch. Some of the best bits involve the players breaking into squabbles and talking over each other while totally ignoring the fact that someone onstage has been murdered. Ellis Jackson is sophisticated and suave, and his facial expressions are a riot. McCracken is revisiting the role that she once played in high school, and her pompous producer character is “simply divoon.”…