2021-2022 Season Presented by Navigate Financial and KNKX

Murder for Two

Comedy, Musical March 10-April 2, 2022 The State Theater 1hrs 30mins PG

Murder for Two

About

Cast & Creative

Gallery

by Joe Kinosian Book and Kellan Blair

Directed by Corey McDaniel

Comedy, Musical March 10-April 2, 2022 The State Theater 1hrs 30mins PG

Book and Music by Joe Kinosian
Book and Lyrics by Kellen Blair

They put the laughter in manslaughter! In this hilarious 90-minute musical comedy, 2 performers play 13 roles—not to mention the piano—in a witty and winking homage to old-fashioned murder mysteries.

A small-town police officer dreams of making it to detective – and one fateful night, the opportunity arrives in the form of a dead Great American Novelist. One actor investigates, the other plays every suspect, and both play the piano. It’s the perfect blend of music, mayhem and murder!

“Ingenious! A snazzy double-act that spins out a comic mystery animated by funny, deftly turned songs.” – The New York Times

Reminder: Our COVID Protocols, which include proof of vaccination and masking, will remain in place through the run of this production.

Cast & Creative

Director Corey McDaniel

Corey McDaniel

Corey McDaniel is the Director of Development for Harlequin Productions. Mr. McDaniel served as the founder and producing artistic director of Seattle’s Theatre22 during their 10-year cycle. As an actor, he has worked throughout the US and internationally and his performance credits have placed him in such reputable arenas as the Fox Theatres, the Hollywood Bowl, Theatro Sistina in Rome, and the Metropolitan Opera House of NYC. Outside of Harlequin, Mr. McDaniel’s recent directing credits include White, Burn This, The Pride, Wizzer Pizzer, and The Hours of Life for Theatre22, The Merry Wives of Windsor with Wooden O/Seattle Shakespeare Company, Treasure Island with Book-It Repertory Theatre, Sister Act the Musical, Bonnie and Clyde, and Good Kids at Cornish College of the Arts, Julius Caesar with Island Shakespeare Festival and The Wild Party for Sound Theatre Company (Gregory Award for Best Musical).

In 7 seasons and 12 shows at Harlequin:

A Christmas Carol (Director, Choreographer, Player 1) Baskerville (Director) Dracula (Director) Falsettos (Director) I Am My Own Wife (Charlotte von Mahlsdorf) I Ought To Be In Pictures (Director) Murder for Two (Director) Noises Off (Director) Tenderly (Director) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (Director)

Fight and Intimacy Director Alyssa Kay

Alyssa Kay

Alyssa is a long-time collaborator with Harlequin over the past decade as both an actor and resident Fight/Intimacy Director. Alyssa has worked with numerous other companies across Puget Sound including Seattle Rep, Book-It Repertory, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Seattle Opera, Tacoma Opera, Taproot Theatre, the University of Washington School of Drama, and Seattle University. Alyssa is also a freelance teaching artist, Advanced Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors, and co-founder of the PNW Theatrical Intimacy collective. Huge love to Fox and her parents for all their support. www.alyssakay.net

In 8 seasons and 22 shows at Harlequin:

A Christmas Carol (Martha Cratchit/Ensemble, Fight and Intimacy Director) Baskerville (Fight and Intimacy Director) Blackbird (Fight/Intimacy Director) Building Madness (Fight and Intimacy Director) Cabaret (Intimacy and Fight Director) Every Brilliant Thing (Fight/Intimacy Consultant) Falsettos (Fight and Intimacy Consultant) Fun Home (Fight/Intimacy Director) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Fight and Intimacy Director) Love and Information (Ensemble) Man of La Mancha (Fight and Intimacy Director) Murder for Two (Fight and Intimacy Director) Sovereignty (Intimacy and Fight Director) The 39 Steps (Anabella/Margaret/Pamela) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (self, Fight Director) The Highest Tide (Intimacy Director) The Language Archive (Emma) The Revolutionists (Fight & Intimacy Consultant) This Flat Earth (Fight and Intimacy Director) Three Days of Rain (Nan/Lina) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Nina)

Scenic Design Jeffrey T. Cook

Jeffrey T. Cook

In 6 seasons and 6 shows at Harlequin:

Henry V (Pageant Wagon Designer, Scenic Designer) Murder for Two (Scenic Design) The Lady's Not for Burning (Scenic Designer) The Misanthrope (Scenic Designer) The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Scenic Designer)

Costume Design Kathleen Anderson

Kathleen Anderson

In 6 seasons and 8 shows at Harlequin:

A Stardust Christmas Carol (Costume Designer) Baskerville (Costume, Hair and Makeup Design) Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Costume Designer) Mauritius (Costume Designer) Murder for Two (Costume Design) Stardust Serenade 1942 (Costume Designer) Summer in the Sixties (Costume Designer) The Woman in Black (Costume Designer)

Lighting Design Mark Thomason

Mark Thomason

Mark is a local lighting designer based in Tacoma and teaches technical theatre and design at Tacoma School of the Arts and occasionally at the University of Puget Sound, having spent most of the last 20 years as a lighting designer, production manager, and technical director; he also works with Zombie Orpheus Entertainment and much of his film work can be seen on The Fantasy Network. BA in Theatre Production from Bradley University.

In 11 seasons and 20 shows at Harlequin:

A Doll's House (Lighting Design) Dry Powder (Lighting Designer) Falsettos (Lighting Design) First Date (Lighting Design) Fun Home (Lighting Design) I Am My Own Wife (Lighting Design) Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (Lighting Design) Murder for Two (Lighting Design) My Name is Rachel Corrie (Lighting Design) Noises Off (Lighting Design) Richard III (Lighting Designer) Sweeney Todd (Lighting Design) The Art of Racing in the Rain (Lighting Design) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (Lighting Design) The Glass Menagerie (Lighting Designer) The Lady's Not for Burning (Lighting Designer) The Language Archive (Lighting Designer) The Last Five Years (Lighting Designer) The Lonesome West (Lighting Designer) Until the Flood (Lighting Design)

Co-Sound Design Keith Jewell

Keith Jewell

In 21 seasons and 74 shows at Harlequin:

Co-Sound Design Karl Welty

Karl Welty

In 11 seasons and 28 shows at Harlequin:

A Long Day's Journey into Night (Sound Designer) A Man for All Seasons (Sound Designer) A Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Sound Designer) A Rock N' Roll Twelfth Night (Guitar) A Streetcar Named Desire (Sound Designer/Composer) Arcadia (Sound Designer) Assassins (Sound Designer) Building Madness (Sound Design) Cymbeline (Sound Designer) Cyrano de Bergerac (Sound Designer) Dracula (Sound Designer) Forever Stardust (Sound Designer) Henry V (Sound Designer) Inspecting Carol (Sound Designer) La Béte (Sound Designer) Mad in Craft (Sound Designer) Murder for Two (Co-Sound Design) Operation: Stardust (Sound Designer) Rock 'n' Roll Twelfth Night (Sound Designer) She Stoops to Conquer (Sound Designer) Stardust for Emily Jean (Sound Designer) Stardust Radio Review (Sound Designer) The Misanthrope (Sound Designer) The Real Thing (Sound Designer) The Rocky Horror Show (Sound Designer) The Tempest (Sound Designer) The Weir (Sound Designer)

Properties Design and Scenic Painting Gerald B. Browning

Gerald B. Browning

In 7 seasons and 25 shows at Harlequin:

A Christmas Carol (Properties Design) Building Madness (Properties Design) Deathtrap (Scenic Design) Fun Home (Properties Design) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Properties Design) Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (Properties Design) Love and Information (Ensemble) Murder for Two (Properties Design and Scenic Painting) Noises Off (Properties Design) Pride and Prejudice (Properties Design) Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol (Properties Design) Sovereignty (Properties Design) Tenderly (Properties Design) The 1940s Radio Hour ("Pops" Bailey) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (Scenic Design, Properties Design) The Highest Tide (Father/Ensemble) The Love List (Bill) The Women (Properties Design) This Flat Earth (Properties Design) Until the Flood (Rusty/Dougray, Properties Design) What the Constitution Means to Me (Properties Design)

Stage Manager Gina Salerno

Gina Salerno

In 20 seasons and 90 shows at Harlequin:

A Christmas Carol (Co-Sound Design, Stage Manager) A Christmas Survival Guide (Stage Manager) A Doll's House (Sound Design) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Asst. Stage Manager) A Rock N' Roll Twelfth Night (Stage Manager) A Stardust Christmas Carol (Asst. Stage Manager) And a Nightingale Sang (Asst. Stage Manager) Blackbird (Sound Design) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Stage Manager) Clybourne Park (Sound Designer) Dancin' in the Aisles (Asst. Stage Manager) Dry Powder (Sound Designer) Enchanted April (Stage Manager) Enrico IV (Sound Designer/Asst, Stage Manager) Fighting Over Beverley (Sound Designer) Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (Stage Manager) For Peter Pan On Her 70th Birthday (Sound Design) Gloucester Blue (Sound Designer) Hedda Gabler (Stage Manager) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Stage Manager) I Am My Own Wife (Sound Design) I Ought To Be In Pictures (Sound Designer) Jesus Christ Superstar (Stage Manager) Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Stage Manager) Let the Good Times Roll! (Asst. Stage Manager) Little Shop of Horrors (Stage Manager) Love and Information (Stage Manager) Macbeth (Asst. Stage Manager) Man of La Mancha (Stage Manager) Mauritius (Sound Designer) Measure for Measure (Prostitute, Asst. Stage Manager) Middletown (Stage Manager) Murder for Two (Stage Manager) My Name is Rachel Corrie (Sound Design) My Old Lady (Sound Designer) Noises Off (Sound Design) Operation Stardust (Asst. Stage Manager) Or, (Sound Designer) Philadelphia Story (Stage Manager) Present Laughter (Sound Design) Pride and Prejudice (Sound Design) Psychopathia Sexualis (Sound Designer/Asst. Stage Manager) Rabbit Hole (Sound Designer) Recent Tragic Events (Sound Designer) Romeo and Juliet (Citizen/Party Guest) Ruthless (Stage Manager) Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol (Stage Manager) Shining City (Sound Designer) Sins of the Mother (Sound Designer) Six Hotels (Sound Designer) Sixties Chicks (Asst. Stage Manager) Sixties Chicks Too (Stage Manager) Soul on Fire! (Asst. Stage Manager) Sovereignty (Sound Design) Stardust for Christmas (Esther Bartoli, Asst. Stage Manager) Stardust Serenade 1942 (Stage Manager) Summer in the Sixties (Stage Manager) Sweeney Todd (Stage Manager) Tenderly (Stage Manager) The 1940s Radio Hour (Properties Designer / Stage Manager) The American Pilot (Sound Designer) The Americans Across the Street (Stage Manager) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (Sound Design) The Elephant Man (Sound Designer) The Elsinore Diaries (Stage Manager) The Highest Tide (Stage Manager) The Ladies of the Camellias (Sound Designer/Asst. Stage Manager) The Language Archive (Sound Designer) The Last Five Years (Stage Manager) The Last Schwartz (Sound Designer) The Life and Times of Leonardo da Vinci (Asst. Stage Manager) The Love List (Asst. Stage Manager) The Rocky Horror Show (Asst. Stage Manager) The Seafarer (Sound Designer) The Stardust Christmas Blizzard (Stage Manager) The Stardust Christmas Commotion (Stage Manager) The Stardust Christmas Dazzle (Stage Manager) The Twelfth Night of Stardust (Asst. Stage Manager) The Woman in Black (Asst. Stage Manager) The Women (Sound Design) This Flat Earth (Sound Design) Three Days of Rain (Sound Design) Time Stands Still (Sound Designer) To Kill a Mockingbird (Stage Manager) Under a Mantle of Stars (Sound Designer/Asst. Stage Manager) Unexpected Tenderness (Sound Designer) Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike (Sound Designer)

Company COVID Safety Manager Edania Liptzin

Edania Liptzin

In 1 season and 8 shows at Harlequin:

A Christmas Carol (Company COVID Safety Manager) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Sensitivity Consultant/Company COVID Safety Manager) Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (Company COVID Safety Manager) Murder for Two (Company COVID Safety Manager) Sovereignty (Company COVID Safety Manager) Tenderly (Company COVID Safety Manager) This Flat Earth (Company COVID Safety Manager) Until the Flood (Company COVID Safety Manager)

Jon Lutyens The Suspects

Jon Lutyens

Jon Lutyens is a theatre artist of many stripes around the Puget Sound region. Audiences have seen Jon onstage at ACT Theatre, Village Theatre, Taproot Theatre, Book-It Repertory, and many others in the region. Jon also teaches regularly with educational arts programs through the area, working toward a future with greater acceptance and support for all students. Jon graduated from WWU, and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

In 4 seasons and 4 shows at Harlequin:

Cabaret (Musical Director, Piano/Band Leader) Falsettos (Marvin) Into the Woods (Director) Murder for Two (The Suspects)

Katherine Strohmaier Marcus

Katherine Strohmaier

Ms. Strohmaier’s Seattle credits include 5th Avenue Theatre (Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls), Village Theatre (Anisette in The Gypsy King), Showtunes (Liz Imbrie in High Society), Seattle Children’s Theatre, Mount Baker Theatre, and Centerstage. As a vocalist, she has performed in Seattle Symphony Pops concerts, sang at the Opéra de Rennes in a reimagining of Cole Porter’s La Revue des Ambassadeurs, and periodically appears in concert with acclaimed Gershwin pianist Peter Nero. MA: Royal College of Music, London.

In 3 seasons and 3 shows at Harlequin:

Man of La Mancha (Musical Director) Murder for Two (Marcus) The Last Five Years (Catherine Hyatt / Piano)

Jon Lutyens and Katherine Strohmaier are members of the Actors' Equity Association.

Pride and Prejudice

Sweeney Todd

Murder for Two

Book and Music by Joe Kinosian Book and Lyrics by Kellen Blair

Cast & Creative

Gallery

Book and Music by Joe Kinosian
Book and Lyrics by Kellen Blair