An outrageous blend of music, mayhem, and a murder most foul – sign us up! A rollicking musical comedy to die for is coming to the Hayes, the intimate Kings Cross venue at the heart of Sydney’s musical theatre scene.
Murder for Two is a hilarious 90-minute show where two of the country’s most exciting up-and-coming musical comedy performers play multiple roles – not to mention the piano – in a rip-roaring parody of classic murder mysteries. (Read our four-star review over here.)
Sharing a total of 13 roles between them are Gabbi Bolt and Maverick Newman. After rising to fame through sharing musical parodies and skits on TikTok during the pandemic, Gabbi Bolt has gone on to win Best Newcomer at the 2022 Sydney Comedy Festival, contribute original music to Ratatouille: the TikTok Musical, and appear on The Chaser, A Rational Fear and Spicks and Specks. This will be her professional musical theatre debut. True to his name, Maverick Newman is an award-winning writer, composer and performer from Melbourne who has starred in The Comedy of Errors, Friends! The Musical Parody and Maverick Newman in Conversation with Maverick Newman.
Directed by Hayes Theatre Co’s co-artistic director Richard Carroll (Calamity Jane, Once, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), Murder for Two hits the Hayes stage from August 4. Filling out this hoot of a team is the super talented Sam Marques (Metamorphoses, Aspects of Love) who jumps into the role of swing on the show.
“I just loved it, I just thought it was so funny, and so consistently inventive, and [it] pushes the limits of what you think could be done by two performers so far,” said Richard Carroll when speaking to arts and culture editor Alannah Le Cross about first discovering Murder for Two.
“I really fell in love with it, and knew it’d be perfect for the Hayes,” he continued. “And I also knew that in order for it to work, you have to find two incredible unicorns, who are not just brilliant pianists – because it's not just like a few chords that they can fudge on piano, they have to be proper pianists – but also be brilliant comedic actors. So that was an exciting challenge, because I love performers. That is my primary reason for directing, I love working with amazing performers and watching them be amazing.”
Played by Bolt, officer Marcus Moscowicz is a small-town policeman with dreams of making it to 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? Newman plays an array of quirky suspects who will leave you wondering: did Dahlia Whitney, Arthur’s scene-stealing wife, give him a big finish? Is Barrette Lewis, the prima ballerina, the prime suspect? Did Dr Griff, the overly friendly psychiatrist, make a frenemy? Marcus has only a short amount of time to find the killer and make his name before the real detective arrives.
“You're going to get an experience that you don't get watching a musical anywhere else,” says Carroll. “Musical theatre is traditionally a very large scale endeavour, but at the Hayes it's extremely intimate. Every show is an original Australian production with an Australian creative team, created with the performers who were in the show."
"And that is, again, not typical for musical theatre in this country, a lot of which is imported productions. So you're gonna get to see something that was created specifically to showcase those performers, and specifically for that space where you're watching it in.”
Murder for Two plays at Hayes Theatre Co, Potts Point, from August 4 to September 3, 2023. Tickets range from $65-$85 and you can snap them up over here.