Murder for Two Cast Album Hits Shelves Feb. 11; Jeff Blumenkrantz and Brett Ryback Offer Barnes & Noble Performance | Playbill

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News Murder for Two Cast Album Hits Shelves Feb. 11; Jeff Blumenkrantz and Brett Ryback Offer Barnes & Noble Performance Ghostlight Records releases the original cast recording of the new musical comedy Murder for Two in stores Feb. 11. Original cast members Jeff Blumenkrantz and Brett Ryback celebrate the release with a special in-store performance and CD signing at 4:30 PM at Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side.

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Jeff Blumenkrantz and Brett Ryback Photo by Joan Marcus

The event also features creators Joe Kinosian, who currently stars in the musical as The Suspects, and Kellen Blair. Barnes & Noble is located at 150 East 86th Street (between Lexington and Third Avenues). Fans who purchase the CD at the store will be offered priority seating. For more information, call (212) 369-2180. 

The album, released digitally Jan. 14, is produced by Joel Moss, with Kurt Deutsch serving as executive producer. To order, click here. For other theatrical merchandise, visit the Playbill Store

The physical CD features complete lyrics, never-before-seen photos, a show synopsis by creators Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair and an essay by Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz. 

A track listing for the album follows: 

1. Prelude
2. Waiting in the Dark
3. Protocol Says
4. Dahlia Whitney
5. A Perfectly Lovely Surprise
6. Murray and Barb Flandon
7. It Was Her
8. Timmy, Yonkers, and Skid
9. A Lot Woise
10. Steph Whitney
11. He Needs a Partner
12. Barrette Lewis
13. So What If I Did?
14. A Friend Like You
15. Henry Vivaldi
16. Process of Elimination
17. Steppin' Out of the Shadows
18. Finale (He Needs a Partner / Protocol Says)
19. Finale Ultimo (A Friend Like You) *

Producers Jayson Raitt, Barbara Whitman, Steven Chaikelson and Second Stage Theatre present the production, which began performances Oct. 23, prior to an official opening Nov. 6, at New World's Stage 5. The production was given a ten-week extension through July 6. 

The New York premiere of the musical comedy — seen this summer in Second Stage Theatre's 2013 Uptown Series — featuring music by Kinosian, lyrics by Blair and a book by Kinosian and Blair, was directed by Scott Schwartz (Golda's Balcony, Jane Eyre) and opened July 25, following previews that began July 10. The extended engagement played through Aug. 25 at Second Stage's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Broadway at 76th Street. 

Blumenkrantz (Into the Woods, Threepenny Opera, Damn Yankees, How to Succeed…, A Class Act) plays a multitude of characters — all suspects — alongside the up-and-coming detective Marcus, played by Ryback (The History Boys at Ahmanson, The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Mark Taper Forum), in the piece. 

The duo not only star as all of the characters in the one-act musical, but also act as the orchestra — accompanying themselves and each other on the piano set center stage.

Here's how the musical is billed: "Everyone is a suspect in Murder For Two, a hilarious musical murder mystery with a twist: one actor (Ryback) investigates the crime, the other plays all of the suspects (Blumenkrantz) and they both play the piano! A zany blend of classic musical comedy and madcap mystery, this 90-minute whodunit is a highly theatrical duet loaded with killer laughs."

Kinosian and Blair are the recipients of the 2011 Joseph Jefferson Award, recognizing Murder for Two as the Best New Musical Work in Chicago following its seven-month run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Prior to Chicago, developmental productions took place at the Adirondack Theater Festival, the Hangar Theater and 42nd Street Moon. Their work has been showcased recently at the York Theater's 2012 NEO Concert, The Kennedy Center's Broadway Today and Tomorrow series, The Kauffman Center's Bound for Broadway concert and a November 2012 New York Theatre Barn Concert. Past work includes Pirates Don't Change Diapers for TheatreWorks USA.

Other members of the creative team include scenic designer Beowulf Boritt, costume designer Andrea Lauer, lighting designer Jason Lyons and sound designer Jill BC DuBoff.

Created as a program to help develop and provide exposure for the voices of a new generation of theatre artists, the Second Stage Theatre Uptown Series (Christopher Burney, curator and associate artistic director) seeks to "develop the skills of emerging playwrights, to provide early-career artists with the support of a major artistic institution, and to create new plays for the American Theatre. Each show has a limited rehearsal period, as well as a streamlined budget."

For more information, visit MurderForTwoMusical.com.

 
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