'Murder for Two' a giddy romp

I will not tell you who in the Philadelphia Theatre Company's Murder for Two done it. But I will tell you it was one of two men onstage. Of course, considering this show follows in the tradition of whiplash character-change successes such as The 39 Steps and The Mystery of Irma Vep, that's not revealing much.

Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair's madcap musical comedy features Ian Lowe as unassuming sleuth Marcus Moscowicz (Brandon Lambert steps into the role beginning June 23), who has a terrible history of mixing business and pleasure, and Kyle Branzel as everyone else. Branzel, a tall string bean of a guy with rubber-band physicality (and very few props) appears in Iris Apfel eyeglass frames as Dahlia Whitney, wife of the untimely deceased, a novelist whose newest book was just about to reveal something about someone; Barrette Lewis, a beautiful ballerina; Dr. Griff, psychiatrist to all assembled; student/ingenue Steph; an unhappy older couple; three members of a 12-member boys' choir; and probably someone else I'm forgetting.

In between, there's singing, lots of piano playing (with two and occasionally four hands), corny jokes, and some thoroughly ridiculous plot twists. Directed by Scott Schwartz at a breakneck pace, with a simple-yet-winking set by Tony-winner Beowulf Boritt - it's mostly a brick-walled stage, but with a pair of shelves that hold Clue's knife, candlestick, and lead pipe - there's little time to ponder the proceedings. This one's best taken as a joyride on familiar roads.

The script, too silly to hold much tension, really acts as a showcase for Branzel's contortions, as it has for other actors who played the role in Chicago and New York. And that may be enough for theatergoers seeking an easy, fun, good time, or those toting kids who already saw (or don't care to pay the prices of) The Lion King just down the street at the Academy of Music.

Murder for Two's vaudevillian entertainment is indeed a jarring shift from the last production on PTC's stage, the beautiful, tragic Brownsville Song (B-Side for Tray). But, OK, not everyone attends the theater to dig deeper into life's greater mysteries. Some mysteries are small and inconsequential and solved in one tightly compressed act, performed by two wildly talented, giddily enthusiastic young men.