Death Has No Sting in Stage Whodunit Filled With Laughs

Several show business friends have gathered at a mysterious old mansion in Chappaqua, N.Y., to discover which one is the Stage Door Slasher, the killer of three chorines from their last show together.

Ominous music sounds as a snowstorm traps them inside the house. The movement of a desk fountain pen reveals secret passageways behind book shelves where shadowy, knife-wielding figures dart in and out, leaving dead bodies in their wake.

Scary?

Nah.

This is a crowd that would be perfectly at home with the cast of “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” This is a show where the lyricist is not unhappy to find that her producer has been stabbed in the back, where she is relieved to learn that the only reason a woman does not applaud her song is the fact that she is dead.

In the delightful farce, “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” (at the North Coast Repertory Theatre through Dec. 31), playwright John Bishop takes every 1940 cliche and wreaks virtuoso havoc with it.

All the policemen are Irish--even the black ones. The comic is more funny in his cowardice than in his jokes. And the Billie Burke-like mistress of the house is most concerned with what foods would best complement an evening of murder.

Director Andrew Barnicle keeps his energetic 10-person cast hopping through this labyrinthine plot and there are some stand-out performances amid the delightful nonsense. Pert and pretty Stina Sundberg gives a scene-devouring performance as both maid Helsa Wenzel and the ghoulish person impersonating her. John Rosen is irresistibly sad-sack as comedian Eddie McCue who finds time between his delightfully dreadful jokes to spark a charming little romance with dancer Nikki Crandall, played with appealing gawkiness by Kimberly Wells.

Devlin is simply “devune” as the producer whose knifing is met with general apathy by the other guests. Charles Jackam brings beautifully etched condescension to director Ken De La Maize who turns out pictures so derivative everyone thinks they’ve seen them even before they’re released.

Phillip Montzen fills the blue-eyed and blarney-filled bill as the Irish tenor who turns both men’s and women’s heads. Jeff Wolf brings panache to effeminate composer Roger Hopewell without ever descending into offensive caricature. Jonathan Williams manfully shoulders the single straight-man role as beleaguered policeman Michael Kelly.

The key word here is “fun,” from the excessive bracelets and turbans of the show-biz costumes designed by Renee Porte, to the show numbers (lyrics by Bishop, original music for this production by Charles Creasy) that are so bad they’re good.

This, after all, is the crew that comes up with a musical called “Nebraska,” as opposed to “Oklahoma.”

As the hostess, Elsa Von Grossenknueton, Louise Merrim has got the daffy demeanor down; if only she could be quicker with the patter. Diane Thrasher, while funny, misses the opportunity to steal the show in the sterling role of the tipsy, oblivious artiste who complains that all these murders are distracting her from the art of creation.

One could wish for an eerie noise or two from Marvin Read’s sound design when the bookshelves start moving. But the whistling of the storm outside provides the needed chills.

So don’t bother looking for anything akin to a message in “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.” Sure, the show is set in December and plays at the North Coast through New Year’s Eve, but it packs all the depth of a sugarplum. The timing is right, though. The show is so festive in its funniness, it’s tailor-made to be wrapped up with a big bow and opened during the holiday season.

“THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940”

By John Bishop. Director is Andrew Barnicle. Set by Andrew Barnicle. Lighting by Jack Shepherd. Costumes by Renee Porte. Sound by Marvin Read. Original music by Charles Creasy. With Stina Sundberg, Louise Merrim, Jonathan Williams, Phillip Montzen, Charles Jackam, Kimberly Wells, John Rosen, Devlin, Jeff Wolf and Diane Thrasher. At 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays with Sunday matinees at 2 through Dec. 31. At 987D Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach.