'Musical Comedy Murders of 1940' a comedy for all ages

The Lipscomb University theater department presents the Tony-nominated “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” performed at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 25-28, in the Lipscomb University Theater. The play is free and open to the public.

 

In the spirit of mysterious comedies such as “See How They Run” and “Clue,” the Tony-nominated “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” provides “something fun to attract college students as well as their parents’ generation,” said director Deb Holloway, an instructor at Lipscomb University who directed the university’s successful run of “Snoopy!!!” last year.

 

The Lipscomb Theater is located on the Lipscomb campus on Granny White Pike in Green Hills, Nashville.

 

The play, which is not a musical, is written in the style of mystery movies from the 1940s, featuring a blend of the ominous – secret passages and meat cleavers – and the corny – one-liners and farcical comedy. “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” by John Bishop, originally appeared on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award for “Best Play” in 1987.

 

The setting is Chappaqua, N.Y., where several theater professionals have gathered in a remote mansion to discuss producing a new Broadway musical. Discussions are interrupted, however, when bodies begin to turn up, and the group begins to fear a notorious killer – the Stage Door Slasher – has resurfaced at the mansion. 

 

Holloway is co-directing the play with a Lipscomb student, Drew Smith, a senior English education major from Hickman County, who appeared in “Snoopy!!!” and “Trojan Women” last year.

The cast is made up of Lipscomb students, both veterans and newcomers: Tilly Cryar, Brittany Willis, John Gibson, Chris Mellor, Erin Randolph, Heather Funderburg, Mark Smith, Scott Muller, Matthew Raich and Courtney Taylor.

 

For more information on the play, contact the Lipscomb University theater department at 615.966.5715.