What I liked
Marcelina Chavira and J. Elijah Cho are both incredibly charismatic, but they also have the pitch-perfect timing and rhythm of a classic comedy duo matched to a genuinely effective commitment to the dramatic stakes of a situation. They sing too! There is not a moment of dead air in the show and every comedy beat is still packed densely with weighty questions, the big one being “why are we all so obsessed with true crime?” The show develops without ever losing its humor or its increasing tension, the balancing act creates the most charming a nail-biter could be while simultaneously hitting the audience with real murder stats. The intimate, shadowy venue is great too, putting you arm’s length away from the performers as they use the space in inventive ways.
What I didn't like
I would love to hear the songs with full orchestration, the backing tracks don’t distract (they’re convincingly in the “we’re podcasting this live” premise of the show) but the songs are strong enough that it would be cool to hear them fully produced.
My overall impression
I desperately want for MURDER PODCAST: THE MUSICAL to be extended so I can take everyone I know to see it. It’s the rare show that is both hilarious and chilling, with a pair of actors who you instantly want to spend hours watching and a script that goes from clever to brilliant, all in one perfectly timed, deceptively suspenseful show. Also it’s a musical and I need the soundtrack now.
