One of my favorite parts of being a community theatre critic is watching companies evolve and grow over time. One such example is in Provo at The Covey Center for the Arts. Over the years I’ve seen them master what productions work best for their Briton Black Box theater. It’s usually shows with minimal set changes and a small but expert-level cast. Their latest is a campy good time for all involved A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody. They also tend to select shows that feature relationships. I honestly think a season pass to Covey would make for great date nights for couples looking for fun entertainment.

What’s interesting about this show in particular is I have long said A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder would be better as a straight play and not a musical. This play proves this as it has almost all of the elements of Gentleman’s Guide without the bland songs.

Anyway, as one can imagine from the title A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody is a play on a murder mystery but taken to a screwball premise. It’s kind of like Arsenic and Old Lace in that regard. The plot focuses on Matthew a 1930s socialite who decides his wife Julia’s presence is dragging him down and she needs to go. He then foolishly tells Julia of his plans and it becomes a tit-for-tat over the course of the year where Matthew tries and fails in his bumbling attempts at homicide. This perhaps sounds harsher on paper than it is in the actual play. All of the murder attempts are over-the-top and director Ben Cumins does a good job keeping tone light and silly.

Matthew C Kohl and Hillary Straga are very funny as our leading couple and they bounce off each other well with the witty script. I also really enjoyed Tanner Frederiksen as a bumbling detective that felt like an old-time radio character even down to his voice and mannered performance. Everyone else is excellent but my absolute favorite of the cast is Autumn Bickmore as Bunny. I love a well-done ditzy character, and this performance is a terrific example of that archetype.

Most of the technical aspects of the production are on the simple side with it being all set in one room with nothing getting in the way of the actors and their performances. Jessica Moody’s costumes stand out the most especially the Halloween costumes the characters wear in the October scenes (it goes by an entire year of shenanigans.)

Again, on paper, A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody might sound intense or upsetting but it’s really not. It’s very funny and one couldn’t ask for better acting from a community theatre production. I highly recommend checking this play out. Bring a loved one and have a great time. It is playing at the Covey until October 11th and tickets can be purchased here.

A Little Murder Never Hurt Anybody is a play by Ron Bernas first performed in 1991 in Michigan. I had never heard of this play before. Have any of you seen it?

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