In Silverthorne, a dynamic piano duo wows audiences for an unexpected murder mystery.

The holiday edition of Murder for Two employs the same premise of the original musical by the same name but presents much more festive seasonal entertainment.

The musical two-hander debuted at the Chicago Shakespeare Festival in 2011 and went on the garner great acclaim — and plenty of re-runs, including Off-Broadway shows, which hit the stage in 2013. From 2014-16, it toured nationally, with a stop in Denver, where you may have caught it.  By 2016, the holiday edition premiered in madcap fashion, with one actor still performing nearly a dozen different roles based upon the new narrative.

The action begins at a Christmas Eve party, where a novelist is shot in the head. Plenty of suspects linger at the scene of the crime — but audiences don’t see them all at once.

Rather, this two-man show is a whimsical exercise in imagination; you must imagine the people and props that emerge spontaneously (however, a rich setting literally sets the stage). The 90-minute musical is akin to becoming a young child again — one who can see the coffee cup and pot as the host pours it into an invisible void that nonimaginative adults witness. You even have to imagine the dead body, which is easy to forget about, until characters step over it.

The 10-plus suspects emerge one at a time — though they can appear and disappear in a matter of seconds — as actor Curtis Reynolds changes postures, movement patterns, accents, tones of voice and sometimes a small prop, such as glasses or a hat. Reynolds’ fast-paced flips of personality are a feat — and a delight — to experience. He embodies characters from the widow, who doesn’t seem particularly heartbroken due to her husband’s death to a prima ballerina with a tutu of a secret; a lusty couple; a psychiatrist who definitely needs therapy himself; an overzealous elf; and Tiny Timmy and his crew, the latter of which Reynolds performs on his knees — and even pulls off the Charleston in his “kiddie” position.

During the first half, we hear about police officer Marcus’ heartfelt yearning to become a full-on detective through an extremely impressive monologue (and, of course, songs). He may bumble his way through his questioning of the suspects, but he’s the only one available, as the “real” detective seems stuck in holiday shopping lines at Macy’s. We even learn about his psycho-killer ex-girlfriend.

We also meet Steph, a young woman with a crush on Marcus. But Marcus is enraptured with the ballerina, whose long legs have leapt into a bedroom secret she doesn’t care to reveal. And, so, a triangular love story develops, as Marcus dismisses both his lust for Ms. Prima Ballerina and Steph’s desire to partner with him both professionally and personally.

Meanwhile, he questions the quickly emerging and vanishing personalities in an attempt to discover a motive. And, as with all mysteries, there’s no shortage of envy, fear of being revealed and other motives that might lead to murder.

Photo: Graco Hernandez

A lively piano score

Not only does Reynolds’ high-energy ability to rapidly transform into so many characters keep the interest going, but also live piano playing by both actors greatly adds to the momentum. In fact, the solo and duet piano playing is masterful; it’s worth attending the show just to see the solos and duets that, like the fast-moving characters, come, go, morph and change. Though the music comprises mostly toe-tapping, upbeat tunes, variances elicit interest — such as eerie melodies or deep-note pounding.

One amazing bit occurs when Reynolds stands behind Helm and plays the two opposite ends of the keys, while Helm fills in the middle. And, their voices, including the harmonies, are stellar; they don’t falter on one note.

The more-than-60-minute first half takes up the bulk of the 90-minute run-time, and, in my mind, it dragged a bit, particularly in the first 20-some minutes, when we predominantly learn about the detective and a bit about the widow; mostly, it’s about orienting yourself to the various character cues and personalities. I became more drawn in as the ballerina and psychiatrist’s stories went into depth later in the first half.

The second half flies by, as it’s only 30 minutes, not including the surprise encore, which you won’t want to miss.