‘Murder’s Bad’ Is a Classic Whodunnit

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PHOTO CREDIT: Kimberly Fudali

Murder’s Bad, But Monday Can Kill You does not refer to the dread accompanying the end of the weekend; Monday is actually the name of a character, private eye Harry Monday. This is one of five plays starring the goofy gumshoe, who is, this time, investigating three murders in a psychiatric clinic. As he discovers, however, all the patients have multiple personalities, and all three victims are actually the same guy! In this classic whodunnit, finding out the killer and their motive isn’t quite enough, you also need to figure out which personality did the deed.

Put on by the West Allis Players, Pat Cook’s script straddles the line between mystery and comedy. It introduces characters like former congressman Clarence (Michael Jablonski), who turns into Edgar Allan Poe in a pinch; Cindy (Donna McMaster), who always tells the truth, who is indistinguishable from her second personality, Mindy, who always lies; and Maxwell (Evan Prier), whose numerous personalities include an entire marching band. To not help the matter, Dr. June Heidleburg (Maureen Lavin), who oversees the hospital, believes Harry Monday to be another patient.

Scott Fudali, who plays Harry Monday, is used to the role of the detective, including playing Sherlock Holmes and Lt. Sam Weinberg in A Few Good Men. Here, he is almost too ditzy and jovial to star in a murder mystery, but in many ways, Murder’s Bad, But Monday Can Kill You isn’t much of a mystery. While pleasant to follow, it doesn’t require the audience to remember clues or puzzle out the truth themselves. There are no Agatha Christie-esque schemes to unravel. Instead, the show focuses on entertaining the audience with a light-hearted plot and larger-than-life characters, culminating in an unexpected reveal.