Who said murder couldn’t be funny?

Pretty much everyone, actually. But Centerstage Theatre is pushing that with their newest play, the “Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” by John Bishop.

From the way director Angela Bayler describes it, you might think it has a more serious theme to it.

In the middle of a snowstorm in December, upstate New York. A musical is about to open for its last show on Broadway.

And then three chorus girls are murdered.

It’s hard to hear that and find it funny. Bayler said that’s exactly what it is, though. Despite the murder, it’s a light-hearted, funny show.

Timothy Duval, brother of artistic director Trista Duval, plays Patrick O’Reilly, an Irish tenor who sings for the backers audition.

Normally, Duval wouldn’t want to perform as a tenor because his normal voice just isn’t at that pitch.

“[For this play], it kind of makes sense,” he said.

He enjoys how fun the show is, both for the audience and the cast.

“It’s very calculated madness and the script leaves the actors with a good amount of room to play around with things in certain ways that make them very funny,” Duval said.

Despite recent financial hardships, both Bayler and Duval feel Centerstage is going to be OK.

Duval said that while both Bayler and Trista make excellent directors for Centerstage, they also have a very strong friendship.

“Both have made it plainly clear to everyone that between them there is no superior,” Duval said.

Duval said so much goes on in the play, at first it was difficult to understand exactly what was happening.

It’s also been an interesting feat for him playing an Irish character.

“I don’t typically walk around practicing my Irish brogue and I certainly don’t claim to be a master at it but I give it my darndest,” he said.

Centerstage will be performing their last show Feb. 22-24, so get your tickets now if you haven’t seen it yet.

For more information, visit http://centerstagetheatre.com.