With the weather as wonderful as it was on Friday evening, it was a little hard to come inside for the opening of The Phipp's latest production, "The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940." But it was worth it. The director and cast delivered a full evening of entertainment punctuated with lots of laughs.

The show opens with the murder of a beautiful maid, which caused the older gentleman sitting behind me to remark, "Boy, she didn't last long. Not much to that part." But it isn't the last you see of the erstwhile Helsa, played to the hilt by Barbara Benson Keith. Her mistress and the lady of the house where all the ghoulish goings-on take place is Jean Shore. Shore is wonderful as the rich but also daffy Elsa Von whatever, who fancies herself a bit of a Mata Hari.

Both actresses are new to The Phipps stage but hopefully we will see them again along with Phil Baumgarn, the cute cop. Also new to Phipps audiences are Douglas Blackwell and Barbara Johnson, who play the writing team of the musical comedy in question. Both create unforgettable characters with great asides and sharp one-liners delivered just right.

The rest of the cast is wonderfully familiar to Phipps patrons. Having Tom Monn back at The Phipps, with all his energy and great comic timing, is almost a guarantee of a good night at the theater. The same is true of Heidi Hansen, whom we have seen grow up on the stage at The Phipps and who just keeps getting better and better. Monn and Hansen together are really a treat.

Fredrice Nord is another Phipps favorite who can always be counted on to deliver. This performance is just another in a long line of great character parts she makes unforgettable. Not to be missed is this show's great death scene by Nord. It is simply "divoone" (not a misspelling...buy a ticket and find out). Tim Perfect is pretty true to his name as Ken De La Maize, and Mike Shaw is back with an awesome Irish, then German, accent.

Director Keith Isaacson has another success to add to his record at The Phipps, which includes last year's sellout "Drop Dead." He knows "how to pick 'em" both onstage and behind. The set is exceptional, the work of Phipps alumni Jay Ganz, as is all the technical support on this show. Credit belongs to Nick Fritzen for lighting, Josette Kiskunas for costumes, Paul Ashwood for sound, Barbara Gagliardi for production coordination, Mark Koski for technical direction and the always able Pam Lesher for stage management.

This has been a great season for The Phipps Theater, and this show is just more of the same. Congratulations to the director, cast and crew and to the Drama Council for picking a winner.