Murder has never been so hilarious — or so badly botched — as in “Murder at the Howard Johnson’s,” a Whidbey Playhouse show opening Thursday, July 12 and running through July 22.

What’s a girl to do when she has fallen for a smooth dentist but her husband won’t give her a divorce? Well, there’s always murder.

Arlene, played by Sami Postma, thinks it will be easy to kill her husband, Paul, played by Dustin Amundson. After all, she is a “blossomed” woman who now reads books and knows she isn’t happy with Paul anymore, especially now that she has Mitchell, played by Bob Foster. As a dentist, Mitchell claims he can have any woman he wants, and right now, he wants Arlene.

Murder seems simple as Arlene and Mitchell plan it out while waiting for Paul to show up at their room at the Howard Johnson’s. But from the minute Paul walks through the door, their plans collapse so disastrously that the audience won’t be able to quit laughing.

Instead of hitting Paul over the head when he walks through the door, the lovers make the mistake of conversing first. Throughout their marriage, Paul, a clueless used car salesman, has bought Arlene every gift he can to show his love, but when Arlene tells him he couldn’t buy her happiness, dumbfounded Paul replies, “You’re talking about a very small part of life.”

With each of the characters clueless in his or her own ways, their silly remarks keep the audience laughing. As Arlene points out that Paul’s entirely gray wardrobe just can’t compare to the stripes, checks and colors of Mitchell’s outfits, the characters’ foolishness may make them seem simple, but that only adds to the complexities of their murder attempts.

As Paul cooperates while Mitchell binds him to a chair with their neckties, Arlene dreams of the life she’ll live after Paul: dancing, excitement, a whole new world! Life seems beautiful for a moment — until Mitchell’s novocaine ends up injected into the wrong person and Paul emerges alive from their murder attempt saying, “That does it. Tomorrow, we’re seeing a marriage counselor.”

Act two opens with Arlene on the verge of committing suicide. It’s been months since she’s seen Paul and caught Mitchell cheating. However, Paul shows up at Arlene’s room at the Howard Johnson’s with fried chicken and beer to comfort Arlene and notes the changes he’s made in his life, including buying five colored ties — even though they’re all the same color. Together, they hatch a plan to kill the man who has ruined both of their lives: Mitchell. As Mitchell comes bursting through the door, how will the murder attempt fare this time?

This “American farce,” as described by director Stan Thomas, follows the trio as each pairs up to rid each other of the third in a series of hilarious and badly bungled encounters that take them out the window, into Batman boxers and to the gallows.

“You will not leave this theater without smiling,” Thomas said. He was so amused by the play that he added another character, the maid, played by Debbie Blase.

“If you think about what would a maid do if she walked in on …” Thomas pointed at the gallows in the center of the Howard Johnson’s room on stage. “It tickled my funny bone.”

This play by Ron Clark and Sam Bobrick is a very American comedy, Thomas said.

“It’s three idiots trying to kill each other,” Foster said, adding that it was interesting learning the ins and outs of his character as Mitchell’s true colors show as he devolves from being “the suave guy” to “actually a baby and an idiot.”

When Amundson first read the script, he said, “I didn’t know if I could get up on stage and not laugh.” Despite it being a farce, he said there’s a lot of reality to draw from, and his past marriage helped.

“If you need marriage therapy, come see this,” Amundson said, joking that you might just find out your spouse wants to kill you.

Postma said working with Amundson and Foster was a hoot.

“It’s so much fun! I’m having a ridiculous amount of fun here,” she said. This is her first play at the Playhouse.

Despite the laughs, Thomas said the show required tons of work. However, the actors molded their characters and he was pleased.

“A director has to trust his actors,” Thomas said.

“If you like doing it, it’s no work at all,” Amundson said. “It’s like spending three or four hours at a bar with friends except you’re sober and making stuff up.”

Or maybe it is like a bar, Postma added, laughing, because “I got to make out with two guys.”

Foster said that the experience was a lot of fun.

“If you haven’t done a show here, I encourage you to audition for the next one,” he said.

For more information, visit www.whidbeyplayhouse.com.

Three’s a crowd

“Murder at the Howard Johnson’s” runs July 12 to 22.

Shows: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $14.

For tickets and information contact 679-2237.

The Playhouse is located at 730 SE Midway Blvd., Oak Harbor.

Visit whidbeyplayhouse.com.