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MYRTLE POINT — There’s something about secret passageways.

Even in a falling housing market, there can never be too many houses with secret passageways. But not everyone agrees.

“In real life, murder is never so interesting,” says Patrick. “No secret passageways, just blood-soaked carpets.”

But this isn’t real life, or even “Law and Order.” It’s “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,” and if reality ever gets in the way, one can always get around it — through one of three secret passageways featured in the play, which plays this weekend only, at Myrtle Point High School.

Though the set was still under construction at a rehearsal last week, director Lisa Crew assured that the swinging bookcase and other hidden doors would be in full working order by tonight’s opening.

In many murder mysteries, these features make the house a major character. This mansion is located in Chappaqua, N.Y. — the neighborhood of a current presidential candidate — and belongs to a woman with a different kind of ambition.

Elsa Von Grossenkneuten (Henrietta Scriven) aims to solve the murder of her friend, Bebe McAllister, a ballet dancer who was one of three victims of the Stage Door Slasher, who terrorized the touring cast of a recent Broadway musical.

Elsa, a wealthy patron of the arts, lures the company members to her house for a private performance that could lead to the financing of their next venture. Though the maid, Helsa Wenzel (Brittany Corbit), notifies Elsa the cook is missing, a last-minute scramble to feed the guests will not deprive anyone of the house special — red herring.

Another problem, a blizzard threatens to isolate the house, but Elsa assures Sergeant Michael Kelly (Stephen Joyce), the undercover officer investigating the case while disguised as her butler, that nothing will keep theater people away from a potential paycheck.

Indeed, they arrive: director Ken De La Maize (Gary Dickenson), producer Marjorie Baverstock (Emily Morris), composer Regina Hopewell (Emily Carpenter) and lyricist Bernice Roth (Nicole Seitz). Also, several actors turn out to audition for them, including Patrick O’Reilly (Cody Waddington), a tenor with a thick Irish accent; Nikki Crandall (Katlin Standiford), a dancer who’s done a few musical comedies; and Eddie McCuen (Karl Smith), an aspiring comedian.

At least those are their stories. As one of them points out, the theater offers a crazy person an excellent place to go unnoticed. And as with “Scooby-Doo” villains, sometimes ripping off someone’s disguise reveals only another disguise underneath.

But almost everyone needs to be someone else when multiple good guys are chasing multiple bad guys. Though the presumption that the Stage Door Slasher is among those present turns out to be correct, and though several more bodies turn up, these facts are not necessarily related.

Among the factors complicating the story are several links to Nazi Germany. Elsa inherited the house from her father, a German baron turned American spy, and Helsa is also of German origin. Patrick oddly recognizes Helsa’s last name as that of an obscure German cabaret singer.

Facilitating the perpetrator, along with the blizzard, are a few other staples of the murder mystery genre: Despite the brilliant engineering that went into the house’s architecture, the phone and power lines prove to be less than secure.

Also, though a key piece of evidence exists — the Slasher’s last victim’s appointment book — she was clever enough to write it entirely in a double-encrypted numerical code, slowing down the effort to identify her last meeting. It probably also slowed down her efforts to arrive anywhere on time, but simplicity is boring — like a house with no secret passageways.

The show runs through Sunday. Performances are at 7:30 tonight and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $5, $3 for students and seniors, and $10 for families.