CHESTER — Murder. Mayhem. Puppets. These are some of the things to expect from the new madcap musical Ask For the Moon, which recently played at Goodspeed Opera House’s Norma Terris Theater.

Directed by Broadway veteran and Connecticut resident Darko Tresnjak, this musical farce tells the story of Helene Huber (Luba Mason), a recently widowed socialite who finds out that she may not be entitled to the money she thinks she has inherited. She decides to take matters into her own hands and enlist her dead husband’s nurse Charlotte (Ali Ewodlt) to join her on The Jewel of the Sea cruise ship and help her ensure the inheritance doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

They encounter Nazi puppets, evil twins, piranhas, and so much more as hilarity ensues on deck of this ill-fated high seas caper.

The score, written by Oran Eldor, evokes classic musicals such as Anything Goes and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, while sounding fresh and new. The audience finds itself humming many of the tunes well after leaving the theater. Tresjnak has impressively made a relatively small show seem like a big adventure. There is a beautiful use of space and not a wasted moment.

Luba Mason is hilarious and commands the stage as Helene Huber. From her opening number “The Widow’s Lament,” she has the audience in the palm of her hand. She is great fun to watch on stage and her physical comedy makes for some of the most fun moments in the show.

Mason’s partner in crime, literally and figuratively, is Ali Ewodlt as Charlotte St Clair, the family nurse. Ewoldt’s beautiful soprano voice is center stage here, with her character aspiring to be an opera singer. She has so many wonderful moments throughout the show. Ewoldt and Mason evoke the hijinks of Lucy and Ethel in their quest to restore Huber’s inheritance.

Jamison Stern steals the entire show as not one, but four characters. Stern is basically the entire ensemble, although shout out to Dance Captain Alex Dreschke who makes a hilarious cameo toward the end of the show. That cameo aside, every other role is Stern’s. From the minute Stern bursts onto the stage as Lawyer Schroeder Studebaker the audience is grinning ear to ear. Every time he appears in stage as Studebaker, the piano playing twins Misha and Gisha or dresser Persimmon De Vol, he is a joy to watch on stage. The audience can’t wait to see what might be in store.

As mentioned, for such a small show, Tresnjak has done an incredible job making it a big old fashioned musical comedy. He couldn’t do that without Scenic Designer Alexander Dodge. His lavish sets transition beautifully from mansion to cruise piano lounge to state room and back again. The details of each set make the audience feel like they are right there with the characters.

Unfortunately, Ask For The Moon concluded its limited run on Sunday, August 11. Hopefully this show will have a life outside of Goodspeed. If it does, don’t miss out on a first class ticket to board for some high seas fun.