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| Lisa O'Hare pouts in front of Bryce Pinkham |
Yesterday Eddie and I ventured forth into the bitter cold to
see A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.
It was exceptionally fun. Based
ever so mildly on the old Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, it follows
the story of one Montgomery (D’Ysquith) Navarro, as he sets out to reclaim his
name (and possibly fortune) from the family that disowned his mother, who committed the sin of marrying a (gasp of indignation) Castilian.
Bryce Pinkham – so charming in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
and so evil in Ghost (the Musical – don’t ask) plays the charming Monty
Navarro. Stymied at the chance to claim
his family name and make even a modest income, he sets about to claim the
family fortune and Lordship via a murderous route.
In his way stay 8 heirs to the family fortune – all played (for their rather short stage presence) by Jefferson Mays. Mr. Mays manages to change costumes and
personas in the blink of an eye. And
Monty Navarro manages to extinguish them just as quickly. Serial carnage has rarely been so enjoyable to watch.
It is set charmingly within a secondary stage upon the stage, so that the
story and the songs can go on, while the scene is set for the next
“accident”. And yet, the dispatch of
the denizens of D”Ysquith Manor is not the only plot. That might make it a tedious, if humerous adventure.
No, there is a love interest. In fact two love interests. Monty begins his quest in order to claim the affections of Sibella Hallward
– Lisa O’Hare. Sibella has given her hand in marriage to another, but the rest of
her she serves up to Monty regularly.
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| Joanna Glushak, Lauren Worsham, Bryce Pinkham, LIsa O'Hare and Jefferson Mays |
As
he works his way through the D’Ysquith, Monty is entranced by the young and beautiful Phoebe
D’Ysquith (Lauren Worsham - charming). Luckily for Phoebe, she sits even lower on
the inheritance totem pole, he can pursue her romantically rather than plotting
her demise.
The music of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is
catchy and fun, if a bit Music Hall. It
captures the spirit of fun, the setting of the piece without being typical.
The reviews for this are correct, it is a hoot.