Who would have thought that a story about a serial killer could be made into a comedy musical on Broadway? Well it happened and my gosh is it hilarious! This brand new musical, by Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman couldn't be more brilliant. It follows the story of an Edwardian serial killer, Monty Navarro, who learns of his late mother's secret aristocratic past as a disinherited member of the wealthy and important D'Ysquith family and that he himself is in fact ninth in line to the Earldom of Highhurst. In a genius move, Jefferson Mays portrays all eight members of the D'ysquith family to perfection. This man is a gift to musical theatre and his Tony nomination for this role was well deserved. His ability to make each and every single character he plays in the show unique and individual must be a major challenge, and yet Mays completely delivers with great comedic timing and skill. Some of his changes are so quick that's it's amazing how he adjusts so well to the character change. Watching him play the pompous Asquith D'Ysquith Jr. to him then portraying the sweet, bee-keeping Henry D'Ysquith, it's hard to get your mind around the fact that they are both actually the same person. All of the characters he plays have one pivotal thing in common - they are all wanted dead by Monty Navarro. I cannot leave out the ridiculously talented Bryce Pinkham with his gorgeous, crystalline tenor vocals, who portrays Monty impressively by making you want to root for his character despite him being a murderer. Now that is a talent worth bragging about. Inevitably, Monty becomes torn between two women, the passionate Sibella (Lisa O'Hare) and the innocent Phoebe (Lauren Worsham). Both of these two women were not on at the performance I saw but I can tell you that the understudies Pamela Bob and Catherine Walker stepped up to these roles and portrayed them fantastically. Now as we all know, murder is incredibly unfunny, so set designer Alexander Dodge cleverly distances it from our reality by having a second stage atop the actual stage where most of the major events occur. The sets beautifully represent the Edwardian era to perfection. One of my favourite scenes features truly incredible staging by Darko Tresnjak. This is the "I've Decided To Marry You Scene" which was performed at the Tony Awards. It's no question to why they chose to perform this number at the Tonys. It is pure genius! In this 'love triangle' scene, Monty is barricaded between two doors with both ladies on either side as he swings back and forth between the two sides. I cannot find the words to describe the brilliance of this scene. The highly suggestive and witty scene "Better With a Man" is also one of my personal favourites. A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder is a truly irresistible show. Anyone who has seen the show would have to agree that there is no doubt to why it went on to win the award for Best Musical at the Tony Awards. __________________________________________________________ Rating: ★★★★★ Comment: I would recommend this show to anyone. It's hilarious and completely wonderful. Have you seen A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder? Do you agree or disagree with any of the points I have made? If so, I'd love to here from you so send me a message! | |
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Hello there, friend!Welcome to my blog. I tend ramble on a bit about theatre, books and Disney. Archives
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