A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
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Cititour.com Review
Should we really be laughing while eight – count ‘em eight – English aristocrats meet their grisly ends? Well, when they’re played to perfection, even for just a few minutes each, by Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays, it’s absolutely all right. Then again, Steven Lutvak and Robert Freedman, the co-creators of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, don’t really want us to take anything in this highly diverting new Broadway musical too seriously.
Indeed, everything about Darko Tresnjak’s clever, gorgeously costumed production – reminiscent at times of last season’s revival of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” – is designed to make us revel in the dastardly doings of the charming, cunning, and cutthroat Monty Navarro (the slyly seductive Bryce Pinkham).
Sure, Monty’s got a right to have a chip on his shoulder after he learns that the haughty D’Ysquith clan disowned his mother and left her practically penniless. And you can’t really blame him for wanting to become the Earl of Highhurst. Still, he really doesn’t know when to say when. And while it’s clear from the show’s start that he may be executed for his many murders,¬ I’m not sure the audience is all that invested in the outcome.
On the other hand, his death would certainly upset the two main women in his life – his wife (and cousin) Phoebe (the delicious Lauren Worsham) and his married lover, Sibella (the absolutely sensational Lisa O’Hare), as well as Miss Shingle (the divine Jane Carr), the D’Ysquith servant who has put the whole plot in motion.
Over the years, Lutvak has proven himself a first-rate songwriter in the world of cabaret, but his work here is less memorable than I’d hoped. There are a couple of very fine comic numbers, including the double-entendre-filled duet “Better With a Man.” But I expected some more beautiful ballads, especially given the glorious voices of O’Hare and Worsham. And for all of Mays’ brilliant acting talent, he’s not much of a vocalist and has a bit too much to sing here.
Still, if you want two-and-half-hours of mayhem and merriment, guide yourself over to the Walter Kerr Theatre. The only danger you’ll be in for is having too good a time.
[Photo (top) by Joan Marcus ]
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.agentlemansguidebroadway.com
Cast
Jefferson Mays, Lisa O'Hare, Bryce Pinkham, Lauren Worsham, Eddie Korbich, Joanna Glushak, Don Stephenson, Jeff Kready, Jane Carr, Pamela Bob, Mark Ledbetter, Jennifer Smith, Price Waldman, Catherine Walker
Open/Close Dates
Opening 11/17/2013
Closing 1/17/2016
Preview Open/ Preview Close Dates
Preview Opening 10/22/2013
Closing Open-ended
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Walter Kerr Theatre
219 West 48th Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
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