If you're looking for a musical with the laurels of Downton Abbey and the morals of a mongoose, look no further! A Gentleman's Guide To Love & Murder-the new comedy of manners (well, bad manners) that has won unanimous raves
Monty Navarro has just received some really great news! He's a long-lost member of a noble family and could become the next Earl of Highhurst. There are only eight minor issues, namely the other relatives who precede him in line for the title. So Monty does what any ambitious, highborn gentleman would do: he sets out to eliminate them one by one, all while juggling his mistress (she's after more than just love), his fiancee (she's his cousin, but who's keeping track?), plus the constant threat of landing behind bars! But it will all be worth it if he can slay his way into Highhurst Castle... and be done in time for tea.
Tony winner Jefferson Mays (I Am My Own Wife, Gore Vidal's The Best Man) gives one of the most gasp-inducing performances ever attempted on the American stage, playing all eight doomed heirs who meet their ends in the most creative and hilarious ways. Mays leads a knockout cast alongside the delightfully debonair Bryce Pinkham (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) as Monty, the scoundrel whose greatest weapon is his charm. Don't miss this unabashedly raucous new show that Charles Isherwood of The New York Times calls "among the most inspired and entertaining new musicals I've seen in years!"
As the Reverend Lord Ezekial D'Ysquith, [Jefferson] Mays is pushed from a church steeple, a bloody scene with Hitchcockian overtones.The murders go on like that, satisfying stand-alone moments that allow Mays to do what he does best: rush backstage, jump into the next costume and play scenes to the hilt. They're delectable schadenfreude. You'll thrill in seeing him bring boundless energy and distinct personalities to his assorted D'Ysquiths of either gender. Pinkham, as well, achieves a tall order, remaining perfectly likable, though his character is committing nefarious acts...If it's escapism you're out for, and you also take pleasure from the suffering of others - after pushing through Times Square to get to a theater during the holidays, you very well may - 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder' has the trappings of a fun, lightweight night out. Like many two-for-one offers, it's a rewarding proposition.
The droll tone and Edwardian setting should lure BBC fans, but this 'Guide' has nothing on 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' - the 1985 caper musical that was successfully revived last year. Problem No. 1 is Freedman and composer Steven Lutvak's score, a collection of innocuous music-hall pastiches. The lyrics can be fun, as in 'I Don't Understand the Poor,' sung by the fox-hunting blowhard Lord Adalbert: 'Though my politics are purely democratical/I find the species, frankly, problematical.'...The pacing is uneven as well...Meanwhile, the charmless Pinkham - much better as the villain in 'Ghost: The Musical' - basically functions as a placeholder during Mays' costume changes.
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