What would you do if you were the heir to a fortune and a life of almost noble status, however, eight other relatives stood between you and the money? If you’re Monty Navarro, you figure out ways to dispose of these obstacles while still appearing to be a perfectly capital young man. That’s the story of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”, a new musical that adapts “Kind Hearts and Coronets”, one of the classic comedies to come out of Britain’s Ealing Studio era.
Tony winner Jefferson Mays, of “I am My Own Wife” fame, is not the calculating gentleman of the title (he’s played by Bryce Pinkham); instead, he’s the entire octet of victims who come to various ends at Monty’s hands. Staged by Darko Tresnjak, “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” features a book by Robert L. Freedman, music by Steven Lutvak and lyrics by the pair. Previews began Oct. 22 at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theater for an opening yesterday, Nov. 17.
Highly promising reviews greeted the show’s tryout last winter at Hartford Stage and San Diego’s Old Globe, including a rave from New York Times scribe Charles Isherwood, which no doubt put the musical on the fast track to Broadway. “The dashing, deadly charmer Monty Navarro,” wrote Isherwood, “is like Sweeney Todd as refashioned by P.G. Wodehouse.”
So were the New York critics gentle to the Gentleman or did they murder it?
Well, Charles Isherwood, again covering the show for the Times, again loved it: “Despite the high body count, this delightful show will lift the hearts of all those who’ve been pining for what sometimes seems a lost art form: musicals that match streams of memorable melody with fizzily witty turns of phrase.” He calls Jefferson Mays “dazzling” and “brilliant” and praises the score “as one of the most accomplished (and probably the most literate) to be heard on Broadway in the past dozen years or so.”
Theatermania’s David Gordon also lauds Mays’ “virtuosic performance.” “To say that watching Jefferson Mays die was the most ridiculously enjoyable experience of the Broadway season so far may seem a tad bit (morbid? insensitive? heartless?), but it's absolutely true,” gushes Gordon, though he adds this caveat: “The only real weak point is [Robert L.] Freedman's book, which feels both choppy and meandering.”
For Talkin’ Broadway, Matthew Murray praises Mays and credits the show for its overall zaniness, but he can’t shake a certain revulsion at Monty’s “essential loathsomeness,” especially since Bryce Pinkham’s stage presence is “frosty and severe.” Murray also has problems with the show’s structure; since most of the D’Ysquiths are bumped off in the first act, “that leaves perilously little fun to be had with the conceit later on.”
NBC New York’s Robert Kahn lauds May’s “boundless energy” and finds Pinkham perfectly likeable, while also praising Lisa O’Hare’s turn as Sibella, the mistress who mucks up Monty’s ministrations. As for the show itself, “The music and lyrics aren’t the most memorable you’ve heard, but they’re engaging,” Kahn allows, and the “lightweight” night at the theater proves “a rewarding proposition.”
Variety’s Marilyn Stasio more than seconds that notion, writing, “the English music hall format is the perfect performance style for this adorably wicked show.” She appreciates both the “withering humor of the lyrics” and the “lethal ditties” of composer Steven Lutvak. Like NBC’s Robert Kahn, she also singles out “sexy-as-hell” Lisa O’Hare for praise.
Thom Geier, of Entertainment Weekly, is equally enchanted, giving the show an “A” rating and deeming it “delightful and uproarious.” “This production's secret weapon,” he adds, “isn't the poison in Monty's pocket but Lutvak's jaunty score, which sounds both fresh and period-perfect with its echoes of Gilbert and Sullivan and classic British music hall. And the lyrics are as gut-bustingly clever as anything in `The Book of Mormon.’”
Daily News scribe Joe Dziemianowicz gives “Murder” ***, saying “the production is a high-gloss beaut” but it’s dragged down a bit by the score, which is “a bit of a bore.” The songs are “consistently cute, [but] at times, the music actually slows down the action.” As with the other critics, Dziemianowicz likes the leads, noting that “Pinkham sings like a dream.”
USA Today critic Elysa Gardner awards the “delightful new musical romp” ***1/2 for its “morbidly hilarious events” and “catchy, clever songs,” not to mention Mays “whose shape-shifting and comedic gifts are on glorious display.”
Newsday’s Linda Winer wishes “Guide” were 90 minutes instead of an hour longer than that, but she adds, “This fact should not dissuade patient theatergoers who want to relish Jefferson Mays in one of those performances that people will be talking about all season.” She also admires Linda Cho’s period costumes and Alexander Dodge’s “inventively childlike set.”
The one boo-hiss in the critical crowd comes from AM New York’s Matt Windman, who gives the “tiresome” show only two stars. He admits the production is “polished,” but burdened with “a thin premise, a sluggish book and unmemorable songs.”
David Rooney, of the Hollywood Reporter, disagrees, noting that the “virtuosic” Mays is “by no means the sole enticement of this toothsome new musical,” which has “a devilish book,” “tuneful songs” and “sumptuous design elements.” With Pinkham as “a terrific musical-comedy leading man,” he burbles, “…this bright little jewel is a legitimate treat.”
