REVIEW: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Olney Theatre Center)
I have always wanted to see Gentleman’s Guide. It won the Best Musical Tony barely a decade ago. Yet, I never seem to see or hear much about it. Could 2014 just have been a weak year, sandwiched between Kinky Boots and Fun Home in the Winners’ Circle? Or is it not that good on the grand scheme of things? Luckily, Olney is here to make a point about it by staging it as their season-closing romp on their main stage.
Book/Music
Montague “Monty” Navarro is a destitute man from Clapham whose mother just passed. In his wallowing, a mysterious stranger arrives to let Monty know his mother was disowned from the absurdly wealthy D'Ysquith family when she wed his father, placing him seventh in the line of succession to be the Earl of Highhearst. Initially, Monty just wishes to use this to get a nicer job to impress his lover Sibella, who is actively leaving him for a wealthier suitor. But when one of the members dies in a freak accident, Monty starts hatching a scheme to eliminate each of the family members in the line of succession. If this sounds awfully familiar, it is also essentially the plot to How to Make a Killing, the 2025 film starring Glen Powell. (They share a source material: 1907's Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman.) But unlike the drab film, GG2LAM is a lot more silly, and enjoyably so. Robert L. Freedman's doily book is full of soft humor that keeps the dialogue awake, stringing together a plot that gets increasingly outlandish as Monty continues to mastermind his familicide. The ending feels sloppy, but it doesn't negate the previous two-and-a-half hours of fun. The music by the late Steven Lutvak is fittingly regal, creating a setlist of operatic patter, with a few ballady hits. The culmination of the piece is best exemplified by its signature tune, "I've Decided to Marry You", with its catchy, multi-character interplay and equally fun staging. 7/10
Acting
Jacob Tischler is a devilish and capable Monty, serving well as the narrative fulcrum but not expounding too much energy to upstage the more flamboyant side characters such as the suave and sultry Sibella (Sumie Yotsukura, who is excellent) and bubbly Phoebe (a delightful Sadie Koopman). All of the anticipation in the piece remains with what a varietous Tom Story will appear as next, as he controls all eight of the D'Ysquiths in Monty's way in hysterical fashion. Each genuinely feel like independent characters, regardless of the characteristic mustache that each one genetically carries despite age and sex. 8/10
Production
Another case of shoddy, AI-generated projections distract from what is otherwise a well-directed staging. The chateauesque environs themselves are nonetheless quaintly scattered, featuring a number of trapdoor peepholes and other visual surprises. Additionally, the costumes by Sarah Cubbage (especially for the D'Ysquiths) are diverse, spreading a layer of detail across everyone's dresses, suits, and visages in fun, frilly ways. 7/10
Viz
I like how zany their visual identity is for this production, featuring prominent wildcards of misfortune on a plain wallpapered backdrop: a saw cutting a circle, some poison, a bee, and of course a top hat. It gives an Agatha Christie-like aura without being too serious. Meanwhile, this could be better translated to the scrim in my opinion, which is merely the title of the show. Keen eyes may look to the wings for some chateau decor, but the art does the heavy lifting still. 7/10
Verdict
Gentleman's Guide is a lovely, chucklesome production that isn't a supreme spectacle but makes up ground using fun staging and warm performances. 29/40
