{"id":7145,"date":"2018-10-30T15:51:18","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T05:51:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/?p=7145"},"modified":"2018-10-30T20:01:21","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T10:01:21","slug":"a-gentlemans-guide-to-love-and-murder-acm-theatre-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/a-gentlemans-guide-to-love-and-murder-acm-theatre-review\/","title":{"rendered":"A Gentleman&#8217;s Guide to Love and Murder (ACM) &#8211; theatre review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What a delight! Time just zipped by in\u00a0<em>A Gentleman&#8217;s Guide to Love and Murder<\/em>. This cleverly conceived and executed comedy is making its Australian debut.<\/p>\n<p>With book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak<i>, A Gentleman\u2019s Guide to Love and Murder<\/i> opened on Broadway in November 2013, going on to win four Tony Awards the following year. They included Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Direction.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7147\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/GGLM-01.jpg?resize=560%2C373\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/GGLM-01.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/GGLM-01.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/GGLM-01.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><br \/>\nThe setting is a penitentiary in 1909. Lord Montague &#8220;Monty&#8221; D&#8217;Ysquith Navarro, Ninth Earl of Highhurst (Chris Ryan), is writing his memoirs on the eve of his (possible) execution. He maintains it&#8217;s the truth and nothing but the truth about what happened to him &#8211; a story that could be called \u201cA Gentleman\u2019s Guide to Love and Murder\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Cut to 1907 when Monty arrives home to a shabby flat, having just buried his mother. She had washed clothes to eke out a living. A mysterious woman, Miss Marietta Shingle (Nancye Hayes), arrives, She maintains she was his mother\u2019s good friend. She reveals to a gobsmacked Monty that his mum was in fact a member of the aristocratic D\u2019Ysquith family, but that she was cut off when she eloped with a Spanish musician (who has also passed away).<\/p>\n<p>Miss Shingle says while Monty\u2019s mother wanted to spare her son any shame, he is \u2013 in fact \u2013 ninth in line to become the Earl of Highhurst. Not surprisingly, Monty writes to the family and is rebuffed. But he persists \u2026 and soon enough he comes face to face with a number of the D\u2019Ysquiths.<\/p>\n<p>As the title suggests, Monty hatches a plan to knock off the eight D\u2019Ysquiths ahead of him in the pecking order. And before you know it, he&#8217;s doing just that, in hilarious fashion. At the same time, he has his eye on two ladies. One \u2013 Sibella Hallward (Alinta Chidzey) \u2013 ditched him earlier to marry a man of higher social standing, but she and Monty are still on more than speaking terms. The other, Phoebe D\u2019Ysquith (Genevieve Kingsford), is the wife of a distant cousin.<\/p>\n<p>Hijinks and mayhem abound in this uproarious piece, with no shortage of laugh-out-loud material. Some of the musical numbers and verbal interchanges are delightful.<\/p>\n<p>Mitchell Butel is magnificent; playing no less than eight roles as various D\u2019Ysquiths \u2013 both men and women \u2013 about to meet their maker. What a treat! He has a wow of a time. With a glint in his eye, Chris Ryan has a grand time of it too, as his character literally gets away with murder in the most ridiculous circumstances.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7148\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/GGLM-02.jpg?resize=560%2C373\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/GGLM-02.jpg?w=560&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/GGLM-02.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/GGLM-02.jpg?resize=272%2C182&amp;ssl=1 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><br \/>\nUsing video technology, the staging captures a Victorian* theatre atmosphere (the set designer is Christina Smith). Dana Jolly\u2019s choreography and Isaac Lummis\u2019 costumes are both wonderful. To give you some idea, Mitchell Butel has more than 16 costume, wig and makeup changes (a number in under 30 seconds), plus a dedicated backstage team to help him with his lightning transformations.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s not to overlook Kellie Dickerson&#8217;s musical direction, and the incomparable direction of The Production Company\u2019s founding director Roger Hodgman.<\/p>\n<p>The 11-strong cast do a wonderful job bringing the tall tale to life. I loved every moment of <i>A Gentleman\u2019s Guide to Love and Murder,<\/i> which is on at The Playhouse at Arts Centre Melbourne until 18 November 2018.<\/p>\n<h6>*The historical era, not the state<\/h6>\n<h4>Alex First<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What a delight! Time just zipped by in\u00a0A Gentleman&#8217;s Guide to Love and Murder. This cleverly conceived and executed comedy is making its Australian debut. With book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak, A Gentleman\u2019s Guide to Love and Murder opened on Broadway in November 2013, going on&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[801],"tags":[726,37,124,9,951,38,590],"class_list":["post-7145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theatre","tag-arts-centre-melbourne","tag-melbourne","tag-musical","tag-play","tag-the-production-company","tag-theatre","tag-theatre-review"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Gentleman&#039;s Guide to Love and Murder (ACM) - theatre review -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/a-gentlemans-guide-to-love-and-murder-acm-theatre-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Gentleman&#039;s Guide to Love and Murder (ACM) - theatre review -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What a delight! Time just zipped by in\u00a0A Gentleman&#8217;s Guide to Love and Murder. This cleverly conceived and executed comedy is making its Australian debut. With book and lyrics by Robert L. 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musical theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"August 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the cleverest and funniest pieces of musical theatre I have had the good fortune to see, Murder for Two is a triumph of writing, performance and direction. It is an outrageous murder mystery, a comedic whodunit, with two actors filling 13 roles \u2026 and 12 those going to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rsz_2murderfortwo_artscentremelb_credit_markgambino_acm_mu1.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rsz_2murderfortwo_artscentremelb_credit_markgambino_acm_mu1.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rsz_2murderfortwo_artscentremelb_credit_markgambino_acm_mu1.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/rsz_2murderfortwo_artscentremelb_credit_markgambino_acm_mu1.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9592,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/lazarus-the-production-company-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":7145,"position":1},"title":"Lazarus (The Production Company) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"May 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"An inspired production involving top talent, slick staging and creative costumes, David Bowie\u2019s fantasy Lazarus \u2013 his final project before his death in 2016 \u2013 is a revelation. Entering the Playhouse at Arts Centre Melbourne, I had no idea what to expect. Sure, I admired Bowie\u2019s musical prowess, but I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Lazarus-03.jpg?fit=899%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Lazarus-03.jpg?fit=899%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Lazarus-03.jpg?fit=899%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Lazarus-03.jpg?fit=899%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":160651,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street-arts-centre-melbourne-musical-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":7145,"position":2},"title":"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Arts Centre Melbourne) &#8211; musical theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"September 15, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The cutthroat razor is sharpened and ready for the kill in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Forty-five years on, the musical thriller set in 19th century England retains its bite. It is a tale of murder, vengeance, cannibalism and entrepreneurial spirit. Benjamin Barker has been framed and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/rsz_charlie-kinross-lr-9999.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/rsz_charlie-kinross-lr-9999.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/rsz_charlie-kinross-lr-9999.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/rsz_charlie-kinross-lr-9999.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":771,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/httptheblurb-com-aureviewscurtains-the-production-company-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":7145,"position":3},"title":"Curtains (The Production Company) &#8211; theatre review","author":"David Edwards","date":"May 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A whodunit-murder-musical - an unlikely combination I grant you - Curtains is the Australian premiere of a show written by Broadway legends John Kander and Fred Ebb (creators of Cabaret and Chicago). A parody of backstage homicide mystery plots, Curtains \u2013 based upon the original book and concept by Peter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"murder\"","block_context":{"text":"murder","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/tag\/murder\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Curtains-01","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Curtains-01-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Curtains-01-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Curtains-01-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":140652,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/happy-end-arts-centre-melbourne-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":7145,"position":4},"title":"Happy End (Arts Centre Melbourne) &#8211; theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"March 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Slapstick humour characterises a little staged and decidedly different style of saints and sinners musical.\u00a0Victorian Opera\u2019s Happy End is set in America in 1919.\u00a0The storyline sees the Salvation Army come face to face with gangsters.\u00a0The hoodlums gather in Bill\u2019s Beerhall, named after the man who strikes fear into others\u2019 hearts.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Theatre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Theatre","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/theatre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rsz_victorian_opera_happy_end_photo_jeff_busby_1022.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rsz_victorian_opera_happy_end_photo_jeff_busby_1022.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rsz_victorian_opera_happy_end_photo_jeff_busby_1022.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/rsz_victorian_opera_happy_end_photo_jeff_busby_1022.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":154252,"url":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/rent-arts-centre-melbourne-musical-theatre-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":7145,"position":5},"title":"Rent (Arts Centre Melbourne) &#8211; musical theatre review","author":"Alex First","date":"February 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A rich array of talent is on display, as love and loss take centre stage in Jonathan Larson\u2019s passion filled musical Rent.\u00a0Based on Puccini's opera La boheme, written in 1895 it tells the story of a year in the life of Bohemian friends living in New York City in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/rsz_noah_mullins_and_cast_of_rent_photo_piajohnsonphotography.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/rsz_noah_mullins_and_cast_of_rent_photo_piajohnsonphotography.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/rsz_noah_mullins_and_cast_of_rent_photo_piajohnsonphotography.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/rsz_noah_mullins_and_cast_of_rent_photo_piajohnsonphotography.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theblurb.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}