A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder emphasizes “love” at the Laguna Playhouse
By MARRIE STONE
When Monty Navarro discovers he’s ninth in line to inherit a dukedom, he needs to get creative about eliminating the eight relatives who stand in his way. Welcome to Edwardian England, where the bodies pile up in the funniest possible ways. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder opens this weekend on the Laguna Playhouse stage. The 2014 Tony-award winning musical comedy is based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman.
Director Noelle Marion saw the show on Broadway over a decade ago and immediately knew it was a musical she wanted to work on someday. “It’s so clever and smart,” Marion said. “And it pays homage to the British Music Hall style with the operetta-style music, yet its thematic material is still so relevant today.”
Click on photo for a larger image
Photos by Jason Niedle/TETHOS
The full company starring in the Laguna Playhouse production of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” through October 5
“With theater, there’s an element of escapism and also an element of holding up a mirror, making the audience feel something,” said Marion. “In this, I think it’s both. First of all, it’s hilarious. If you simply want to laugh, you’ll get that. Laughter is so important – everybody needs to laugh right now – but there’s also a lot of commentary on class and wealth, but in a very light way.”
For leading actor Andrew Polec, who plays Monty Navarro, the part was his white whale. He auditioned for Monty’s understudy on Broadway over a decade ago. “I was coming out of grad school and was very green. I totally botched the audition,” he said. “I walked out and made a vow to myself that this show would be on my bucket list.”
Fortunately for Polec, unlike Monty, he was first in line. He’s married to Marion. The two met while working on a production of Hair in 2023. “She still made me audition for the part,” he said. “She wasn’t going to give me any special privileges.”
Click on photo for a larger image
(L-R) Lauren Weinberg, Andrew Polec and Katy Tang star in the Laguna Playhouse production of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” through October 5
While not every leading man has that level of chemistry with his director, it’s also not every production that features a cast member married to the man who wrote the show. Jeanne Kauffman, who plays Miss Shingle, is married to Robert Freedman, who won a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Book of a Musical for the show in 2014.
“Robert has given us so many insights into how he related to the story and what it was like to create the show,” said Polec. “It’s been a very hands-on and personable experience, which is unusual. This show has been around for 10 years. How lucky are we that we get to interact with the writer?”
Click open story button to continue reading…
Polec said it’s not uncommon for Freedman to attend their performances and offer them real-time feedback. “I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been able to work with the person who actually wrote the show.”
That’s not all. Cast members Andrew Hey (who plays Tom Copley) and Shinah Hey (who plays Miss Barley and Lady Eugenia) are also married.
“Having three couples in this production…I don’t think I’ve run into that before,” Polec said. “This show has a lot more love than murder.”
Click on photo for a larger image
Katy Tang and Andrew Polec
It also demands a lot of skill. Polec’s role as Monty requires a long succession of tongue-twisters, all delivered in Edwardian English. “I basically have to eat a dictionary every day and then regurgitate it throughout the show with quick, almost patter, rap-like songs that tell a lot of the plot of the story and also make the multiple murders that happen throughout the musical enjoyable.”
Bringing a Broadway production to a smaller and more intimate setting also means a reduction in cast size. What was a cast of 12 on Broadway is reduced to eight in Laguna, requiring a doubling up on roles and quick costume changes. But the Playhouse stage is a dream for Marion.
“This space is somehow grand and intimate simultaneously, which is wonderful,” Marion said. “You can get those heightened moments, but you can also see the subtlety in scene work. It’s a really gorgeous space.”
“I will really miss this production when it’s finished,” Polec said. “I was thrilled we got to take this production to the Laguna Playhouse.”
Have any new relationships popped up amongst the remaining four cast members since the show began? “I’m not aware of any,” Polec said. “But the week is young.”
Click on photo for a larger image
Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper (center) with the Company
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder runs through Sunday, Oct. 5. Tickets range from $56-$121. There will be a post-show talkback following the Friday, Sept. 26 performance. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit their website by clicking here.
Laguna Playhouse is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach.
