Kill and Be Done in Time for Tea
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By Sophia Ricco
sricco@longislandergroup.com
Slaying has never been so slick, when it’s done with song and ends in becoming an aristocrat, as A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder proves, you can always change life’s path.
Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder has smashingly slaughtered on Broadway and is ready to entertain audiences at the John W. Engeman Theater until Saturday, April 28.
The show is set in early 20th century England and tells the story of Monty Navarro, played by Sean Yves Lessard, who learns of his ancestral ties to the Earl of Highhurst and D’Ysquith family at his mother’s funeral. A woman claiming to know his late parents, tells Monty of his mother’s banishment from the D’Ysquith family after choosing to marry a Castilian, in “You’re a D’Ysquith”. Only eight relatives lie between Monty, the title of Earl and the family fortune. He plans a little assassination to get himself there.
“It’s been fascinating, in so many ways I am similar to the character,” Lessard said. “But in the most fundamental of ways, I am not, because I am not a serial killer… It’s funny, because even though he is killing these people, everytime he does, he contemplates, ‘Should I have done this?’ He’s grappling with his conscience the entire time.”
The D’Ysquith family is anything but ordinary. Each member is more comical and hate-able than the next. What’s most impressive, is all eight relatives are played by Danny Gardener, who captures an entire family of personalities. At certain points you wouldn’t believe the same man that played Asquith D’Ysquith Jr., a snooty, rich playboy who unknowingly serenades with Miss Barley and Monty in “Poison in My Pocket”, could become a foolish society lady looking for a charity cause in “Lady Hyacinth Abroad”, within the same act.
“His characters are so specific and different from one another, it makes my job so much easier,” Lessard said. “I treat them as completely different creatures, because he does as well… It’s all different voices, postures, body ticks, inflections and accents, it’s impressive.”
As Monty gets to know members of the D’Ysquith family, he learns the good and bad of his family and society. He proves to be emotionally layered, as he ponders whether to kill his generous employer, Lord Asquith D’Ysquith, Sr. in “The Last One You'd Expect”.
“The way he justifies it is, he’s killing these people, who are all terrible… For every character you take on, you have to be the hero of your own story,” Lessard said. “Every answer to any question has to be, ‘Yes’. So would I have done it? Yes I would have as Monty.”
It’s more than just massacre on Monty’s mind, he has two loves that each dominate his world. His mistress, Sibella Hallward played by Kate Loprest, commands his passion, as evident in “I Don’t Know What I’d Do”. That is until, his distant cousin, Phoebe D’Ysquith played by Katherine McLaughlin, turns his world “Inside Out”.
“The redeeming quality of Monty is he loves unconditionally,” Lessard said. “He loves these two women who are the center of his life, he loves Asquith, and he was unconditionally attached to his mother. This is the genesis of it all, was how terribly his mother was treated by the family.”
A favorite with audiences and Lessard himself, the lively song “I’ve Decided to Marry You”, puts Monty literally in the middle of Sibella and Phoebe, as he maneuvers his way between the two rooms that the women are in. It’s a scene that truly has to be witnessed, as Monty swings back and forth from door to door, all the while harmonizing.
“It’s a lesson in being able and open to love, but also a cautionary tale to not love too many people at once,” Lessard said.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is showing Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 8 p.m., as well as Saturday, 3 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m. Tickets: $73-78. Call 631-261-2900 or visit engemantheater.com to purchase.
