Riverside Combines Music And Comedy In A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

By Linda Gordon Hengerer

It may be January in Vero Beach, Florida, but for a few hours you can travel to a distant time and place and enjoy a romp in 1909 London. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is a musical comedy which fully embraces both music and comedy at Riverside Theatre.

Montague D’Ysquith Navarro finds out about his distinguished family hours after his mother’s funeral. Not just distinguished, but a wealthy and noble family, where he is eighth in line to become the Ninth Earl of Highhurst.

His mother was banished the family in disgrace after falling in love with a penniless musician, and oh, the horror, actually marrying him. Essentially written out of the family history, relatives disavow knowledge of her when Monty asks.

Monty grew up knowing nothing of his noble heritage. After his father’s death when Monty was 7, his mother took in washing to earn money.

A family servant, whose name is familiar to Monty from stories his mother told, surprises Monty with a visit after the funeral and explains his family lineage to him. Together they find letters his mother wrote to her family, all returned to her and secretly kept in a box Monty found while going through her possessions.

Well used to scraping along, Monty knows he cannot marry his lady-love Sybilla Hallward, for she has her eye on a man who has wealth – and a car. Disbelieving Monty’s claim to be a scion of the D’Ysquith family, Sybilla marries her young car owner.

Monty sets out to find the heirs standing between him and the title, tailoring his interests to theirs in order to gain their trust and find a way to expedite his becoming the Ninth Earl of Highhurst. Monty is reluctant to leave his inheritance either to chance or to death from natural causes.

The heirs in line of succession between Monty and the Earldom are a varied bunch, and he is able to do what needs doing to become the Ninth Earl of Highhurst.
All is not smooth sailing in his dogged pursuit of title and wealth, and there are complications as Monty continues an affair with the married Sybilla even as he becomes engaged to Phoebe D’Ysquith, sister to one of the deceased heirs.

Monty’s path includes employment at the family firm, his wages gradually increasing as his uncle Asquith D’Ysquith Senior, head of the firm, takes him under his wing after the death of his son, Asquith D’Ysquith Junior. A son whose untimely death was assisted by Monty, naturally. Shortly after naming Monty as his successor, Asquith Senior dies of a heart attack. Or was it?

Will Monty retain his title and wealth, or is there one complication too many that will deprive him of his (ill-gotten) gains? The answer may surprise you.

The production and cast are top-notch. A small wardrobe malfunction was smoothly covered by Mary Kate Moore and Jake Levy (Sibella and Monty, respectively) as they kept singing. Her wig, caught on a waistcoat button, was freed with a small tug. Thereafter, she pulled her hair forward from the back to cover her shoulder and avoid another mishap.

Jake Levy was a terrific Monty Navarro. Just off the national tour of Wicked, Jake was in fine voice both singing and acting. He’s also appeared in other national and regional musicals (Mark in Rent and Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat).

Mary Kate Moore as Sibella Hallwar, is based in New York City. She was in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods. Classically trained as a singer, she has also starred in a production of Les Misérables as Fantine.

Lauren Maria Medina, Phoebe D’Ysquith, spent her early years performing at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. A recent role as Maria in West Side Story was at the Marriott Theatre, Maine State Music Theatre.

Dan De Luca

Dan De Luca (The D’Ysquith Family) played all eight of the doomed D’Ysquith heirs. Each heir was recognizable as a D’Ysquith through attitude, but their individual mannerisms, speech, dress, and overall appearance kept them separate as characters. He previously played different characters in the same story as Michael/Dorothy in the regional premiere of Tootsie at the Ogunquit Playhouse.

Shawna Hamic was marvelous as part of the company and in Act II as Lady Eugenia. She brought comedy chops to her role. Her small sounds and movements carried to the back of the house and were some of the funniest bits. Many TV credits include Orange is the New Black and The Time Travelers Wife. She originated the role of Mrs. Dees in The Last Ship, the musical written by Sting (yes, the rock star).

The rest of the cast of 15 is too numerous to mention individually, but all have extensive Broadway, TV, national touring, and/or regional theater experience. Their singing was all up to the task, although the music occasionally overpowered the actors’ voices.

Director Hunter Foster, known as an actor in Broadway’s Urinetown,  makes his debut at Riverside Theatre. Recent experience directing musical theatre includes South Pacific (Engemen), Little Shop of Horrors (Ogunquit Playhouse), Rock of Ages (Sharon Playhouse), and Guys and Dolls (Bucks County Playhouse).

Associate Director Rachel Sabo-Hedges is based in New York City, with extensive experience directing, producing, and developing musical theatre throughout the United States. Credits include TINA: The Tina Turner Musical (Assistant Director, 2^nd National Tour), White Christmas (Associate Director, Goodspeed Opera House), A Little Night Music (Associate Director, Ogunquit Playhouse), and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Associate Director, Bucks County Playhouse).

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder ran on Broadway from November 2013 through January 2016. It won four Tony awards in 2014, including Best Musical. Book and Lyrics are by Robert L. Freedman, and Music and Lyrics are by Steven Lutvak. Among many awards and nominations, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder won the 2014 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics.

Music Director Jeffrey Campos led an orchestra of 12 musicians. Reeds, horn, trumpet, violin, viola, cello, bass, and percussion gave weight and heft to the musical, no light and happy flutes or piccolos for this darkly funny musical.
There isn’t a bad seat in the house.

Our seats were center stage in the second row of the balcony and we had just as lovely an experience as we’ve had sitting in the orchestra section. Opening night attendees were treated to passed hors d’oeuvres and an open bar. Drinks are not permitted inside the theater, but bottled water is.

Doors open one hour before showtime. A full bar and indoor seating are available for early arrivals and during intermission. A recently hired Executive Chef has revamped the Grill menu and added an optional fine dining experience before certain shows.

Riverside Theatre’s remaining productions this season include two musicals (Jesus Christ Superstar, and 9 to 5) and two plays (comedic thriller Mauritius and romantic comedy Almost, Maine).

Year-round offerings on Friday and Saturday nights include The Comedy Zone (on the Waxlax Stage) and Live in the Loop (free outdoor concerts), and the Grill and Bar.

Backstage tours, Behind the Scenes classes, and dance classes for adults are available. Youth classes include theater, dance, and music appreciation. An acclaimed children’s theatre has moved from their cramped former quarters onto the Main Stage.
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A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder runs through February 1 at Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach, FL, 32963 (Riverside Park). Matinees Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 2 pm; Evenings Wednesdays-Saturdays 7:30 or 8:00 pm. Running time approximately 120 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. Tickets range from $30 (Student Matinee Balcony) to $85 (Adult Evening Orchestra). Visit riversidetheatre.com or call the theatre box office at 772-231-6990.