Florida Repertory Theatre announces the opening of the Tony Award-winning best musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, to continue its 22nd season in the Fort Myers River District. Playing Feb. 14 to March 4 in the Historic Arcade Theatre, the run includes four nearly sold-out preview performances Feb. 11-13.
The fresh, funny and irreverent musical comedy follows young Monty Navarro, a low-born Englishman who finds he’s ninth in line to be the next Earl of Highhurst. Upon learning of his place in the line of succession, Monty sets about bumping off the other eight heirs, all while juggling a fiancee and a mistress. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder took Broadway by storm in 2014, snagging ten Tony nominations, and boasts an award-winning musical score and a role for a scene-stealing actor who plays all eight of the doomed heirs.
“This is one of the funniest and most expertly written new musicals, and it is easy to see why it ran away with so many Tony Awards and nominations a few years ago,” said artistic director Greg Longenhagen. “Audiences are in for a treat with an all-star cast, one of our ensemble directors, and a genuinely top-notch creative team, and a live band down in the Arcade Theatre’s orchestra pit. A Gentleman’s Guide is a love-letter to theatre and a rollicking comedy that will have audiences in stitches. I’ll see you at the theatre!”
A Gentleman’s Guide To Love & Murder features an all-star cast of musical theatre talent fresh from New York City – most making their Florida Rep debuts. David Darrow stars as Monty Navarro after a recent appearance in Sweeny Todd at the Asolo in Sarasota. Marcus Stevens takes on the roles of all of the doomed heirs after a long tenure in the Off-Broadway sensation, Forbidden Broadway, and extensive regional career. Gail Bennett and Alex May appear as Monty’s mistress and fiancee, respectively. Bennett appears as Sibella after her run in Broadway’s Anastasia, and May returns to Florida Rep’s stage after appearing in A Grand Night for Singing in 2016.
The cast also includes a six-person ensemble who play multiple roles throughout the play as Monty’s story unfolds across 1905 London. The ensemble features Jan Neuberger, Kylie Gray Mask, Chrissy Albanese, Jon Cooper, Samuel Floyd and Thomas Hadzeriga.
Jan Neuberger is a New York and regional veteran whose Broadway appearances include the original companies of Wicked, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Big and the first revival of Gypsy in 1974. Chrissy Albanese is reprising her role after appearing in the show at Sarasota’s Florida Studio Theatre last spring. Jon Cooper appears after recent work with Trinity Rep, Theatre Aspen and Ogunquit Playhouse, and Floyd comes to Florida Rep from an extensive regional career, including multiple appearances with Barter Theatre in Virginia. Kylie Gray Mask and Thomas Hadzeriga make their Arcade Theatre debuts in this production. They are both current Florida Rep acting interns on tour across Southwest Florida in the theatre’s offerings for young audiences, Junie B. Jones and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Florida Rep ensemble member and associate artistic director Jason Parrish directs A Gentleman’s Guide To Love & Murder and leads a creative team, including set designer David Arsenault (Florida Rep debut), costume designer Charlene Gross (Alabaster), lighting designer Tyler M. Perry (Cabaret”, projections designer Rob Siler (Damascus), sound designer Katie Lowe (Alabaster) and ensemble stage manager Janine Wochna (A Fox on the Fairway).
Tickets start at $55 for regular performances and $35 for previews. Tickets are available online at www.FloridaRep.org and through the box office at 239-332-4488.
Subscriptions are also on sale now and offer the best seats at the most significant discount. Subscriptions are available through the box office at 877-787-8053.
Performances are Tuesday-Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 p.m. There are no performances on Feb. 15 to accommodate the Edison Festival of Light Parade, but look for Florida Rep’s float in the parade. Again this season, Florida Rep’s parking lot will open 2 hours before each performance and offers guests free parking across the street from the Arcade Theatre.
