A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder
November 7, 2018 - January 13, 2019 | Gompertz Theatre
A distant heir to a family fortune sets out to speed up the line of succession by using a great deal of charm…and a dash of murder. This Broadway hit is filled with unforgettable music, nonstop comedy, and a scene-stealing role for one actor who plays all eight of the doomed heirs. Can Monty Navarro, juggle his fiancé and his mistress, knock off all eight of the heirs without being caught, and become the ninth Earl of Highhurst? See this knock ‘em dead TONY AWARD WINNER FOR BEST MUSICAL to find the answers.
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder with book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman with music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak. Run Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes with a 15 minute intermission.
To view a large print version of our playbill, click here.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder contains stage deaths played for comedic effect. It is suitable for adults and children ages 10 and up.
CREATIVE
Director | Jason Cannon
Music Director | Darren Server
Choreographer | Savannah Holds
Scenic Designer | Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay
Lighting Designer | Thom Beaulieu
Costume Coordinator | In House
Sound Designer | Thom Korp
CAST
Monty Navarro | Jimmy Nicholas*
Sibella Hallward | Sarah Ellis*
Phoebe D'Ysquith | Alexandra Zorn*
The Family | Richard Henry*
Woman #1/Miss Shingle | Mimi Bessette*
Woman #2/ Sibella Understudy | Taylor Galvin
Woman #3/ Phoebe Understudy | Chrissy Albanese
Man #1/ Monty Understudy | Levin Valayil*
Man #2 | David Purdy*
Man #3/ Family Understudy | James LaRosa*
BAND
Reeds | Alexander W. Ravitz
Keyboard | Darren Server
Violin | Amber Svetik
CHRISSY ALBANESE (Women #3) was last seen at Joe's Pub in Farmed: A Live Podcast Album. Favorite roles include Caroline Bingly in Austen's Pride and Eliza in My Fair Lady. Theaters include Maine State Music Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Fingerlakes Musical Theatre Festival, Westport Country Playhouse, and Surflight Theatre. NYU/Tisch chrissyalbanese.com
TAYLOR GALVIN (Women #2) is thrilled to be in Sarasota for the first time to work on this hysterical show! She most recently appeared as Sister Mary Robert in Sister Act, Vera in And Then There Were None and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. National tour: The Marvelous Wonderettes. Select regional: Much Ado About Nothing (Beatrice), Spamalot (Lady of the Lake), Shrek (Fiona), Parade (Ms. Phagan us), Sweeney Todd (Johanna). @tngalvin / www.taylorgalvin.com
RICHARD HENRY (The D'Ysquith Family) Off Broadway: Fiorello (Encores), Two Gentlemen of Verona the Musical (Public,NY) Regional: Assassins (Yale Rep), Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame (La Jolla, Papermill), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Folger Shakespeare), The Music Man (Guthrie), Two Gentlemen of Verona (Old Globe), Twelfth Night (Pig Iron), Guys and Dolls (Milwaukee Rep), 1776 (Connecticut Rep), Oliver (Goodspeed Opera House), National Tours: Man of La Mancha, Jesus Christ Superstar, Urinetown and Sweet Charity. Television: Search Party, season two. www.richardhenrynyc.com
JAMES LAROSA (Man #3) FST: Next To Normal (Henry) and Altar Boyz (Abraham). Select theatre: Leo Bloom in The Producers (American Stage), Stewpot in South Pacific (Triad Stage), Gus in Saturday Night Fever (NSMT), Mark Cohen in Rent (BRT), Malone in Mr. Confidential (Signature Center), and his award winning portrayal of Abraham in Altar Boyz (Zach Scott). TV: NBC's Saturday Night Live, ABC's WWYD?, A&E's Fugitive Chronicles. VO: Rockstar Games, MTV, Nickelodeon, TRW. AEA proud and graduate of NYU Tisch and the High School for Performing Arts. TheJamesLaRosa.com
JIMMY NICHOLAS (Monty Navarro) Recent credits- Broadway: The Book of Mormon (Elder Price standby). Off-Broadway-Original Cast: Kragtar: An American Monster Musical (Speaker of the House, Jebediah), Gertrude Stein Saints (Co-Writer, Winner of Overall Excellence at FringeNYC). TV: The Good Wife, The Break with Michelle Wolf, Instinct, Madam Secretary, The Chair. Film: Fathers and Daughters, Gorenos, Not Cool. Upcoming TV: Next Great Hire. Instagram: @Jimmynicks. Podcast: Everything but the Kitchen Sink.
DAVID SCOTT PURDY (Man #2) NYC: A Christmas Story (Madison Square Garden); It's a bird... It's a plane... It's Superman (Encores!), Brigadoon (NY City Center Gala presentation), On Your Toes (Encores!), Zorba (Encores!), Regional: Anything Goes, Little Mermaid (North Shore Music Theater), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Foreigner (Beef and Boards Dinner Theater) National Tour: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder; The Producers. TV: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Law & Order: SVU. www.DavidScottPurdy.com
LEVIN VALAYIL (Man #1) is thrilled to be back at Florida Studio Theater, where he previously played Baba Mati Singh in The Fabulous Lipitones. Levin has also been previously been seen as Dharun Ravi in the new musical Poster Boy at Williamstown Theater Festival and at the Public Theater. Levin has also played Lottery in Monsoon Wedding at Berkeley Repertory Theater and most recently played Mowgli at Asolo Repertory Theater. He is making his film debut in the indie film Thoughtless this fall.
ALEXANDRA ZORN (Phoebe D'Ysquith) New York/1st National Tours: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Far From the Madding Crowd. Regional Highlights: Roman Holiday (The Guthrie), Oklahoma! (The 5th Avenue), Les Misérables, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls. Numerous NY workshops. TV/Film: NBC's The Blacklist, Oxygen's Abuse of Power. Ms. Zorn is a proud member of Actors Equity Association.
DARREN SERVER (Music Director, Keyboard 1) is proud to be back at FST for his fourth season.This season’s credits include Music Director for Unchained Melodies. Last season, he was the Musical Director for Once, Mack the Knife, Blue Suede Shoes and Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits. Also last season, at the Asolo Acting Conservatory, he was the Musical Director for Oedipus. Darren is also the resident MD at Totem Pole Playhouse in Fayettville, PA. Interesting fact: Darren’s grandfather is “Curly” Howard of The Three Stooges and his greatuncles are Moe and Shemp Howard. This has always been a source of pride and inspiration for him.
THOM BEAULIEU (Lighting Designer) is an award-winning lighting and sound designer. His work has been experienced throughout the eastern US including Unchained Melodies, Always Patsy Cline, Honor Killing, Once, Blue Suede Shoes, Mack the Knife: The Bobby Darin Songbook, Native Gardens, and Burt & Me (Florida Studio Theatre); The Waltz, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, Carrie: the Musical, and The Lord of the Flies (The Winnipesaukee Playhouse); A Chorus Line, Floyd Collins, Sweet Charity, and Singin’in the Rain (Aurora Theatre). He holds a BFA in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, and a MS in Physics.
JASON CANNON (Director) is an Associate Artist at FST, where his responsibilities include directing, teaching, New Play Development, and the Acting Apprentice Program. Shows directed at FST include: Snow White, Peter Pan, Other People’s Money, The Boy Who Liked Pulling Hair, Constellations, How to Use a Knife, Once, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Robin Hood, Doublewide, Burt & Me, The Dragon vs. the Hiccups, Gidion’s Knot, Stalking the Bogeyman, Million Dollar Quartet, The Velveteen Rabbit, Relativity, My Name is Asher Lev, and Butler (which earned Best Director nominations from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Creative Loafing). His performance as “Ever Montgomery” in Dancing Lessons garnered “Best Actor of 2015” awards from both Sarasota Magazine and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is a seven-time Kevin Kline Award nominee (and one-time winner for Outstanding Leading Actor). He appears regularly with FST Improv. Proud member SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA. jasoncannon.biz
ISABEL & MORIAH CURLY-CLAY (Scenic Designers) is are award-winning scenic designers whose theatrical work can be seen on regional stages across the U.S. Recent credits include: The Magic Negro and other Blackity Blackness as told by an African American Man who also happens to be Black (Alliance Theatre); Lumberjacks in Love (Penobscott Theatre); Constellations (Horizon Theatre); Exit Strategy (Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre). Past designs at FST include Other People’s Money; Honor Killing; Native Gardens; Doublewide; Rich Girl; Clever Little Lies; The God of Isaac; The Fabulous Lipitones; Alabama Story; Outside Mullingar; Butler; Taking Shakespeare; Chapatti; Inspired Lunacy; Dancing Lessons; Hairspray; and One Man, Two Guvnors. Isabel and Moriah’s designs were recently featured in American Theater Magazine’s Roll Call, 7 Theatrical People To Watch, and are both members of USA 829.
SAVANNAH HOLDS (Choreographer) is thrilled to be returning to FST to work on their 2018/2019 season. She previously choreographed Unchained Melodies and Reel Music and was the Movement Director for Once. Some of her other choreography credits include Working, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Cabaret. Savannah also teaches dance and is a local photographer. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music.
THOM KORP (Sound Designer) former FST intern,Thom is excited to be in his second season as staff. Previous projection work includes Grounded and The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey. Sound design credits include: Unchained Melodies, Other People’s Money, Honor Killing, Native Gardens, How to Use a Knife, Once, The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, The Columnist, Talley’s Folley, A Chorus Line, Spamalot, and The West Side Waltz. Mixing Credits: Next to Normal, Das Barbecü, Smokey Joe’s Café, The World Goes Round, Tango: Buenos Aires, We Will Rock You. Sound engineer with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2014 – 2016.
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Joyce Ward, Wig Master
ARTICLES BY FST
A Theatre Goer's Guide to Love and Murder by Micheal Nichols | READ
How to Obtain a Title (Without Killing Anyone) by Michael Nichols | READ
A Gentleman's Guide to Multicasting by Ben Southerland | READ
Knives and Niceties, Poise and Poison by Michael Nichols | READ
Meet the Woman in the Pink Dress: An Interview with Sibella (Sarah Ellis) | READ
The Man Behind the Murder: An Interview with Jimmy Nicholas I READ
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
Watch the Broadway cast of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder perform at the 2014 Tony Awards | WATCH
Meet the eight D’Ysquith family members that one actor has the challenge to portray in A Gentleman’s Guide | WATCH
Find out what Charles Isherwood of The New York Times thinks of Lutvak and Freedman's first project to be on Broadway | READ
Find out more about FST's production in the Fall Quarterly Newsletter | READ
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