How far would you go to get ahead in the world as well as get the object of your desire?

Co-directed drolly by Zoe Bradford and Sally Ashton Forrest with jolly musical direction by Robert McDonough, The Company Theatre takes a satirical look at the haves, the have nots, and the ones desperate to rise above their station in Robert L. Freedman’s musical comedy A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder continuing live and in person at the Company Theatre in Norwell, MA through Saturday, March 30.  This zany production is a lengthy 2 hours and 20 minutes including one intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

Ryan Barrow’s partially projected set with Dean Palmer Jr. is quite literally a vintage gold and marble stage within a stage boasting some elaborate backdrops with a portion of it used to set up some dark comedy including a towering chapel, royal mail, a floral garden adorned with English lavender, a positively pink aristocratic parlor, an aesthetically animated snow-covered ski resort and a dour grave site. Ostentatious and detailed rich velvet dresses, top hats, corsets, high boots, and lacy frills are just part of what Joe Michienzie costumes with specialty costume pieces by Kathryn Ridder use to authenticate the propriety of Edwardian England.

The show opens with a juicy Warning to the Audience of more elaborate treachery and danger than the actual musical delivers.  Leaning far more on humor and murder and less on mystery, what starts as a surprising discovery becomes a plot so thick and absurd that even a gentleman can not quite believe it.  Down on his luck Monty suddenly discovers he just might be eighth in line in the revered D’Ysquith (emphasis on the DIE with a rat a tat ring to each family name) family to become the Earl of Highhurst Castle shortly after his mother’s death.  Bonnie Gardner as kindly and direct Miss Shingle is the bearer of this questionably reliable news in You’re a D’Ysquith.   Becoming an Earl would mean a massive fortune and a sterling reputation.  How does a gentleman consider murder to win the object of his desires and become an Earl?

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder has a lively and engaging cast especially during a bit of humorous shuffling at Highhurst Castle and a comically grim scene for Why are all the D’Ysquiths Dying? This brand of refined humor right out of the BBC is tailor made for Anglophiles and though it is about love and murder, its satirical tone makes for a gallivant into the misdeeds of one Monty Navarro, depicted with a polished air and a hint of desperation by Justin Maloney.  Maloney as Monty is a proper chap and is part narrator as he guides us through this fiendish journey, but he is more matter of fact than dangerous and it would benefit him to exhibit at least some hidden dastardly tendencies.  Perhaps this is part of the absurdity of it all.  Monty’s character is exemplified in a championing rendition of The Last One You’d Expect.

 Dru Daniels, who dazzled as Lily in Company Theatre’s The Secret Garden, lends her wonderful vocals to depict Sibella Halliward, a status-hungry gold digger and the object of Monty’s desire.  Prim and proper surrounded by extravagance, Sibella is a woman who knows what she wants but otherwise her feelings for Monty seem genuine.  The numbers I’ve Decided to Marry You and That Horrible Woman alongside Stephanie Mann as Cousin Phoebe D’Ysquith boasts clever staging and one of the most exciting parts of the production. 

Jason Denton meets the challenge of depicting a number of short lived characters where some work better than others, but the two characters that stood out was a buck toothed, architecture-obsessed Reverend Lord Ezekiel D’ Ysquith,  and thick mustached fox hunter called Lord Adalbert D’Ysquith.  With lively and dusty portraits in the background, Denton’s I Don’t Understand the Poor is heightened by Denton’s humorous delivery and madcap charm.  Also Denton as Lord Adalbert D’Ysquith and Alyssa Norton as his Lady Eugenie’s passive aggressive banter is comic gold. 

Co-directed drolly by Zoe Bradford and Sally Ashton Forrest with jolly musical direction by Robert McDonough, The Company Theatre takes a satirical look at the haves, the have nots, and the ones desperate to rise above their station in Robert L. Freedman’s musical comedy A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder continuing live and in person at the Company Theatre in Norwell, MA through Saturday, March 30.  This zany production is a lengthy 2 hours and 20 minutes including one intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.