A “murderously” good time occurred on the evenings of Nov. 13-15, when audiences gathered in Town Hall Theater (THT) to see Middlebury College Musical Theater’s (MCMT) performance of the Tony Award-winning musical “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”
The show follows the story of the Monty Navarro (Graeme Evans ’28) who gradually murders the eight people that stand between him and his inheritance as a distant relative of the aristocratic D’Ysquith family. Directed by former club president Jonathan Mount ’25.5 and stage-managed by co-president Lucy Curtis-Cherry ’26.5, the show marks the longest run time of an MCMT shows thus far, with a two hour and 45 minute duration.
The story begins with Monty writing his memoir in a jail cell, standing trial for murder. He tells the audience his backstory, tracing back all the way to his mother’s funeral, where her old acquaintance Miss Shingle (Truett Ramsey ’25.5) revealed that Monty's mother is a disowned member of the D’Ysquiths. This information changes his life; as Monty recollects the poverty and struggles he grew up in, he realizes he’s ninth in line for an earldom in the D’Ysquith family.
Monty tells his lover Sibella (Patrice Cahill ’25.5) of the news. Yet, hailing from a high-ranking family herself and hoping to marry a rich man, she is unimpressed, remarking that eight people would need to die for Monty to become earl. Filled with the desire to win Sibella’s heart, rise high in the social rankings and avenge his mother, Monty plots the murder of the eight D’Ysquiths ahead of him in the lineage.
“I think Monty started off the show like this little kid,” Evans said. “He doesn’t know what’s going on, he’s lost, shy, polite and still charming but he’s just lost his mother and is going through turmoil in his life. He doesn’t want to be stuck in the same position he’s always been in, yet even as he grows he never shakes off the imposter feeling he has. Each scene is mixing all these elements: he’s charming, shy, insecure, and a little off his rocker.”
Throughout the show, Monty uses his charm to approach and inconspicuously murder his family members. A D’Ysquith is captured by a cult overseas, another falls under ice while iceskating, a third is attacked by a swarm of bees and yet another has a fatal weightlifting “accident.”
Remarkably, all of the D’Ysquiths are played by one actor, Quinn Donaldson ’26.5, making the show technically difficult to put together. Donaldson was required to play eight distinct characters, some of which include an eccentric priest, a gay beekeeper and a pretentious benefactress. At times his costume changes occurred in a matter of seconds, giving him minimal time to adapt to the demands of a new role. This aspect of the play contributed to the hilarity of the viewing experience, contrasting nicely with the show’s darker premise.
Monty’s character also presented technical challenges. Since he is both narrating these stories and reliving them, he almost never leaves the stage.
“It is musically and technically one of the harder roles I’ve had to play in my life,” Evans said. “[Monty] switches from writing in his memoir to interacting with the characters on stage. The audience is also a character he can interact with. The role was vocally taxing. I had a water bottle on stage and kept drinking from it to hydrate my voice – I don’t know if I would’ve made it without that water.”
Vocally, the chorus is essential to the creation of the harmonious soundscape (Truett Ramsey ’25.5, Zoe Park ’27.5, Julia Gauder ’28, Gabriela Rosen ’26, Nathan Bernazzani ’27 and Nicholas Christoforakis ’29). The end of both acts involved seven part harmonies created by the ten actors on stage. The pace of the show is fast-moving, with scenes abruptly changing into different landscapes.
Mount said he knew this show would be a difficult production, but chose it because he knew the talent in the club.
“I had absolute faith in the club. The actors and the technical crew are all very talented. MCMT has come a long way,” Mount said.
Sibella marries another man, but her love affair with Monty continues. Meanwhile, Monty meets his cousin Phoebe (Annalise Houghton ’28), who he starts to fall in love with. Monty’s attitudes towards the two women are distinct. He lusts after Sibella, but she manipulatively withholds her love from him. Phoebe, on the other hand, is honest and direct with her interest in Monty. She takes him seriously and acts with emotional maturity.
“Sibella is all Monty’s ever dreamed of,” Evans said. “It’s not in the script, but we decided they’d known each other for a while, maybe they grew up together. And then he meets Phoebe, who is super different; she doesn’t play games. Suddenly Monty falls in love with Phoebe. Sibella is still his priority, but he is entertaining Phoebe. At some point it shifts and Phoebe becomes Monty’s priority. Monty never got over the fact that Sibella married another man, as we can see when he says ‘We should’ve always loved each other, that is if you loved me like I love you.’”
When Monty is arrested for suspicion of murder of the last standing D’Ysquith — ironically, the only one he didn’t commit — Sibella and Phoebe work together to save him and get him out of prison. Monty is deemed innocent and saved from the death sentence, becoming earl of Highhurst and getting away with it all. Despite the moral implications of Monty’s success, his victory was satisfying to watch with its witty and memorable characters, catchy songs and abnormal deaths.
This was Mount’s last production with MCMT. When he first arrived at Middlebury, he was cast in “Mamma Mia”, but due to problems with the copyright the show was cancelled, plummeting club engagement. In an effort to revamp the club, Mount and other members decided to put on two performances in both the fall and spring semesters, rather than a singular performance in the spring.
Despite this early head start, the team had to keep amping up rehearsal hours per week due to the technical challenges of the show. Luckily, the hard work paid off and the show was a success, with a packed theater each night.
Having made his mark on the club, Mount used the show’s program to inspire the next generation of MCMT. “I can’t wait to see the new heights MCMT reaches after I graduate!” he wrote.
