Notes On The Writing of A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder (Applause Books) will be available for purchase online and at select stores. From the publisher’s description: The most frequently asked question about writing musicals is, ‘Which comes first, the music or the lyrics?’ As anyone on Broadway will tell you, the answer is, ‘The book.’ Tony-winning book writer Robert L. Freedman takes you through the process of writing a new musical, including story structure, song placement, dialogue, character development, and more that led to the creation of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, the 2014 Best Musical Tony winner. With candor and insight, Freedman describes the challenging and rewarding growing pains of what the critics called ‘Hilarious!’ and ‘Ingenious!’ and said ‘Ranks among the most inspired and entertaining new musical comedies I’ve seen in years.’

From the back cover: “Robert L. Freedman draws back the curtain on the mysterious process of creating a musical, takes you by the hand, and leads you through it all with clarity and insight. If you’re interested in writing a musical, or just interested in musicals, this guide is for you.” Winnie Holzman, book writer of Wicked.

Robert is writing a period drama for HBO set in New York and rural Alabama in the summer of 1936, about the relationship between Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Agee and famed photographer Walker Evans (pictured left). At the height of the Great Depression, the two were hired by Fortune magazine’s publisher, the formidable Henry Luce, to go down south and bring back a story about poor sharecroppers. What transpired eventually became the source for the legendary book, Let Us All Praise Famous Men. The film is set to be directed by Robert Redford. From Sundance Productions.

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, the Best Musical Tony Winner of 2014, opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on November 17, 2013.  Book by Robert L. Freedman, Music by Steven Lutvak, Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak. Directed by Darko Tresnjak.  Set in Edwardian London, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder traces the brilliant trajectory of Monty Navarro (played by Bryce Pinkham)—charmer, seducer and avenger—on his quest for recognition and family fortune.  Jefferson Mays plays all eight eccentric members of the wealthy and powerful D’Ysquith family who go on to their great rewards in the course of the story.

Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak’s musical won the 2006 California Musical Theatre Award from Beverly Hills Theatre Guild and was presented in a staged reading on June 4, 2006, in Beverly Hills. Featured in the cast were John Rubinstein, Kaitlin Hopkins, Josh Radnor, Jean Louisa Kelly, Stan Chandler, Corinne Kason, Michael Kostroff, Ron Orbach, Tregoney Shepherd and Steve Vinovich. Based on the book by Greg Mitchell, Campaign of the Century

centers on the comic chicanery, media manipulation, and outrageous shenanigans surrounding Upton Sinclair’s race for Governor of California in 1934.

A staged reading of Campaign of the Century was held on September 19, 2005, at 3:00 and 7:00pm, at Makor, 35 West 67^th St., NYC, under the auspices of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. The cast featured Tony winner Michael Rupert as Upton Sinclair, with Sally Mayes, Evan Pappas, Stacie Morgain Lewis, Elsa Carmona, Michael DeVries, Sean Allan Krill, Ron Orbach, Tom Alan Robbins, and KT Sullivan. Steven Lutvak was the Musical Director and Robert L. Freedman directed.

 

A concert version of the show starring Michael Rupert was presented as the closing event of this year’s Chicago Humanities Festival on November 14, 2004. The cast included Rob Alton, Roger Anderson, Brian Herriott, Trace Hultgren, Glory Kissel, Frances Limoncelli, Susie McMonagle, Rachel Rockwell, Malcolm Rothman, Daniel Tatar and Tracy Warren. Robert directed, and Steven Lutvak was musical director.

Staged readings of Campaign of the Century were previously held in December, 2003, and May, 2004, at American Musical Theatre of San Jose, with a cast that included Augie Amato, Elsa Carmona, David Curley, Richard Frederick, Angela Gunter, John Hickok, Corinne Kason, Dana Lewenthal, Meg MacKay, Craig Mason, Marsha Mercant, Timothy Meyers, Ren Reynolds, and Diana Torres-Koss. The readings were produced by Marc Jacobs, and directed by Robert L. Freedman. The musical director was Craig Bohmler.