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.
Also featured in the cast: Lisa O’Hare (Sibella), Lauren Worsham (Phoebe), Jane Carr (Miss Shingle), Joanna Glushak (Lady Eugenia), Catherine Walker (Miss Barley), Price Waldman (Inspector Pinckney), Jeff Kready (Tom Copley), Jennifer Smith (Tour Guide), Eddie Korbich (Magistrate), and Pamela Bob and Mark Ledbetter (swings).
Choreography by Peggy Hickey. Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. Musical Director, Paul Staroba. Associate Musical Director, Mike Ruckles. Scenic Design, Alexander Dodge. Costume Design, Linda Cho. Sound Design, Dan Moses Schreier. Lighting Design by Philip Rosenberg. Casting by Jay Binder.
The World Premiere, starring Jefferson Mays and Ken Barnett, took place at Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut, October 11 – November 11, 2012, followed by a co-production at The Old Globe in San Diego, California, March 8 – April 14, 2013.
Also featured in the cast were Lisa O’Hare, Chilina Kennedy, Heather Ayers, Rachel Izen, Kendal Sparks and Price Waldman.
Buy the original Broadway cast recording, featuring a 40-page booklet with complete lyrics, show photos, and an essay by renowned theater writer and critic David Cote here
Robert L. Freedman and Faye Greenberg have written a new one-man play, The Beast of Broadway: The Life and Times of David Merrick, (pictured at left) about the legendary producer. The play premieres on March 4, 2010, at TheatreZone in Naples Florida, in a production starring David Garrison, directed by Mark Danni, and produced by Danni and Larry Goodsight. For more information click here. To read a newspaper article about the production, click here.
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 67th 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.
Michael Rupert
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.