Plenty of Personas for this Protagonist

‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder’ is a musical comedy with music by Steven Lutvak, lyrics by Lutvak and Robert L Freedman, and a book by Freedman. It is based on the 1907 fictional novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman.

Local audiences now have the chance to see Hobart Repertory Theatre’s version of the play.

There clues  to be found in the name Monty Navarro, the protagonist of ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’.

Monty means ‘one who rises above the rest and embraces the summit’ and this meaning would aptly fit the main character in the show. With a non-existent income, he discovers that he is the ninth in line to a Dukedom. Monty then decides he must clear the line of succession by eliminating all those before him.

When I called Ian Williams, the actor who brings Monty’s victims to life, he was in a joyful mood and looking forward to the opening night of the production.

The task of bringing the D’Ysquith family, sans Monty, alive (at least for a select period) required some challenges from Williams, in creating different physical, voice and mannerism personas for a cast of characters with distinct occupation skill sets.

These include an aristocrat, a body builder, clergyman and opera diva among them; added to this challenge is that two of the characters are female. But Williams tells me he has compartmentalised the different characters all in his head and it does help that all the characters are family and so, look alike.

Williams told me it is generally acknowledged that the hardest musical theatre character to play is Le Misérables’ Jean Valjean, but Monty is up there with him, especially with all the tight (as in time) costume changes. He is however assisted with three dressers who have the changes down to a precision art.

As Williams said dramatically, they ‘rip the clothes off him from wig to button’ as precisely as in a motor race pit stop.

And does Monty have regrets for killing any of his relatives?

Williams nominated Lord Adalbert as the regret. If you wish to see why you will have to see A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder from 9-19 July with two 14:00 Saturday matinees and a Sunday 15:30 show.

Tickets range from $25-$55 from the Playhouse Theatre box office or via www.playhouse.org.au.

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