A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder: A Musical That Felt Like A Play

I didn’t really know much about this musical before I saw it, but I have heard it won Tony Awards so I decided to check it out. I did know it was a comedy, but on purpose I decided not to listen to any of the songs or read too much about it. The musical is based on Roy Horniman’s 1907 novel titled “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal “. The musical is also set in the same decade this book was published.

One thing I enjoy most about musicals is the singing. It’s not just about the singing, but the catchy songs and the songs you can listen over and over again. The flashy sets and the dancing also bring out the important parts that comprise a musical.

The first thing I noticed was the set was bland and didn’t comprise of very much. I was disappointed that dancing was scarce and the musical numbers were boring to me. Normally after a musical I can hum the songs or I would want to listen to the songs again and again, but I couldn’t remember one song. The musical consisted mostly of dialogue and that was one thing that I didn’t like.

Overall, I did laugh a few times, but most of the times the laughing did seem forced. I was waiting for something to happen and everything that happen was easily predicted. After the first two murders, it got old and the murders after that were boring because you already knew what was going to happen.

One thing to mention is that you shouldn’t leave right when the musical ends and wait until all of the actors are introduced because there is something that goes along with the story that happens at the very end.

From from now until mid-May A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder will be touring the country: gentlemansguideontour.com/tickets

Grade: C+