Lauryn Muraida, Charles Keppler and Ashlee Elizabeth
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
Westchester Playhouse
Through December 9
RECOMMENDED
The phrase “community theater” evokes a certain aura of amateurism. Typically, community theaters carry unfortunate associations with shoddy production values and wannabe divas of a certain age anxious to revive their rapidly fading dreams of stardom.
Yet, in the case of the Westchester Playhouse which proudly terms itself a community theater, that phrase is in no way pejorative. Judging from the mostly sold-out matinee of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and murder — which, as any regular theatergoer could tell you, is a rare feat Kentwood Players, the Playhouse’s indigenous company, has cultivated a loyal and appreciative audience since the theater was founded in 1949.
The theater is “non-Equity, all volunteer,” and although the professional level of this latest production can be uneven, the army of willing volunteers from actors to designers to behind-the-scenes support staff — have crafted a mostly whiz-bang entertainment that is astonishingly ambitious — as evidenced, in particular, by the fact that the four lead performers in the production have been double cast.
Guide was based on a 1907 novel that subsequently inspired the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets starring Alec Guinness, who famously portrayed all the members of the aristocratic D’Ysquith family — a tour-de-force that was a highlight of his early career.
The film’s comical conceit — having one actor play multiple roles — carries over into the stage musical, which features a book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak.
When struggling Montague Navarro learns that he is a scion of the aristocratic D’Ysquith clan, which disowned his mother for an unsuitable marriage, he realizes that he is ninth in line to inherit the earldom of Highhurst. Livid over the D’Ysquiths’ cruel treatment of his mother, Monty sets out to remove the obstacles to his succession — namely, by murdering the preceding eight D’Ysquiths who stand in his way.
Guide’s Broadway success hinged largely on its protean star Jefferson Mays, who, like Guinness, played all the obnoxiously entitled D’Ysquiths, both male and female. One suspects that Mays was a primary reason the production, which went on to win Best Musical and Best Book at the 2014 Tony Awards, was so celebrated.
Sans that galvanizing performance, the show now strikes one as overlong and occasionally flat. However, although the musical has not worn well, director Catherine Rahm’s taut staging, a spirited cast and solid design elements largely compensate for its shortcomings. Red Rahm’s set includes amusingly garish flats that look as if they might have been salvaged from the wings of an Edwardian music hall. Lighting designer Michael Thorpe and sound designer Susan Stangl also nail the feel of the period, as do costume designers Kim Peterson and Doug Vasquez — although an unfortunate red waistcoat seems more fitting for a circus ringmaster than a British nobleman. Also worthy of mention are Alison Boole’s simple yet striking choreography and Jon Sparks’ handsome wigs, which could pass muster on Broadway.
Although he tends to go flat in his songs’ upper registers, Charles Keppler, double-cast with Aric Martin, delivers a serviceable turn as the scheming murderer Monty, while Lauryn Muraida and Ashlee Elizabeth, double cast with Amy Coles and Lyndsay Palmer, respectively, are consistently winning as Monty’s loves — the amoral siren Sibella and the finely bred blueblood Phoebe. Michael Mullen, double cast with Jon Sparks, mugs outrageously as the multiply doomed D’Ysquiths. He and the rest of the cast plunge headlong into their over-the-top material – just one more reason this “community theater” production has the kind of charm that often eludes slicker “professional” companies.
Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Ave., Los Angeles. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sat., 2 pm; thru Dec. 9. www.kentwoodplayers.org Running time: two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission.
Note: The show is double cast.
