Broadway’s ‘Gentleman’s Guide’ to come to Penn State

Erin McIntyre first saw “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” on the 2014 Tony Awards and knew she had to be part of it.

The production went on to win the Tony for Best Musical that year and McIntyre is now part of the cast for its second U.S. tour, which makes a stop at Eisenhower Auditorium on Oct. 19.

The musical centers around Monty D’Ysquith Navarro’s quest to eliminate the family members who stand in his way of inheriting a fortune. While doing that, he’s also juggling a mistress and a fiancee who’s also his cousin.

McIntyre plays the character Phoebe D’Ysquith, the cousin-turned-fiancee, which she describes as her dream role.

“The show starts off with shy, naive misunderstood girl and by the end of the show she really grows and becomes a woman,” McIntyre said. “It’s a really well-written character I get to play with every night.”

All eight D’Ysquith family members that stand in Navarro’s way were played by one actor, James Taylor Odom. The characters range in age and gender, which McIntyre said gives Odom the flexibility to play with the characters.

The touring production will stick closely to the original Broadway version, all the way down to sets, costumes and staff from the original production. McIntyre said the show came together quickly, with just a few weeks of rehearsals before the tour began earlier this month.

“Everyone came in incredibly well prepared,” she said. “They just had to teach us the blocking and get our characters right.”

The musical’s quick dialogue and precise choreography provided an added challenge, but one that the cast now has in its bones after a few weeks of performances.

“It’s choreographed all the way down to turning your head on certain words ... it’s the trickiest show I’ve ever done in that sense,” McIntyre said.

While the subject matter of eight murders might seem a little heavy for a musical theater production, McIntyre said the tone stays light. A New York Times critic said, “It will lift the hearts of all those who’ve been pining for what sometimes seems a lost art form.”

“It’s a hilarious evening out and murders are not gruesome at all,” she said. “It’s very tongue in cheek.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2017 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Broadway’s ‘Gentleman’s Guide’ to come to Penn State."