CEDAR CITY — The Utah Shakespeare Festival is about so much more than Shakespeare, and this year’s offering of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, directed by Amanda Berg Wilson, presents this year’s festival musical excursion. With music by Steven Lutvak, lyrics by Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman, and a book by Freedman, this show first opened on Broadway in 2013 and has been amusing audiences ever since.
The story follows Lord Montague D’Ysquith Navarro, or Monty, played by Rob Riordan, as he recounts the tale of how he ended up in jail. He learns from an old friend of his mother, Miss Shingle, played by Melinda Parrett, that he is in line to inherit an earldom as part of the famous D’Ysquith family. However, as ninth in line, his prospects are distant and the family wanted nothing to do with his late mother and subsequently, him.
This production has a great deal of charm that starts with music conductor and pianist Brad Carroll, who comes out in the beginning with a sandwich cardboard sign showing the beginning of Act 1. He repeats this in Act 2, and has other token antics throughout the production as he plays piano on stage that kept me smiling and engaged. The set is simple, with a few staircases and props that are used interchangeably. Scenic designer Jo Winiarski seems to have gone for an approach of versatility, and it was entertaining to see how a bush would suddenly become a bouquet – or how a basket might next be a table.
A scene from Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2025 production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
The entire ensemble of this show was a highlight. They transition from a Greek chorus warning us in a humorous way in the “Prologue” that this is a gruesome show and we should leave, to being the haunting past members of the D’Ysquith family in painting frames warning Monty that he might be in danger. Their talents and vocals in the entr’acte, “Why Are All the D’Ysquiths Dying,” are truly lovely and display their unity. One of the best parts of this number is the inquisitive and expressive faces that each of the ensemble members made. I found myself intrigued with each cast member and their animated way of expressing confusion and intrigue.
The best trope of this show is having each D’Ysquith heir played by one person, in this cast, Graham Ward. The ability of Ward to build a different character for 9 different people is astounding. The most impressive of this was the priest, where the costume design by K.L. Alberts is so impressive that someone unfamiliar with the story might not catch that it was the same person. The costumes of Lady Hyacinth are also fantastic, as were the costume changes during the number “Lady Hyacinth Abroad.”
A direction choice that Wilson used to make the show more intimate and enjoyable was utilizing the audience space. From having Monty walking through the audience, asking people for spare change, and occasionally breaking the fourth wall, this decision is effective. Even having other characters run through the aisles and then show up in the balcony makes the 700-person feel like a small black box of a few friends.
Katie Drinkard (left) as Sibella and Rob Riordan as Monty in Utah Shakespeare Festival’s 2025 production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
The show is called “A Guide to Love and Murder,” and the two love interests also add a lot to the story. Katie Drinkard as Sibella is the perfect balance of over-confidence and need. Her dress, and especially her hat, was my favorite costume of the night. In contrast, Nicole Eve Goldstein, as the sweet Phoebe D’Ysquith, adds the classic contrast expected in a musical that feels patterned after the traditional golden age musicals. The two women, when combined with Riodan’s Navarro, deliver one of the best numbers of the night when they sing “I’ve Decided to Marry You,” which combines great vocals and clever lyrics with fantastic staging. This song is then upstaged when Drinkard and Goldstein sing “That Horrible Woman” near the end of Act 2, and a lot of the antics of the show come to a full conclusion.
The finale showcases the clever storytelling and the fine-tuned cast, with the ending feeling like it is not quite an ending at all. While you may be feeling stressed out in the world, I’d recommend coming to see this show to forget all your troubles in clever music and even more clever dialogue. Come see A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder at Utah Shakespeare festival to laugh your cares away!
