The Tony Award-winning musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, charmed Broadway audiences with its witty humor, Edwardian elegance, and delightfully dark premise. But the journey to bring this acclaimed show to the stage was as intriguing as the plot itself. In this behind-the-scenes look, we delve into the creative process with the show’s creators, Robert Freedman (Book and Lyrics) and Steven Lutvak (Music and Lyrics), exploring the evolution of Gentleman’s Guide from a cinematic inspiration to a theatrical triumph.
From Silver Screen to Stage: The Genesis of an Idea
The story begins not on stage, but on screen. Lutvak recalls a late-night discovery of the classic film Kind Hearts and Coronets during his college years. “It was 1978 or ’79 and I wasn’t sleeping, so I turned on my black and white television… and there was this movie and I went, ‘Oh yeah, that’s Kind Hearts and Coronets; that’s one of my dad’s favorite films.’ And I literally bolted upright in bed, smacked my forehead and said, ‘Oh my god, it’s a musical.'” The film’s narrative structure, featuring a man, two women, and a darkly comedic tone, sparked an immediate connection to the world of musical theatre in Lutvak’s mind. He even saw echoes of Oklahoma! in its basic dramatic shape, albeit with a decidedly twisted edge.
Driven by this inspiration, Lutvak pursued the rights to adapt Kind Hearts and Coronets into a musical. After securing the rights, he partnered with Freedman, whom he had met in the graduate musical theater writing program at NYU. Their collaboration marked the beginning of a long and sometimes turbulent, but ultimately rewarding, creative journey.
Navigating Rights and Rediscovering the Source Material
Despite early successes, including development at Sundance and prestigious awards, the path forward wasn’t straightforward. The rights holders for the film initially offered to proceed, but then rescinded their offer, creating a significant hurdle. However, fate intervened in the form of the source material itself. Kind Hearts and Coronets is based on the novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, which, crucially, was in the public domain.
Robert L. Freedman, co-creator of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.
Freedman explains, “When we got into hot water with the film company, which rescinded its offer, we went back to the novel.” This pivot proved to be a turning point. By focusing on the novel and consciously removing elements solely derived from the film, they navigated the rights issue and, unexpectedly, unlocked new creative possibilities. They consulted a copyright lawyer to ensure they were on solid legal ground, meticulously avoiding any elements uniquely tied to the film adaptation.
Creative Liberation Through Constraint: Novel Inspirations
Returning to Israel Rank was not just a legal necessity; it became a creative boon. Lutvak notes, “We found a few nuggets in the novel that were interesting and helpful. And when we had to go back and rewrite the show, it was enormously freeing to us, actually, because we had not only to sidestep what we couldn’t use, but it freed us up to be wilder in our choices.” The limitations imposed by avoiding film-specific content spurred them to explore new avenues within the novel’s framework.
Freedman elaborates on this creative reinvention: “There are eight people who die in the movie and eight people who die in our show. But there are differences in the occupations and the personality profiles, the identities of the people that get killed.” While the core concept of a protagonist eliminating family members for inheritance remained, the details were ripe for reimagining. They relished the opportunity to invent new identities and, crucially, new and comedic methods of demise for the unfortunate D’Ysquith family members. “It wasn’t just who they were, but how they died,” Freedman emphasizes. This freedom from the film’s specifics allowed them to amplify the comedic potential and theatricality of the murders.
Overcoming Legal Challenges: A Judge’s Verdict
Just as production seemed ready to move forward with a scheduled run in La Jolla in 2009, another significant challenge arose: a lawsuit from the movie’s rights-holders. Freedman describes this as “really an awful time,” with the legal process dragging on for thirteen months. The core of the dispute centered on the theatrical device of having one actor play all the members of the D’Ysquith family slated for elimination – a feature present in the film but not the novel.
Steven Lutvak, composer and lyricist of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.
The legal team for Gentleman’s Guide argued that this theatrical convention was commonplace and predated the film. Ultimately, the judge sided with the musical, dismissing the case in March 2011. Lutvak quotes the judge’s insightful decision: “ultimately the movie and the musical are two completely different iterations of the same underlying material. The movie plants its tongue firmly in its cheek and the musical sticks its tongue out.” This legal victory cleared the way for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder to finally reach its full theatrical potential.
Crafting Dark Comedy: Sympathy and Scoundrels
With the legal hurdles cleared, the creative team could fully focus on shaping the show’s unique tone. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder masterfully balances dark humor with endearing characters, a delicate tightrope walk. As the interviewer notes, the show plays with “how to make sort of hateful people likeable; or hating somebody enough, but enjoying them enough, that you want to see them die in interesting ways!”
Lutvak explains their approach to character development: “Well, we were very careful about that; we need to make the D’Ysquiths all odious enough that you didn’t mind seeing them killed off. We needed to write Monty [the protagonist] sympathetically and we needed to cast Monty sympathetically.” Creating a protagonist who is, in essence, a murderer, yet remains relatable and even charming, was a key challenge.
Freedman highlights the elements that make Monty Pittman sympathetic: “I think there are certain things about his predicament in life that are inherently sympathetic and that anybody can identify with; he’s an underdog and, not only did he grow up poor, but he was denied the kind of life that he should have been born into and should’ve had. His mother sacrificed everything for him and she basically died having suffered a great deal. Also the one girl he loves won’t marry him because he’s poor and has no position.” Monty’s motivations, rooted in social injustice and familial rejection, provide a relatable core to his actions, even as they become increasingly murderous.
To further solidify audience sympathy for Monty, the creators ensured his victims were thoroughly unlikeable. “We also felt the way to help him be more sympathetic was to make sure all the people he killed were as loathsome as possible,” Freedman states. The D’Ysquiths are portrayed as arrogant and condescending, deserving of their comedic downfalls. This careful balancing act of sympathy and satire is central to the show’s comedic success.
The Joy of Collaboration: Writing Music and Lyrics
Beyond the darker elements, the sheer fun the creators had in crafting A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder shines through. Freedman describes the collaborative songwriting process with enthusiasm: “Steve and I had a tremendous amount of fun writing it and we just wallowed in the language of it and the attitude of it and the tone. We kept making sure that we were keeping everything consistent in tone. And we just cracked each other up writing lyrics.”
Their unique method of writing lyrics together in the same room fostered a unified and consistent tone throughout the show. “It wasn’t like he took one song and I took another song, we really wrote them together. And I think that’s probably why the whole thing seems of a piece,” Freedman explains. This close collaboration allowed for a seamless integration of music and lyrics, contributing to the show’s distinctive voice.
Lutvak offers a humorous perspective on the show’s comedic style: “As time has gone by, I realize that what we are, in a way, is a very low comedy in a very fancy box. There’s all that faux classical music and it’s all very proper and it’s Edwardian England and the women are all corseted and everything is buttoned up. But, in reality, it’s a low comedy – it’s a Bert Lahr, laugh-your-ass-off comedy, which I didn’t realize while we were writing it.” This blend of high-brow presentation and low-brow humor is a key ingredient in the show’s appeal.
Theatrical Brilliance: Staging and Design
The theatricality of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is another crucial element of its success. The use of a chorus of six actors playing multiple roles and the innovative stage-within-a-stage design by Alexander Dodge, under the direction of Darko Tresnjak, contribute significantly to the show’s charm.
Freedman praises the collaboration with Tresnjak and his design team: “I think Steve and I are incredibly lucky that Darko and his design team worked on the show. First of all, Darko, at the very beginning, just completely understood what we were going for.” Tresnjak’s vision and Dodge’s “toy theater idea” created a visually dynamic and engaging world for the story to unfold.
The design concept further enhanced the show’s Edwardian setting while adding a layer of modern theatricality. “The thing that we contributed is we thought it ought to be performed – and it was written to be this way, too – as if it were being performed in the time it takes place. And I think what Darko did is he not only did that, but through the use of projections, he found a way to make it modern at the same time that it was clearly Edwardian; you sort of feel like you’re in that time and place, but there’s a modern element to it,” Freedman explains. This fusion of period setting and contemporary staging created a unique and captivating theatrical experience.
Tony Award Triumph and Enduring Audience Connection
The culmination of years of work, creative problem-solving, and collaborative artistry arrived on a June night when A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder won the Tony Award for Best Musical, with Robert Freedman also taking home the Tony for Best Book. Lutvak describes the feeling as “nothing less than astonishing,” given the eleven-year journey to bring the show to Broadway.
Freedman echoes this sentiment, calling it “the most incredible thing and it’s surreal and it’s wonderful.” However, beyond the accolades, both creators emphasize the profound connection with the audience as the most rewarding aspect of the show’s success. Freedman poignantly describes the emotional experience of witnessing audience reactions: “There’s nothing in the world like the feeling, and this makes me cry even when I talk about it now – it always moves me, when I’m in the theater, it never fails to, when people react to the show at the end; just the overwhelming excitement of the audience and the fact that I’ve been part of something that I’m sharing with people, with strangers and that they are reacting to it the way that they are with incredible enthusiasm.”
This shared experience, the ability to evoke such strong emotions and enthusiasm in audiences night after night, is what truly resonates with the creators of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. While the Tony Award was a remarkable achievement, the lasting impact of the show lies in its ability to connect with audiences and provide a thrilling, darkly comic, and ultimately unforgettable theatrical experience.
