REVIEW: A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER—Laguna Playhouse
- TheShowReport
- Sep 22
- 6 min read
A Charming Antihero Chops Down the Family Tree for Love and Money in this Musical Comedy at Laguna Playhouse

SEPT 21ST—LAGUNA BEACH
In A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER (that irresistible musical comedy delight based on both a 1907 novel by Roy Horniman and the classic British comedy, “Kind Hearts and Coronets,” which starred Alec Guinness) which opened this past Sunday afternoon at Laguna Playhouse, Andrew Polec’s Monty Navarro doesn't have to draw a drop of blood to get more than a half-dozen of those uppity D’Ysquiths.
Bees, freezing-cold water, a heart attack, a gangplank falls short, a gun, and oh so many more implements of destruction give all eight of his regal rellies opportunity after opportunity to expire in spectacular, balcony-baiting fashion—oh, and evoke gales of laughter at the same time. That's the really important part. In fact, it's tough to remember another outing that's derived so much gleeful entertainment in the hastening of mortality.

Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper is the moving target in this murderous maze, playing all eight of the arrogant English aristocrats on the chopping block who are systematically eliminated by number nine in line, our aforementioned vengeful rogue who is desperately after the family fortune. The dark comedy reveals that Mr. Polec’s Monty is really a poor commoner whose father was Castilian, and worse, a musician. The elder Navarro died when Monty was seven, leaving his mother to raise him alone. His mother was Isabel D'Ysquith, a member of that same wealthy, yet unfortunate, oligarchy.
It was not an easy life, and Isabel never spoke of her family. Then, on the day of Isabel's funeral, Monty is visited by Miss Shingle (Jean Kauffman), the eccentric Cockney housekeeper at the house of D’Ysquith (who also serves as the narrator) and arrives like a fairy godmother to tell Monty that the dream of every child in the world has come true for him. He is an heir to a noble family.

She sings to Monty: "You are the son of the daughter, of the grandson of the nephew, of the 2nd earl of Highhurst! And that’s when things take a turn.
First, he makes the proper moves by seeking employment from Lord Asquith D'Ysquith, Chief Officer, D'Ysquith Banking House. When he is refused, and the existence of his mother denied, Monty chooses a more direct route. Beginning with the Reverend Lord Ezekial (Mr. Mongiardo-Cooper) who catches a gust of wind while Monty looks on without offering assistance, Monty then resolves to avenge his mother and climb up the D'Ysquith family tree until he stands at the top.

By the way, if Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper was having any more fun, I think he would explode, merrily biting the dust eight different times in one hilarious exit after another, highlighting their comedic, almost cartoonish absurdity, from the flamboyant Lady Salome to the devout Reverend Ezekiel, a doddering, elderly clergyman. The mishaps and murders are rendered without blood, of course, and each character is dispatched with a bucket full of laughs.
And once it’s demonstrated how the members of this ever-dwindling family meet their maker, with dyspeptic and manic throes, you'll probably be rooting for Monty to succeed, if only to see how far he will go. Monty Navarro is a beguiling man with ruthless ambition, who'd believably give you the shirt off of his back while he's stabbing a dagger in yours — and Andrew Polec, with unshakable deadpan conviction and a song in his heart, fills the role perfectly.

Meanwhile, on stage, Marty Burnett’s pop-up greeting card-like set provides Monty with a delightful obstacle course. It's set as if in an Edwardian theatre, sort of a stage within a stage, like those toy theatres with the old-fashioned conch-shell footlights and an ornate, bright red proscenium — only smaller. There is something jewel-like, toy-like and exquisite — definitely not Sweeney Toddish — that elegantly removes the audience from the actual mayhem and murder that's going on.
The musical matches streams of memorable melody with fizzily witty turns of phrase. Both script by Robert L. Freedman and music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak are equally and at once mordacious and slapstick, grisly and gleeful, bringing laughs, cries and gasps to viewers and audiences. And, the lighter fare and comedic side wards off the dwelling on macabre thoughts for too long.

Actually, even through basic research on plot and online analysis, I still didn’t know if I would stew, scream or snicker uncontrollably while seeing the show. But that first number, “A Warning to the Audience,” alerted me that it would be a mix of all three. A fortiori, the balance between the grisly murders, hilarious jokes, and Monty’s romancing the stone with Sibella and Phoebe equated to a well-rounded story that never ceased to offer a twist and a chuckle.
Of course, none of this would be any fun at all without some romance of the naughty and not so naughty kind. Monty is in love with two women. Sibella Hallward (Lauren Weinberg)) his first love who threw him over for a man with money, and girly-girl Phoebe D'Ysquith (Katy Tang) — both of whom return his affection with a vengeance. When he is with one, he is thinking of the other. Ms. Weinberg and Ms. Tang are nothing short of brilliant, and Steven Lutvak has created his most complex and captivating music in his duets for these two women as well as the more expansive numbers that include them.
Other spirited, supporting characters who play multiple parts include Shinah Hey as primarily both Miss Barley and Lady Eugenia, Michael Cavinder as Chief Inspector Pinckney, and Andrew Hey as Tom Copley and the Magistrate.
The second act is the stronger of the two as we settle into the last death and Monty's future, which is suddenly in doubt. Surprises and double dealings abound in both book and music. In the end all is sort of well, WELL.
In tales such as this, nothing is as it seems. So we all leave the theatre having been hooked and landed — and well entertained. It's sort of like a sugar cube that you will not want to spoil by plunking it into a teacup. This one you will want to place directly on your tongue and see how long you can make it last. So which girl does Monty get in the end? No spoilers here. I guess you'll just have to attend the show to find out.
LAGUNA PLAYHOUSE PRESENTS The First Show of its 2025/26 Season: The TONY AWARD-WINNING A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER; With Book by ROBERT L. FREEDMAN; Based on a Novel by ROY HORNIMAN; Music & Lyrics by STEVEN LUTVAK; Choreography by LUKE HARVEY JACOBS; Musical Direction by ANTHONY ZEDIKER; Directed by NOELLE MARION. Scenic Design by MARTY BURNETT; Costume Design by ELIZA BENZONI; Lighting Design by MATTHEW NOVOTNY; Sound Design by JESSE WORLEY; Original Sound Effects by CHRIS LUESSMAN; Props Design by AUDREY CASTERIS; Hair & Wig Design by PETER HERMAN. Production Stage Manager is LAURA ZINGLE.
CAST: MICHAEL CAVINDER (Mamma Mia!, Clue at La Mirada Theatre) as “Inspector Pinckney & Ensemble;” ANDREW HEY (Jersey Boys, Grease) as “Tom Copley/Magistrate & Ensemble;” SHINAH HEY (Ride The Cyclone, The Music Man) as “Miss Barley/Lady Eugenia & Ensemble;” JEAN KAUFFMAN (Fiddler on the Roof at La Mirada Theatre, Ragtime) as “Miss Shingle & Ensemble;” NICHOLAS MONGIARDO-COOPER (Holmes and Watson at Laguna Playhouse, Fiddler on the Roof at La Mirada Theatre) as “D’Ysquith Family;” ANDREW POLEC (Five years as “The Grinch” in How The Grinch Stole Christmas at the Old Globe, Bat Out of Hell on the West End) as “Monty;” KATY TANG (Don’t Dress for Dinner at Laguna Playhouse, Sweeney Todd at ICT) as “Phoebe D’Ysquith;” and LAUREN WEINBERG (Camelot at Laguna Playhouse, Damn Yankees at the Wick Theatre) as “Sibella.”
A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER opened on Sunday, September 21st and runs through Sunday, October 5, 2025 at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Dr. in Laguna Beach. Performances are Wednesdays at 7:30pm; Thursdays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm; Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; Sundays at 1:00pm & 5:30pm. Tickets range from $56 - $121 and can be purchased online at www.lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling (949) 497-2787.

Chris Daniels
Arts & Entertainment Reviewer
The Show Report
PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Niedle/TETHOS


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