It was a rainy day in February at the Savannah Cultural Arts Center, but it may as well have been a July evening at Muse Arts Warehouse more than a decade ago.
Instead of the SoucyMan as the star slaying all, it was Justin Kent as multiple characters who all got slain.
That's him, in the middle, clad in short pants and stockings.
To his left, holding the bobby's hand, is the man who did most of the slaying in this very modern musical set at the turn of the 20th century.
That murdering man is 'Monty Navarro' (played with great relish by Jordan Jones), the man who would be the 9th Earl of Highhurst.... except for those eight relatives in his way.
Did I mention that they were distant relatives that he had never known as family?
Well, they were, so that made the slaying a bit more impersonal.
(smile!)
Oh, yes, and they were all D'Ysquits who had disowned his mother because she wed someone who was disliked and not of the right class for that snooty clan.
That meant goodbye, Earl, and all the rest of them, too.
(smile!)
The first dispatched was the doddering Reverend, who lost footing on the belfry...
even though Monty was right there and could have helped him.
Having got his feet wet, Monty found himself up for the task, with Lord Junior making it that much easier by being a total putz toward him.
Too bad Lord Junior didn't notice that he was skating on thin ice - hahahaha!!!
Henry practically killed himself, what with his having bees... right?
Quite right!
Then there was the question of Lady Hyacinth.
Monty tried sending her off to do good in war-torn countries or cannibal-infested islands, but all it really took was her falling off a gangplank at home and drowning in all that dress.
Four down, four to go to his goal!
There followed the Major dumbbell...
Salome with the prop gun and a live round...
and the dear Lord Senior dying by a heart attack from natural causes.
That was the only one Monty would have had a problem killing, as the Lord Senior had been so very kind to him, even hiring him at the castle.
That meant the killing of the 8th Earl was all that stood between him and the title.
No problem!
The 8th Earl was a total ass and the task would be easy on Monty's conscience!
The only worry was how to slip him the poison in his pocket...
only someone else beat him to it!
Almost all of that took place in the very first act of "A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder", with only the death of the 8th Earl not yet executed.
Very nice pacing!!!
Now, if only my $40 had included a printed program for my blessings walls, that would have been just swell... but it did not.
This was my first event at the First Annual Savannah Performing Arts Festival, from Savannah Performance Alliance, so I cannot say whether any of the other events last week had printed programs or not.
I suspect they did not.
The use of QR codes for website programs seems to be a growing trend that, for me, detracts from the entire cultural enrichment experience.
I can understand the Hive Repertory Theatre not printing a program for last weekend, but at least they offered a fancy ticket as a souvenir.
Here's hoping SPA will offer better for this week's events.
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