NEWS FROM THE ROAD by Sheryl Flatow

A Gentleman’s Guide Hits the Road

Steven Lutvak was a college student having to the setback with the film, producers were a sleepless night. He turned on the television reluctant to take a chance. Some said the to pass the time, and came across the movie show was too old-fashioned. “On more than Kind Hearts and Coronets. “I had this one occasion, I had to say, ‘Yeah, it’s just epiphany,” he says. “I thought, ‘This is a another musical about a serial killer,’” says musical. It’s a musical that’s mine to write, Lutvak. Other producers loved it, but insisted and I don’t yet know how to write it. But one it wasn’t a Broadway show. “Yet we knew it day I will.’” was,” says Freedman. “Steve That was in 1978. Over was especially tenacious, the years, his conviction and I followed his lead. We grew. After several attempts, MONICA SIMOES just believed in it.” he obtained the rights to A Gentleman’s Guide is, in the film in 2003 and asked fact, a throwback. It’s a witty Robert L. Freedman, with musical comedy, the kind that whom he had previously used to dominate Broadway, collaborated, to work with but which is rarely seen him on the show. They read there anymore. The lyrics are Roy Horniman’s 1907 novel, meticulously rhymed. Lutvak Israel Rank: The Autobiog - and Freedman met as stu- raphy of a Criminal, which dents in the first class of the was the inspiration for the musical theatre program at movie, and wrote a musical Steven Lutvak NYU’s Tisch School of the based on both sources. and Robert L. Freedman Arts, where their teachers Then they lost the film included Stephen Sondheim, rights and began rewriting, getting rid of any Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and material adapted from the movie. “The show is Adolph Green, and Jule Styne. “We were better because of it,” says Freedman. “We no incredibly inspired by them,” says Freedman. longer felt like we were replicating a classic “We definitely celebrate traditional musical film. The first draft had a lot of stuff that we theatre. We were raised on that.” invented out of whole cloth, and getting away Both men were already in their mid-50s from the film gave us more freedom. We when they made it to Broadway, and every- wrote the show we wanted to write.” thing about their life-changing experience The show is A Gentleman’s Guide to Love continues to delight and amaze them. “I and Murder, winner of the 2014 Tony Award for get very choked up thinking about it,” says Best New Musical, and it launches a national Freedman. “I feel I can confidently say to tour this month. Directed by Darko Tresnjak, people that no matter your age or what you’ve Gentleman’s Guide is the story of Monty Navarro been through in life, you should not give up and his hilariously diabolical scheme to inherit a on your dreams.” family fortune by knocking off the eight relatives Lutvak adds, “We had the time of our lives who precede him in the line of succession. writing this show, and a lot of belief in it to Kevin Massey plays Monty while John Rapson hold onto it for as long as we did. Among the plays his eight victims. Lutvak composed the greatest thrills in a panoply of thrills is that we music, Freedman wrote the Tony-winning book, hear audiences laughing at what we found and they co-wrote the lyrics. funny. That’s kind of a miracle. Stories like Broadway was always their goal, but it took ours do not usually have endings like this. It’s them over a decade to get there. In addition just the most amazing thing.”

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