Actor cherishes ‘dream role’ in ‘Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder’ Classy comedy
Blake Price is living his dream. Not only does he get to tour around the country with a Broadway show; first and foremost, he is the lead in the Tony Award-winning musical “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder.”“It’s wild,” he says in an interview from Grand Rapids, Mich. “I remember watching the Tony performance in 2014 and being just shocked that this was something that was going up. The way it’s written and created, it’s a dream role.”
“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder” tells the story of Monty Navarro.The plot, loosely based on a 1907 novel by Roy Horniman — which also served as the inspiration for the comedy film “Kind Hearts and Coronets” — concerns a penniless young man named who discovers that he is the ninth in line to become the Earl of Highhurst.
Because the aristocratic family, the D’Ysquiths, disinherited his deceased mother and denies his existence, Navarro takes matters into his own hands; he knocks off each of his relatives, one by one, in outrageously amusing ways.
Navarro is also juggling his mistress, who is after more than just love; his fiancée, who is his cousin; and the constant threat of landing behind bars.
Blake and the tour cast got two weeks off recently before they embarked on the latest leg of the tour, which brings them to Popejoy Hall for six performances.
“The rest was much-needed because the first leg was pretty intense,” he says. “The traveling does take a toll on the body.”
The musical features a book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak.
The duo met in 1981 at New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. It took the men nearly 11 years to get the musical staged.
In 2014, the musical received 10 Tony Award nominations.
It won four — best musical, direction of a musical, book of a musical and best costume design.
It premiered at the Hartford Stage in Hartford, Conn., in Oct. 2012. It then moved to the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in March 2013.
Then it opened on Broadway on Nov. 17, 2013. It closed production on Jan. 17, 2016.A national tour began in September 2015, and the second opened on Sept. 27 this year.
The creative team for this production includes direction and choreography by Peggy Hickey, based on Broadway’s original Tony Award-winning direction by Darko Tresnjak and her own original choreography.
Hickey can’t wait to get back to New Mexico for the six-performance run in Albuquerque.
“I’m a big fan of New Mexico,” Hickey says. “I used to work almost every summer at the Santa Fe Opera, for nearly 20 years. I loved being out there for a month at a time.”
Hickey lends her talents to the choreography of the show.
“The timing for the musical is quick,” she says. “Everyone and everything has a place. There is a purpose to every aspect of this musical. A lot of people don’t realize how much work and choreography it takes to put something as amazing as this on stage.”
Price says he was drawn to Navarro’s character because it’s over-the-top.
“He’s a character that’s on stage for 95 percent of the show,” he says. “Monty is figuring these things out while he’s on stage. He does find his way. I like Monty for the things he comes up with. His charisma is amazing.”
Jumping into the role of Navarro was also somewhat terrifying for Price.
He’s following in the footsteps of Ken Barnett, Bryce Pinkham and Kevin Massey, who have all played the role.
And he was blessed with advice from all three.
“When I started, it took me a while to settle into the stamina of the role,” he says. “I was able to talk with Bryce, who was giving me tips and tricks. He was taking time out of his schedule before he opened ‘Benny and Joon’ at The Globe in San Diego. It was a an incredible moment in my life. He was speaking to me like a peer.”