John Rapson & Kevin Massey Will Headline National Tour of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
The dastardly cast assembles! John Rapson and Kevin Massey will headline the national tour of the Tony-winning musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder. Following previews in Schenectady in September, the tour will begin performances in Chicago and go on to play numerous cities across the U.S. including Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Tempe, Houston and Seattle.
Rapson takes on the role of the colorful assembly of D’Ysquith heirs (all eight of them), while Massey will play Monty Navarro, the charmingly devilish young man out for their blood. Joining them will be Kristen Beth Williams as Sibella Hallward, Adrienne Eller as Phoebe D’Ysquith and Mary VanArsdel as Miss Shingle.
Rapson heads to the tour after making his Broadway debut in Les Miserables. Massey appeared in the Great White Way company of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, where he understudied the role of Monty. He’s also appeared in Memphis, Tarzan and Big River. Williams’ Broadway credits include Pippin, Nice Work If You Can Get It and Anything Goes. A recent grad of NYU Tisch, Eller previously appeared regionally in The Little Mermaid and Hairspray. VanArsdel previously appeared in the national tour of Mary Poppins.
Rounding out the cast are Christopher Behmke, Sarah Ellis, Matt Leisy, Megan Loomis, Dani Marcus, Lesley McKinnell, Kristen Mengelkoch, David Scott Purdy, Chuck Ragsdale and Ben Rosenberry.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder tells the uproarious story of Monty Navarro, a distant heir to a family fortune who sets out to jump the line of succession, by any means necessary. All the while, he’s got to juggle his mistress (she’s after more than just love), his fiancée (she’s his cousin but who’s keeping track?), and the constant threat of landing behind bars. Of course, it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance…and be done in time for tea.
The musical opened at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre on November 17, 2013, and went on to become the most nominated and honored production of the 2013-14 Broadway season. A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder is the winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Direction of a Musical (Darko Tresnjak), Book of a Musical (Robert L. Freedman) and Costume Design of a Musical (Linda Cho).