A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at Kansas City's Starlight Theatre {Review}

Disclosure: I received press passes to attend this event. No other compensation was received and all opinions expressed are my own. 

If you live in Kansas City and you haven't made it to Starlight Theatre yet this summer, it's not too late! This week (through 8/14), you can catch the Tony Award winning show A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder out under the stars and the night sky.

This show is a stylized piece that features a toy stage inside a larger proscenium, which constantly opens to reveal new two-dimensional settings. The score has echoes of Gilbert and Sullivan, Lerner and Loewe and English music hall - it sounds very proper and refined, while some of the plot (it's about murder, after all) being played out onstage is anything but genteel.

The story begins as we meet Monty Navarro, a man who should have been born into a family of wealth and splendor, but who has instead spent his days poor and without connections. Upon learning he is eighth in line to inherit an earldom, he sets off to meet (....and possibly murder?) all of his distant relations.

The relatives are nearly all played by the same actor - in this production, John Rapson. I have seen a lot of theater and a lot of quick costume changes, but I was astounded by the way this one actor transformed into so many different characters - usually within a few seconds. Beyond the basics of a costume change, he adapted to completely different personalities right and left. It was amazing! I want to watch the whole show again so that I can time all of the costume changes.

This show is a bit unlike most other musicals - it had its very own flare and I enjoyed the new feel. I wouldn't recommend for kids or young teens due to some suggestive content and stylized violence, but for date night (or girls night), it was very fun!

Tickets for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at Starlight Theatre are on sale now for $15-$143+. Tickets are available online at Starlight Theatre, by calling 816.363.STAR (7827) or at the Starlight box office at 4600 Starlight Road, Kansas City, MO 64132. Evening performances begin at 8 p.m.

Thanks to Starlight Theatre for providing my tickets to the show. I received no other compensation and all views expressed are my own. For more information, you can read my Disclosure Policy.