Love, laughter and murder: Manitoba theatre company returns to the stage with musical romp

Dry Cold Productions is serving up music, laughs and a dash of murder in their first production after a three-year pandemic pause.

The local theatre company is presenting “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” the four-time Tony award-winning musical making its Manitoba debut.

The murderous romp set in London at the turn of the 20th century tells the story of Monty Navarro, who discovers he is the distant heir to a family fortune. He sets out to jump ahead in the line of succession by using a fair bit of charm and a touch of murder.

Producer and Dry Cold Productions co-founder Donna Fletcher said the show is a delayed celebration after the COVID interruption. The theatre company was getting ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary when the virus stymied those plans in 2020.

“Just getting the show produced in a time of COVID is a celebration enough,” Fletcher said.

“Because we're having to do daily testing and just making sure everyone's okay, and our landscape for theatre has changed so much in the past two years.”

Actor Kevin Klassen’s appearance in the production is his first time back on stage in two years. Playing a caustic cavalcade of relatives standing in the way of Monty’s inheritance, his return to the theatre is both fun and exhausting.

“It's been really gratifying to discover that I’m still able to do it. It’s good that I've got time to recover afterwards. It's very physical and vocally taxing, but great fun,” he said.

Fletcher said the musical romp was carefully chosen to welcome audiences back to Dry Cold’s season, knowing folks could use a laugh after the pandemic.

“(People) needed to come back into a space and see a silly, delightful show with soaring melodies, and just sit back and relax and laugh together, and I think that's been the greatest thing,” Fletcher said.

“As people are leaving the show, you can just see them just vibrating with delight.”

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is on now at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) until June 26. Tickets can be purchased in-person at the MTYP box office or on its website.

- With files from CTV's Rachel Lagacé