Latest news with #AGentleman'sGuideToLoveandMurder
Calgary Herald
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Grindstone Theatre combines veteran talent with up-and-comers in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Article content 'It's a cast of 11, it's an orchestra of seven,' says Martin. 'We had maybe a six-piece band with Rocky Horror, but now we have strings as well on this show, and we're actually using the orchestra pit. It's definitely the biggest show we've taken on. It kind of comes with the territory of having a 350-seat theatre, you know?' Article content For Martin, who started Grindstone Theatre back in 2011, this has been quite the trip. The Grindstone has grown significantly as an organization, from a shoestring operation to full-time staff and the operation of three venues and a theatre school. Martin has gone from focusing almost exclusively on the long-running The 11 O'clock Number: The Improvised Musical to a main stage season in multiple venues. Article content 'I think back to when I was in grade six and I saw my first Citadel show, Into the Woods,' he muses. 'I learned later, once I was in theatre school, that Ron was in that show, that he was playing the character of Jack. So, I'm still kind of a younger director and I'm working with all of these people that I used to sit in the audience and watch, and it's very much a cool experience.' Article content Article content Article content Preview Article content A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder Article content Directed by: Byron Martin Article content Starring: Ron Pederson, Oscar Derkx, Sawyer Craig, Sam Hutchings, Ruth Alexander Article content When: Until Sunday, June 1 Article content Where: The Orange Hub Mainstage Theatre, 10045 156 St.
Vancouver Sun
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Grindstone Theatre combines veteran talent with up-and-comers in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
A little over a decade ago, Byron Martin spent a considerable amount of time in New York just taking in Broadway shows. 'I'm pretty sure I saw one every day,' says the artistic director of Edmonton's Grindstone Theatre. 'It was somewhere around 40 shows. Like, it was a lot of shows. And there was one in particular that really stuck with me.' That was A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder , which in 2013 was busy pulling in impressive crowds at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway and eventually winning multiple Tony Awards. If the name of the show doesn't ring a bell you might be familiar with the source novel from 1907, Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal. But if you're going to be honest and admit that you've never heard of that book until just this minute, it's still possible that you've watched or at least heard of the classic 1949 black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, which featured a tour-de-force performance by Alec Guinness playing multiple members of the D'Ascoyne family as they're dispatched in various gruesome ways. A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which Martin will be directing at the Orange Hub Mainstage Theatre until June 1, is yet another spinoff of the original novel. Like Kind Hearts, it's a black comedy that follows the murderous trajectory of 'Monty' D'Ysquith Navarro, who is determined to knock off eight of his relatives in succession to become the ninth Earl of Highhurst without calling attention to himself. Unlike Kind Hearts, it's a musical with aptly titled numbers like Why Are All the D'Ysquiths Dying and Poison in My Pocket. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Needless to say, if you're going to pull an Alec Guinness and hire someone to play multiple roles you need someone with the skills. Like Sterling Award winner and former Edmontonian Ron Pederson, who has returned home for the juicy role. 'It's not just comedic acting, it's also the musical part,' says Martin, who marvels at Pederson's whirlwind ability to inhabit so many roles. 'There's also these 10-second costume changes where one moment he's been murdered and the next he's the Major Lord Bartholomew, and then immediately after that he's a completely different cousin. It's incredible. There's so many characters in the show that need to be funny, but you also have to nail the kind of Gilbert and Sullivan opera style as well.' 'In terms of its style of satire and comedy, it's something that very much fits in with the Grindstone,' he continues. 'It's got almost a kind of Monty Python feel to it, a sort of sketch comedy kind of thing while also really nailing the musical theatre genre. Ron is really good at that kind of thing.' Pederson is a shiny jewel in the show's crown to be sure, but Martin is also quick to point out the production's wealth of local talent and experience. There's Oscar Derkx, last seen at the Citadel in A Midsummer Night's Dream: The '70s Musical, and soprano Sawyer Craig, who directed Aquarius, Songs of the Stars for Edmonton Opera. The ensemble boasts such familiar faces as Cathy Derkach, along with a crew of MacEwan students just getting their feet under them in the world of theatre. Martin notes that the Grindstone has a mandate to create opportunities for emerging artists, and part of the joy of putting together the production is watching emerging artists work with a veteran team. It's a big show by Grindstone standards. Not that the Grindstone hasn't mounted large productions before, but A Gentleman's Guide has inched forward past recent shows like the theatre's production of Rocky Horror, or Jason Kenney's Hot Boy Summer. 'It's a cast of 11, it's an orchestra of seven,' says Martin. 'We had maybe a six-piece band with Rocky Horror, but now we have strings as well on this show, and we're actually using the orchestra pit. It's definitely the biggest show we've taken on. It kind of comes with the territory of having a 350-seat theatre, you know?' For Martin, who started Grindstone Theatre back in 2011, this has been quite the trip. The Grindstone has grown significantly as an organization, from a shoestring operation to full-time staff and the operation of three venues and a theatre school. Martin has gone from focusing almost exclusively on the long-running The 11 O'clock Number: The Improvised Musical to a main stage season in multiple venues. 'I think back to when I was in grade six and I saw my first Citadel show, Into the Woods,' he muses. 'I learned later, once I was in theatre school, that Ron was in that show, that he was playing the character of Jack. So, I'm still kind of a younger director and I'm working with all of these people that I used to sit in the audience and watch, and it's very much a cool experience.' A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder Directed by: Byron Martin Starring: Ron Pederson, Oscar Derkx, Sawyer Craig, Sam Hutchings, Ruth Alexander When: Until Sunday, June 1 Where: The Orange Hub Mainstage Theatre, 10045 156 St. Tickets: $51 and up, available in advance from Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
Edmonton Journal
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edmonton Journal
Grindstone Theatre combines veteran talent with up-and-comers in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Article content 'I'm pretty sure I saw one every day,' says the artistic director of Edmonton's Grindstone Theatre. 'It was somewhere around 40 shows. Like, it was a lot of shows. And there was one in particular that really stuck with me.' That was A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder, which in 2013 was busy pulling in impressive crowds at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway and eventually winning multiple Tony Awards. If the name of the show doesn't ring a bell you might be familiar with the source novel from 1907, Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal. But if you're going to be honest and admit that you've never heard of that book until just this minute, it's still possible that you've watched or at least heard of the classic 1949 black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, which featured a tour-de-force performance by Alec Guinness playing multiple members of the D'Ascoyne family as they're dispatched in various gruesome ways.
