"A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" is on stage at the Arvada Center

"A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder" was first performed on Broadway in 2013. It won four Tony Awards including Best Musical.  It's based on a novel that was published in 1907.

"So the show is called 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.' Love being what he does to get Sibella's love, which is climbing in status, and murder, being the people he murders in an effort to become the Earl," said Marco Alberto Robinson, who plays Monty in the Arvada Center's production of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder." 

Love and ambition lead to homicide many times over. D'Ysquith family members are dropped by bee stings and other methods of murder in the musical farce. 

"There is one number that is called 'I've Decided to Marry You'. It's the two of us and the woman play Phoebe, who becomes his fiancé in that song. It's the three of us and two sets of doors, and it is like the craziest comedy and farce in like 2 minutes, 3 minutes...so fun," said Adriane Leigh Robinson, who plays Sibella in the production. 

Off stage, Adriane and Marco are married which makes their hijinks onstage that much more fun. 

"There's a lot of intimacy and kissing and jokes...choreography stuff that we worked out just her and I so it made it very, very simple and straightforward," Marco Robinson said. 

"It's rare to have a scene partner that you have complete and total trust in. It is just a dream to work together," Adriane Robinson added. 

It's Shabazz Green who does the most heavy lifting in the production. He plays eight different characters. 

"I love characters. I love cartoons. I love creating big out-of-the-box characters, so physically getting into them is awesome and then you attach the vocal to them," Green told CBS News Colorado.

Playing so many characters does come with some logistical challenges, including changing personas in seconds.

"They get me in and out like a Nascar pit crew. I'm in and out of costumes in 10, 15...sometimes 5 seconds," Green explained. 

A Gentleman's Guide to love and murder is the perfect mix of Edwardian sensibilities, modern set projects, and classic music. 

The music is complex and smart. The harmonies are tight and crunchy. I mean it's like a feast for your ears. It really is," Adriane Robinson said. 

Getting away with murder has never been so fun. 

LINK: A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder at the Arvada Center

The Arvada Center's A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder runs through May 11, 2025.