It’s a busy week for the arts complex as the Arvada Center gears up for its next show, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and gets ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Hitting the stage March 28, Gentleman's Guide tells the story of Monty Navarro’s rise to wealth. After his mother passes away, Monty discovers he is a member of the aristocratic D’Ysquith family. There’s just one problem: Monty is eighth in line to inherit the earldom of Highhurst. With a few opportune moments — and a little poison — Monty may just make his way to earldom.
“It's a story of campy, silly murder and somebody trying to climb the social ladder,” says Sharon Kay White, who plays Miss Shingle.
The Tony Award winning musical, which is based on the fictional book Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman, is a dark comedy, approaching Monty’s murders in a humorous manner.
In A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, actor Shabazz Green has his hands full, playing eight members of the D'Ysquith family.
Collin Sanders
The show not only has unconventional themes, but unconventional casting as well, with Green playing eight members of the D’Ysquith Family.
“It’s chaotic,” Green admits. “Chaotic in its own right, but also rewarding. It's constantly up and down. I am often multiple people in one song. You know, I just keep coming back.”
In order to prepare for the chaos, actors had to brush up on their accents — a blend of Cockney and proper British dialect making up the show — and their British humor. Green brushed up his British farces to prepare, watching Monty Python and Mr. Bean to make sure he captured the perfect physical humor.
“My process has been looking at (British comedy) to see how they create different characters in different moments,” Green says. “Not just to play for laughs, but to create real people who just happen to be hilarious.”
As the cast gets ready to hit the stage, they’re looking forward to connecting with one missing member: the audience.
“The audience really is the next character in the whole experience,” White says. “We're never really fully realized until we get that last piece of the audience to know how the show will actually come all together and be the full expression of that script.”
With a compelling, humorous plot, Green says the show will guarantee audiences a time to unwind. “You need a laugh these days. You need a day and a time to just get out and smile, and you won't stop smiling.”
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder opens March 28 and runs through May 11, with performances Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and Wednesday at 1 p.m. Tickets and more information are available at the Arvada Center’s website.
Arvada Center Announces 2025-26 Season Lineup
The Arvada Center will be celebrating its 50th anniversary during the 2025-26 season and recently announced a full lineup of productions showcasing the variety local theatre has to offer. The 50th anniversary season has something for the whole family, from murder mysteries to magical musicals.“Live theater is one of the few places in our increasingly siloed world where we come together with strangers to share an experience,” says artistic director Lynne Collins. “When the person next to us laughs or gasps or breathes differently, we feel it and our own reactions are changed because they are shared.
“As we share these stories this season, we hope you join us to feel, think, and learn together,” Collins adds. “The audience is the real magic of live theatre, and nothing we do comes to life without you.”
Arvada Center 2025-2026 Season
The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie
Main Stage Theatre
September 5 - October 12, 2025
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill by Lanie Robertson
Black Box Theatre
September 26 - November 2, 2025
Disney’s Frozen, Music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, book by Jennifer Lee
Main Stage Theatre
November 21, 2025 - January 4, 2026
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Black Box Theatre
February 13 - March 29, 2026
Come From Away by Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Main Stage Theatre
March 27 - May 10, 2026
