Show Synopsis:
Monty Navarro is quite content with his life, but he would like to have enough money to ask the wealthy Sibella to marry him. One day, a mysterious woman named Miss Shingle tells him that his mother was part of the large and wealthy D?Ysquith family, meaning that he has a claim to part of their fortune. In fact, he would be the sole heir to the fortune and estate if eight D?Ysquiths die. Monty decides to get in the family?s good graces by working for Lord Asquith D?Ysquith Senior?s banking house, but the Lord?s son denies him a place and the existence of Monty?s mother. Monty tours the D?Ysquith?s ancestral home Highhurst Castle and is driven out by Lord Adalbert D?Ysquith the Earl of Highurst. Monty speaks to Reverend Lord Ezekiel D?Ysquith, who tells Monty it?s best to stay out family affairs, before he falls off of a tower due to high winds (and a little bit of Monty blowing through his lips). Monty tries to poison Lord Asquith D?ysquity Junior but decides it?s easier to cut a hole in the ice on the pond and let him fall and drown. Lord Asquith D?Ysquith Senior gives Monty a job at his house to teach him the family business in the wake of the tragedy. Sibella gets engaged to Lionel Holland, and Monty befriends Henry D?Ysquith to learn his weaknesses. Henry is stung to death by his beloved bees when Monty covers his beekeeping gear with lavender oil, and Monty begins flirting with Henry?s wife Phoebe. Monty overloads bodybuilder Major Lord Bartholomew D?YSquith?s barbell and decapitates him, and loads real bullets into the prop gun for Lady Salome D?Ysquith Humphrey?s play so that she kills herself onstage. Lord Asquith D?Ysquith Senior dies of a heart attack, and Monty is suddenly next in line to inherit Highhurst. He and Sibella continue their romance, and Phoebe decides to marry Monty, and Monty would like both of them. Lord Aldalbert D?Ysquith invites Monty, Sibella, and Phoebe to Highhurst Castle, where Sibella finds out about Phoebe?s engagement and angrily asks Monty to break it off. Monty learns that Miss Shingle has been a servant of the D?Ysquith family for thirty-nine years, and Lord Adalbert dies of poison in his wine, though Monty is shocked because he didn?t put any in there. Monty and Phoebe get married but Monty is arrested for the murder of Lord Aldabert. He meets a distant D?Ysquith relation named Chauncey, who cleans the jail cells because his ancestors were also disowned by the wealthy D?Ysquiths. Phoebe learns that Sibella truly loves Monty, and the women concoct a plan with contradicting evidence so that Monty may go free and have relations with both of them. Miss Shingle confesses to having poisoned Lord Aldabert in the end.
Character:
Monty Navarro, a handsome and clever young man; quite brave but can also be rather foolish; a bit of a womanizer.
Song Context:
Monty song of his continued irrational adoration and love for Sibella, although he knows that she is not a perfect woman or lover.
Fun Facts:
1. This musical is based on the novel Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal by Roy Horniman.
2. Bryce Pinkham, who originated the role of Monty on Broadway, spoke with Backstage magazine about the show and todl them that he thinks "the piece only succeeds when you root for him, when you are on his side...So my goal each night at the show is to find a way to ingratiate Monty to the audience and to make it clear that he is the everyman that we can put our chips behind and root for. If you don?t root for him then it sort of doesn?t work.? Mark Peikert of Backstage magazine described this approach to Monty as "a guileful innocent, someone who isn?t intrinsically murderous but who does take advantage of situations that find his relatives imperiled," later becoming "a 'dangerous and sexy' killer".
3. Pinkham was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his work on this musical.