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­'Gentleman's Guide' tour launches at Bank of America Theatre

Actor Matt Leisy, a graduate of Northwestern University, got to experience some of the success of #8220;A Gentleman's Guide ...#8221; firsthand. Not only did Leisy get to attend the musical's official opening night on Broadway, he's now cast in the national tour of #8220;A Gentleman's Guide ...#8221; playing the supporting character Tom Copley, among other ensemble roles, and understudying one of the leading men.

#8220;I knew that it was something that was happening and that it was a miracle that it made it to Broadway,#8220; said Leisy, who first met #8220;A Gentleman's Guide ...#8221; composer Steven Lutvak as a vocal coach years ago. #8220;Even though it's based on source material of a book and a film, it's not a straight-up adaptation of a recognizable 1980s film or a jukebox musical #8212; it's original.#8221;

#8220;A Gentleman's Guide ...#8221; is mainly based upon the 1949 British film #8220;Kind Hearts and Coronets,#8221; which in turn was inspired by Roy Horniman's 1907 comic novel #8220;Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal.#8221; The plot concerns an ambitious striver named Monty Navarro (Kevin Massey) who discovers that he is in the line of succession to a wealthy earldom. So Monty goes about bumping off members of the aristocratic D'Ysquith family so he can lay claim to the title and money.

The film notably starred future #8220;Star Wars#8221; actor Alec Guinness, who played all the imperiled members of the D'Ysquith family that Monty conspires to kill. That same casting device was also employed for #8220;A Gentleman's Guide ...,#8221; which meant a whole series of quick-change stage costumes for original Tony Award-winning star Jefferson Mays and John Rapson for the tour.

#8220;Watching opening night, I was definitely aware that this was something special because it was so fun, smart and witty,#8221; Leisy said. #8220;I wasn't shocked when the reviews came out and were all great. Everyone was so happy at the opening night party.#8221;

But even with a slew of rave reviews, #8220;A Gentleman's Guide ...#8221; initially struggled at the box office. Many predicted it would be lost in the shuffle of new musicals opening that season like #8220;Beautiful: The Carole King Story#8221; or other eagerly anticipated film-to-stage adaptations like #8220;Rocky,#8221; #8220;Aladdin#8221; and #8220;Bullets Over Broadway.#8221;

By the end of the season, #8220;A Gentleman's Guide ...#8221; topped the Tony Awards with 10 nominations and four wins for Best Costumes by Linda Cho, Best Book of a Musical by Robert L. Freedman, Best Direction of a Musical for Darko Tesnjak and the all-important Best Musical.

The awards helped steer Broadway audiences to #8220;A Gentleman's Guide ...#8221; and it became a financial hit in April 2015 when the production officially recouped its $7.5 million investment. Now hopes are high that the tour of #8220;A Gentleman's Guide ...#8221; will be equally successful.

#8220;We were told (by director Tesnjak) from day one that we were all cast for the tour for what special qualities we bring to the roles,#8221; Leisy said. #8220;It's nice to know that they're putting the show on us and we're not going to be just replicating exactly what was done before.#8221;

Matt Leisy, a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, plays Tom Copley and a myriad other characters in the national tour of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," which officially launches in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre for a two-week run starting on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The Broadway ensemble of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," which won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Musical. A national tour of the show officially launches in Chicago at the Bank of America Theatre for a two-week run starting Tuesday, Sept. 29. Courtesy of Joan Marcus
Jefferson Mays starred in Broadway's "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," which officially launches its national tour in Chicago starting Tuesday, Sept. 29. Courtesy of Joan Marcus

“A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder”

<b>Location:</b> Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago. (800) 775-2000 or <a href="http://broadwayinchicago.com">broadwayinchicago.com</a>

<b>Showtimes:</b> Sept. 29 through Oct. 11: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday (also Sunday, Oct. 4), 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday (also Wednesday, Oct. 7).

<b>Tickets:</b> $27-$115

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