The Tony awards were announced earlier this week, and a musical that got its start at Hartford Stage leads all nominations.
The nominations for "A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder" are a coup for Hartford Stage, which developed and debuted the musical. "Six months before the show premiered at Hartford Stage, we did a workshop, and I staged fully the first act, which is quite complicated," said Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage's artistic director. "Then we had six months to really get the production together."
After a run at Hartford Stage, and at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, the play was ready for Broadway, where it has been running since last November. "A Gentlemen's Guide" leads all Tony nominations with ten, including best musical, and best director for Darko Tresnjak. "I'm very, very happy," Tresnjak said. "It's been a great 24 hours. I'm proud of the show, and we got so much love from the Tony nominees."
The musical, based on a 1907 book by Roy Horniman, tells the story of Monty, who finds out he is the ninth in line to inherit a dukedom. He decides to kill the eight heirs standing in his way.
Among the nominees for best musical, "A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder" is the only show with an all-original score.