More roles mean more fun for Randy Pearlman in Water Tower Theatre’s production of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, a Tony Award-winning musical by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak.
Pearlman plays the entire D’Ysquith family in the Addison theater company’s production, now playing through July 31.
“I’ve never done nine parts in one show. It’s a split-second switch. It’s fun,” Pearlman said.
Pearlman has been actively performing in North Texas since the 1990s. He was in rehearsal at the Dallas Children’s Theater when the pandemic began. The pandemic turned out to be a brief interruption for his acting career. Since the summer of 2021, Pearlman has appeared at Theatre Three, Stage West, Casa Manana and Kitchen Dog Theatre.
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“I learned that I just needed to do anything and everything and go out there and when things became available, to just go for it,” Pearlman said. “I’ve been lucky. I count my blessings. I don’t take anything for granted.”
Pearlman savors the audiences’ reaction to return to live performances.
“Audiences have been so grateful to be back to theater and theaters have been so good about making sure things are safe,” Pearlman said.
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A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder is Pearlman’s first show at WaterTower Theatre in eight years and he appreciates the theater’s rigorous safety measures.
“We get tested a lot and the protocols are more extreme than asked which is great because it gives us a safe environment,” Pearlman said.
For this musical, Pearlman draws on his experience of playing multiple characters in Theatre Three’s production of The Music Man and Stage West’s production of JQA.
“It’s kind of fun switching parts back and forth. I’ve done a lot of that recently,” Pearlman said.
The D’Ysquith family is full of wealthy aristocrats who are wary of Monty Navarro, a lowly clerk who learns he is in line for the earldom controlled by the family.
“They believe they are ones that deserve everything,” Pearlman said. “Some of them love themselves a little more than others.”
One by one, the D’Ysquiths die under some unusual circumstances.
“I was worried about making those fast switches but it’s so funny because once one character is done, I turn on the next character,” Pearlman said.
Each death scene is a farcical opportunity for hilarity.
“Each person dies differently and it’s just committing fully to those deaths,” Pearlman said. “If you don’t go for it and give it your all, they fall flat.”
While preparing the roles, Pearlman decided all the family member’s ages, their physical composure, and their vocal nuances. Rather than prepare one character’s arc throughout the show, Pearlman is creating nine characters who make a big impression in the short amount of time they appear in the show.
“The difference is that you’re doing nine at once. I really try to make sure that each of them were individuals, very different from each other. They are different ages, different sexes, different places where they live, different careers. Whether they are earls or generals or priests, they all have different backgrounds,” Pearlman said. “I didn’t want to become a caricature for any of them. I wanted them to be full characters.”
It’s hard for Pearlman to pick one favorite among the D’Ysquith family. Beekeeper Henry D’Ysquith comes to mind first.
“Henry is just so full of life in the country. They all have a joy for me. Henry I love because he just loves nature and he loves being out there,” Pearlman said.
Asquith D’Ysquith, Jr. is a character everyone loves to hate.
“Junior is so much fun to play because he’s a little swarmy,” Pearlman said. “He’s kind of a playboy.”
Lord Adalbert D’Ysquith’s big musical number is incredibly satisfying for Pearlman to play.
“The most fun is probably Adalbert because he’s the extremist, the oldest, the most set in his ways,” Pearlman said.
Lady Hyacinth D’Ysquith travels the world, promoting herself as much as the causes she is advocating.
“It’s not really for the good of the cause but it’s for her being known for the causes,” Pearlman said. “She’s the costume I’m most worried about getting in and out of.”
Pearlman uses the vibrant character’s foibles to make death a laughing matter.
“The audience starts to have fun with it,” Pearlman said.
Learn more: WaterTower Theatre
