The Festival Announces the Cast of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Coming this summer to the Festival is the Tony Award-winning musical comedy A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. It will be directed by Amanda Berg Wilson with music direction/conducting by Brad Carroll, who has called the play “clever, smart, hilarious, and infected with the British sense of humor” but the feeling and spirit of “American Vaudeville.”
“I’m thrilled about the cast that is going to bring A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder to life,” says Berg Wilson. “Some I’ve worked with before, some I’ve seen their work before, and some I’ll be meeting for the first time at our first rehearsal, and in all cases, I’m giddy. Our music-hall production of the piece requires performers who are as playful as they are skilled, as game as they are good, and we’ve the cast that’s up to the task.”
The lead artistic staff working to build this production are Scenic Designer Jo Winiarski, Costume Designer K.L. Alberts, Lighting Designer Jessica Greenberg, Sound Designer Scott O’Brien, Voice/Speech/Text Coach Gwendolyn Schwinke, Choreographer Diana Dresser, Fight/Intimacy Director Jason Spelbring, and Stage Manager Tanya J. Searle.
The Festival welcomes new and returning cast members and is as follows:
Zac Barnaby is returning, as Man 3 in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Last season, he made his debut as Lord/Mariner/Shepherd in The Winter’s Tale and Featured Performer in The Greenshow. Other credits include Jason in Falsettos, Snoopy in You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Ricky Potts in Ride the Cyclone, and more at Southern Utah University where he is currently studying for a BFA in musical theatre.
Laura Brennan is also returning, as Woman 2 in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. She was last seen at the Festival as Harriett in Jane Austen’s Emma The Musical, as well as in The Play That Goes Wrong and in the Shakespeare in the Schools educational tour of Much Ado About Nothing. Other theatres where she has performed include Texas Shakespeare Festival, Citadel Theatre, and Cider Mill Playhouse. She has a BFA in acting from Ithaca College.
Katie Drinkard is debuting at the Festival as Sibella in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. She has performed at The Arvada Center, Creede Repertory Theatre, The Denver Center, and more. Other credits include an audiobook narration of Trained to Protect. Drinkard received a BFA in musical theatre from Ithaca College and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Nicole Eve Goldstein is debuting as Phoebe in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder this season. She has performed off-Broadway and at Carnegie Hall, as well as with Red River Lyric Opera and Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Players, among others. She was in the film Dead Reckoning and received the Emerging Talent Award from the Lotte Lenya Competition. She has a BM in vocal performance from Oberlin Conservatory and also attended the New York Film Academy.
Luke Sidney Johnson is returning, as Man 1 in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Last season, he understudied Leontes in The Winter’s Tale and Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps. Prior to that he was in Romeo and Juliet, The Sound of Music, and Sweeney Todd, among many others. He has performed at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Hunterdon Hills Playhouse, and Playmill Theatre. Johnson received a BFA in musical theatre from Southern Utah University.
Frank Oden is debuting at the Festival as Man 2 in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. He has performed at Shakespeare in the Wild, The Arvada Center, Boulder Ensemble Theater Company, and much more. Other credits include touring as a solo artist for Poetry in Concert where he did original performance poetry, appearing with symphony orchestras nationwide. He has received the Denver Drama Critics Award for Best New Play and publications include Plays and Musicals: Holly Alaska!, Easy Money, The Winter Rose, and more. Oden has a BA in theater from Arizona State University.
Mikki Pagdonsolan is debuting at the Festival as Woman 3 in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. She has performed at Nocturne Theatre, Musical Theatre West, CSU Fullerton, and more. Other credits include performing with Filipino American Symphony Orchestra and being a chorus member for Do You Hear the People Sing? Music of Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, and More at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic. She has a BM in vocal performance and BA in business administration from CSU Fullerton.
Melinda Parrett is returning to the Festival, this time as Miss Shingle/Woman 1 in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Previous roles include Beatrice In Much Ado About Nothing, Annie in The Play That Goes Wrong, Mrs. White in Clue, Titania/Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and many more. Parrett is currently on the National Broadway Tour of Annie. She has also performed at The Denver Center, Goodspeed Opera House, Geva Theatre, and more. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Rob Riordan is returning to the Festival, as Monty Navarro in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Previous roles at the Festival include Ellard Simms in The Foreigner and Huck Finn in Big River. He has performed off-Broadway in the world premiere of Vermont and Sea Gull at Adult Film NYC. Other acting credits include TUTS Houston, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Geva Theater Center, and more. Film credits include roles in Concessions, The Rebels of PT-218, and The Surprise Visit, for which he received Best Actor Award from the San Diego Art Film Festival. He is also a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Graham Ward is debuting at the Festival as the D’Ysquith Family in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. He has performed at The Arvada Center, Creede Repertory Theatre, and Lone Tree Arts Center. He performed with Boomtown Improv Comedy and at Ghostlight RPGs. Ward received a BFA in acting from Brigham Young University and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
The 2025 season begins June 16 and runs through October 4. Get your tickets now at bard.org or by calling 800-PLAYTIX.
