Albert Nolan plays every member of a well-heeled family in a new Theatre Baton Rouge production

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It’s been more than 20 years since Albert Nolan joined Theatre Baton Rouge. He’s performed in dozens of its productions since then, but none have challenged him quite like A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Rather than playing a single character in this month’s production, he plays a whole family.

The comedic, British musical tells the story of Monty Navarro, a penniless clerk who discovers he is ninth in line to inherit the earldom of Highhurst, controlled by the wealthy D’Ysquith family. The solution to his problem, he decides, is to kill off each member of the family—in morbidly hilarious ways.

A Gentleman’s Guide is a “fabulous, truly classical musical,” Nolan says. When he first saw it five years ago on Broadway, he knew by the time the show reached intermission that he wanted an opportunity to play the D’Ysquith family members. The characters range from old men to young women, all sporting different personalities and appearances.

“It really hits my bucket list,” Nolan, 54, says. “Having the opportunity to bring to the stage this type of musical with this type of cast—the talent is strong.”

Nolan’s characters accompany a small but impactful cast, featuring Jonathan Thomas as Monty Navarro, Marion Bienvenu as Sibella Hallward, Brandy Cramer as Phoebe D’Ysquith and Dana Todd Lux as Miss Shingle.

Nolan says the first full run of the show left him exhausted because the quick costume changes are just as fast-paced as the show itself. During one scene, he only has 30 seconds to change his clothes and become a different character.

A Gentleman’s Guide isn’t the first show where Nolan has played multiple characters, but it is the first musical. It’s no small task, he says, to memorize lines, songs, stage direction and choreography for nine characters ranging from an earl to a clergyman to an elderly woman to an over-the-top actress. Doing it all individually isn’t the hard part—it’s putting it all together in one performance, he says.

“It’s not only just about the characters. It’s very physical,” Nolan says. “You have to have a pretty good singing quality, but it’s extremely physical. The task is unreal.”

But Nolan isn’t the type to shy away from a challenge, especially one he’s dreamt of achieving. He’s played leading roles for some of Theatre Baton Rouge’s biggest shows—most recently as Joseph Pulitzer in the spring production of Newsies—but says it isn’t always about playing in big-name productions.

A smaller cast enables a closer relationship with castmates, highlighting the community aspect of community theater. With lesser-known shows like A Gentleman’s Guide, the experience allows the community to come together and see something that’s never been done before in Baton Rouge.

“A lot of people don’t know about this show,” Nolan says. “It was one of those surprise Tonys that isn’t Oklahoma or Sound of Music. Baton Rouge isn’t familiar with it. And that’s OK. But it is truly not only a funny show—the music is unbelievably good.” theatrebr.org

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This article was originally published in the November 2019 issue of 225 Magazine.