Interview: Colleen McLaughlin as Sibella Hallward in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER on Tour

A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER is a fun, whacky, entertaining show that won four Tony Awards including Best Musical. It seems to be a favorite by everyone. It's one that will entertain the entire family. As the show prepares to come to Austin, Texas, BWW caught up with Colleen McLaughlin who plays on of the love interests, Sibella Hallward.

Why don't we just start out by, if you could just tell us a little bit more about yourself and how you first got interested in performing?

Sure. I'm from Norman, Oklahoma and I first knew that I wanted to perform when I was eight years old. I had just moved from Louisiana and my elementary school, when I was in second grade, was putting on this musical that they wrote for the kids. It was called THE LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE and I had never sung before in my life. My parents didn't know that I could sing and they had little auditions in music class and my teacher was like, "Oh! You can sing!" and so I got the lead as THE LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE. It's such a silly story but that's when I knew that I wanted to perform. From then on, I did summer camps. I did every intensive class I could.

And then you went to school and majored in it?

Yes. I went to AMDA, American Musical and Dramatic Academy. I studied two years in New York and two years in LA, where I received my Bachelor's for Musical Theatre.

So what are some of the shows you've done over the years? Between high school and college, I'm sure you've done a lot.

Yes! I have done more than I can count but a couple of my favorites have been THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE. I did CABARET, which is definitely different. It was awesome. It was fantastic because it was something that I had never experienced before. SHE LOVES ME and GYPSY.

This show is very intriguing to me. It's kind of a different plot and a different story. Tell us a little bit about the story without giving too much away.

I'll do my best because it is so complex. It's about this man, Monty Navarro, who grows up poor but he finds out that he's an heir to this aristocratic family called The D'Ysquith Family and he is in line to become the Earl of Highhurst. I play the love interest, well, one of the love interests because there is a love triangle within this story. He thinks the only way to win my hand is to become Earl of Highhurst and so he starts killing off each D'Ysquith one by one in more hilarious ways than the last.The show is really surprising and absolutely hilarious. It is very Monty Python-esque so everyone will love it.That's the basis of the show.

That's a good basis. That's a good overview without giving too much away. That sounds really good. So then tell us a little bit more about the character Sibella Hallward you're playing and what it's like to play her.

Oh gosh! It is so much fun because she is nothing like me in real life, well, hopefully not! She's narcissistic. She's selfish. She's very manipulative and calculating, but she's so fun. She's like a little hummingbird; she has a million thoughts a second. But it's really fantastic because she does have a lot of layers so it's fun to play because I can go through a range, you know? She, ultimately, does love Monty and she kind of goes through that journey within the show. She grows up within the show. So, it's really fun!

Have you made it your own or is it something that they wanted you to do a certain way?

I think I definitely made it my own, of course, they always have a base for the character, but as an actor you build upon it personally. I think I made it my own.

Did you do any kind of research or studying to try to be able to play Sibella better or did it just sort of become you as you came along with it?

I think it just sort of happened over time. Just studying the lines and the subtext within each of her scenes, it became easier to figure out what she was thinking, what her objective was. And, of course, none of us want to admit that we are narcissistic or anything like that, any negative part of ourselves but of course each of those characters lie within us, it's just about magnifying one of them and honing that. It just kind of came along over time.

The last question that I always like to ask people is, What advice do you have for people that are thinking of getting into theater?

I think my advice would be: do not ever compare yourself to someone else because comparison is the thief of joy because all of us have our own unique strengths and talents. And just cheer on other actors because we all have a lot to learn from each other.

Don't miss your chance to see this fun show. It will only be in Austin for a week. Dates are March 20-25, 2018. Get your tickets by going to Texas Performing Arts website.

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