The Gilbert and Sullivan Newsletter Archive
The Trumpet Bray
NEGASS
New England Gilbert and Sullivan Society
P. O. Box 367, Arlington, MA 02174-0004
"Ye torrents roar! Ye tempests howl!"
Vol. XIX, No. 6
March, 1995
Doublemeeting Bray
This is what it is to have two capacities!
April 9 North Shore Light Opera Concert in Salem, MA, led by Mary Toropov. Program Chair Patricia Brewer writes: Those of you who have attended this meeting, which seems to be becoming an annual event, know how delightful the ambiance is at the Salem Old Town Hall and how much spirit the NSLO players bring to a performance. Afterwards we'll gather informally for a visit to one of Salem's excellent restaurants. An added incentive for attendance: Modified Rapture, reviewed elsewhere in this Bray, will be the door prize at this meeting! mlc
HOW TO GET THERE: Coming from the Boston area take Route 1A through Lynn and Swampscott to Salem. A little over a mile into Salem you will see the Eastern Savings Bank. Turn left onto the street that passes between the bank and a large liquor store. This is Canal Street, which takes you into the heart of Salem, a large open area with the post office clearly visible on your left. Do not turn towards the post office but continue forward, passing BayBank on your right. The next street is Front Street, the one with The Salem Evening News on the corner. Turn right onto Front St. and the Old Town Hall will appear very quickly on your left.
Coming from Route 128: From the exit at the North Shore Shopping Center in Peabody take Route 114 through Peabody into Salem. You will arrive at the open area referred to above with the post office on your right and BayBank straight ahead. Turn left just before the bank, then right at The Salem Evening News building as specified above.
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April 15: OUR ISLAND HOME in Watertown. Patricia continues: Not enough happiness for April? We're planning a truly outrageous thing NOTE WELL a Saturday meeting! April 15 at 3:00 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Watertown, we'll see the newlyrevived OUR ISLAND HOME by W. S. Gilbert in collaboration with Thomas German Reed. This is another in a series of works written for the German Reed "Gallery of Illustrations" a performance place our Victorian forebears could comfortably attend when propriety demanded that Truly Refined People were not to attend theatres. Chuck Berney, in collaboration with Eileen Smith, has after a very CIRCUITOUS route found, liberated, and deciphered a dusty manuscript long thought lost but which turned up a few years ago in England ask him and he'll tell you all about it. [Chuck's flyers state: "autograph manuscript from 1870 discovered by F. Woodbridge Wilson, transcribed by Elaine Smith. mlc] Chuck's Royal Victorian Opera Company, which brought us HAPPY ARCADIA last year and PUT A PENNY IN THE SLOT the year before, will be donning island costumes to bring us a special performance you won't want to miss. Many people pay lots of money to see RVOC productions, but under our sponsorship you can bring all the guests you wish to see this performance for free. Look especially for themes that foreshadow G&S's PIRATES.
HOW TO GET THERE: First Parish Church is located near Watertown Square, the intersection of Mt. Auburn, Galen, Arsenal and Main St. (Rt. 20) in Watertown. From the Square take Main St. one block west to Church St. (at the traffic light), then travel north one block on Church. You'll find the church on a hill overlooking a parking lot adjacent to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Public transportation IS available: take the #71 bus from Harvard Square to Watertown Square the church is within easy walking distance. If you'd prefer a ride, call Program Chair Patricia for people in your area to contact.
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LAST MINUTE LIGHT OPERA RUDDIGORE Perhaps winter, after all, is best. The February 12 NEGASS meeting brought a good house to the First Parish Church in Watertown despite polar winds. After opening words from President Dick Freedman and Program Chair Patricia Brewer, and the suitably ghostly Bab Ballad, "From a Ghost to His LadyLove," read by Sheldon Hochman, the company went straight to work. This year's LMLOC endeavor was produced by Patricia Brewer, whose hard work brought together all the various talent that went into this spontaneous combustion. [Patricia was also noted among the Male Chorus, portraying what one Bridesmaid described as a "Buxom Blade." mlc]
The delightful thing about these completely unrehearsed performances is that nobody knows what's going to happen next. Besides that, the parts are given to people who wouldn't necessarily be cast in those particular roles. So you get a rendition that is always fresh and full of surprises. High points in the first act included Phyllis Wilner's moving rendition of Mad Margaret's song, and Larry Seiler's hornpipe as Dick Dauntless, taught to the women's chorus during performance. The chorus was also impressive; even tricky numbers such as "Welcome Gentry" were performed without a hitch. Elizabeth Johnson as Dame Hannah and Dick Freedman as Despard turned in solid performances. Steve Levine and Randi Kestin as Robin and Rose made a funny and charming couple.
After splendid refreshments in the interval, Act II brought forth the ghosts from their portraits: real portraits, painted specially for the occasion by a NEGASSer who prefers to remain anonymous, and praised by all. Old Adam, personified by Colin Edwards, had his moment to shine, and left us all panting for more. Peter Cameron's "When the night wind howls" frightened small children in the gallery. Dick Freedman and Phyllis Wilner gave a very Grant Wood "I once was a very abandoned person," in which they advertised a national school for orphaned salamanders (or something like that). The Basingstoke scene came off very naturally, as if the characters were not reading a script, but really living it.
The finale showed that the chorus, too, held enough vocal firepower to bring the Witch's Curse to a rousing end. Then followed some really nice dancing, with a bit of impromptu contra down in the front.
The entire performance was held together by the wonderful piano accompaniment of Eric Schwartz, whose lively interpretation was excelled only by his ability to shift and cover so that one doubts whether even the soloists were aware of mistimed entrances.
All in all a mixed bag and loads of fun. Just what we like to see in a NEGASS meeting. GRAEAE
Tentative Meeting Schedule, 199495:
April 9 NSLO concert, Salem
April 15 OUR ISLAND HOME
a Royal Victorian Opera (Chuck Berney) production!
May 7 MIKADO retrospective, Sudbury Savoyards
[Later meetings tba]
~ NEXT BRAY COPY DEADLINE: April 16 ~
Next BrayStuffing: On April 23 at some time late in the evening We intend to crawl out of bed, having completed the run of MIT's IOLANTHE the previous day, and settle in to stuff the Brays which We will have created that week. Having just discovered this moment that We will have to write a Bray that week, We are much too disorganized to plan a party, and do not expect to remove the cat fur from Our rug, much less look for an accompanist or a vcr, on April 23. However, if anyone would like to join Us in the task of stuffing the Bray that evening, they're welcome to do so give Us a call or drop Us a note! mlc
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Welcome. Welcome, Welcome We new member Dr. Stanley Cath, an Enthusiastic Audience Member from Arlington, MA. We hope to hear more about you Tell Us, Tell Us all about it! Hearty Greetings Offer We!
mlc
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Greetings from a relatively new member: It was a great delight to me to learn of the existence of NEGASS. I was introduced to G&S at the age of seven. It was in 1940 and I was at summer camp on Lake Dunmore, near Brandon, VT. First I saw a movie of the previous year's offering PIRATES; then we were set to work learning PINAFORE. The next year it was MIKADO. So you see, the love affair has lasted over 50 years. I have seen a few amateur productions through the years and one professional. Because I lost my central vision about 20 years ago I had to rely on friends to take me. [Our sympathies, Rose Marie Our brother is in the same pickle, but he lives in NYC where he can take the subway! mlc] And then there were the George Walker productions on PBS what a gold mine! I missed IOLANTHE as it was the first, and the Sunday of YEOMEN we were having a freak October snow storm which disrupted things So I have not seen either of those; nor have I seen UTOPIA or GRAND DUKE.
Does NEGASS have a video tape lending library? If not, is there someone who would loan me the videos? I can sit close enough to my set to see them and can really enjoy them. I would, of course, pay postage both ways and provide the proper padded mailer ... As my vision is deteriorating I sometimes feel anxious about completing my goal of seeing them all ... my phone number is (802) 3654383 and I don't get out much ...
Sincerely, ROSE MARIE SHORT
[We wish NEGASS did have a proper library that's still on the drawing board but what we do have is a network of kind and helpful people, and a newsletter to bring them together. We hope someone can help Rose Marie! mlc]
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PROGRAM CHAIR'S CORNER: My heartfelt thanks to all of you who participated in LMLOC's RUDDIGORE on February 12th, both on
and off stage. Any apprehensions I'd had about attempting one of the more elaborate G&S shows were completely unfounded. How exciting to see total strangers in our audience staying with us to the end! Next year I hope to produce GONDOLIERS in this venue, although, of course, major decisions regarding this event will not be made until the last minute, in order to avoid all that tiresome rehearsing.
Other folks have been rehearsing, however, and we will be enjoying some wonderful upcoming programs because of it. [See page 1 for information on the results of these rehearsals: TWO April meetings mlc.]
On May 7th at 3 PM, the Sudbury Savoyards will host a retrospective of their MIKADO for us at the Sudbury United Methodist Church. Our hearty thanks to this group for again making this experience available to us. Under the direction of the legendary team of Sally Osborn and David C. Larrick, this year's production again fills the stage with excitement as the Town of Titipu comes to life. The Sudbury Savoyards' performances are outdone only by their excellent refreshments part of their focus on relieving world hunger, of course. You won't want to miss this meeting!
PATRICIA BREWER
[Sincere apologies to the Savoyards are due from Us, for having managed to drop their notice from last month's Bray. They are in Our calendar this month, just in time for NEGASSers to catch their fully staged performances THIS COMING WEEKEND! Their annual NEGASS retrospective, please note, is usually only a concert. mlc.]
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UMGASS enjoyed Sudbury Savoyard/NEGASSer David Larrick's nice clean new computergenerated orchestra parts for SORCERER, which they rented for their recent production. They apparently took a look at his setting of the Ahrimanes scene, too, but decided to do it as spoken poetry instead ah, well some other production will use it, Dave! mlc
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From the 'Net: Thank you to those who helped Us strongarm Our husband into setting up Our email account! Our address, FYI, is not Knightsbridge (too many letters), but simply mlcar@ibm.net. Unfortunately, after one delightful week of swinging on a Net, We found Ourselves one morning unable to open Our InBox to get at Our mail and, after that problem was fixed, We found that Our attempts to SEND mail were bouncing so don't send Us anything vital yet! A new mail program will be found ASAP. mlc
Aging audiences? One of the recent "threads" on the "net" (see how quickly We're picking up jargon!) has been "Blue Hair" referring not to Punk styles, but rather to little old ladies or to the perceived Aging of G&S Audiences (and audiences in general), and What To Do About It. What to do about it seems to be what Rose Marie Short (see above) experienced 50 years ago: Get'em young and let'em perform it! Remembering the selfcenteredness of childhood (as distinct from the narcissism of maturity, We guess), We have to agree with those who say, let kids DO rather than merely WATCH, if you want them to be hooked. But it's interesting to note that several of those responding to the "thread" admitted to ages more appropriate to the punk style of blue hair than to the polite bluing of age. Is there really a crisis? Or is it as it always was: some people who love this stuff perform it, and later come back to see it when they can't perform any more (adding to the amount of Blue Hair in the audience), while others come to see it at any age? Note: There are always high school and college kids, as well as adults of all ages, on stage. One thing We love about G&S is the way it spans generations! mlc
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This month's catalog from Heritage Bookshop, Inc., 8540 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90069 lists for sale the following: Sullivan, Sir Arthur: Autograph music manuscript signed: "Hearken unto me My People. Anthem for Four Voices." bound with printers copy for the first Novello edition. The price: a "mere" $12,500, in case anyone has some spare change around. I do have to wonder how many Sullivan manuscripts of any kind have come onto the market in recent years? DONALD SMITH
Wilfrid de Freitas, Bookseller, has just published his second "Little List" of G&S items for sale: Books, libretti, programs, posters, photos, postcards and several letters (ALS) of both Gilbert and Sullivan. The address for the list: Wilfrid de Freitas, 369 Kitchener Avenue, Montreal, Canada H3Z 2G1 Telephone (up to 11 p.m.. EST) 5149359581. FAX: 5149318999. (No email). DONALD SMITH
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REVIEWS
Modified Rapture from Virginia University Press: Many of us who love Gilbert and Sullivan assume it achieved popularity in its day merely because it was better than the other offerings of the theater. The words must have been cleverer, wittier; the music grander, or perhaps more "hummable". But Modified Rapture presents the view of its author Alan Fischler: that it was also much more in accord with the public taste, that it was crafted to be so by Gilbert (who, though he disparaged the extent to which it demonstrated his literary ability, exhibited a masterful ability to thus understand and satisfy the public taste), that it overcame class prejudices against the theater, that it satisfied psychological needs in a public unsettled by the scientific revolution and Charles Darwin, and that Sullivan and Gilbert were not just impressively successful, but astoundingly successful. All this, and more, in a wellargued, welldocumented work of scholarship (the notes section occupies a tenth as much space as the text!) that provided a wealth of entertainment and instruction to your uninformed reviewer.
This book, which was given to us as a review copy, will be presented as a door prize at our Salem meeting. Order forms will be available there, or can be obtained from The University Press of Virginia, Box 3608 University Station, Charlottesville, VA 22903, or upressva@virginia.edu. The price is $27.50 plus postage and handling ($3.00 for one book, 75. more for each additional book). DICK FREEDMAN
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GUINEVERE and Other Ballads by ARTHUR SULLIVAN/ PEARL CD (SHE CD 9636). The English label Pearl has just issued a CD of our own Richard Conrad's Sullivan recital of two summers ago, and I recommend it highly to all lovers of Sullivan and of stylish singing. It makes the best case for Sullivan as a composer of art songs I've heard yet. Here are texts by Shakespeare, Herbert, Shelley, Tennyson, and Hugo, among others, set to remarkably fresh music that entirely transcends the limited genre of Victorian parlor song. "Guinevere" is a miniature tone poem, the "Arabian Love Song" an exotic exercise in crossrhythms and subtle harmonies, "Mary Morison" a folklike tune in a pristine setting, and "Oh! Mar charmante" a mélodie not unworthy of Fauré. There are fourteen more, some familiar and some virtually unknown, but each revealing another facet of Sullivan's lyric gift. Richard Conrad, with his wonderful accompanist William Merrill, knows how to shape each song, with subtle rubato and a naturally breathing line; these are not the mechanical runthroughs I've heard too often in recordings of Sullivan songs. Conrad is a longtime practitioner of the bel canto art, and what a difference that makes in these performances! The CD has a bright, airy acoustic that makes you feel you're right there in Killian Hall. Let's hope a Volume II is in the works. JONATHAN STRONG
Jonathan further comments, "Word is, BAM [Boston Academy of Music] is getting back to G&S when Sanders Theater [Harvard] reopens a bill of SORCERER/TRIAL."
IOLANTHE at Holy Cross
A World Premiere of the New Critical Edition: Many cheers to Bruce Miller at the Holy Cross College for a job well done! He accomplished the formidable task of stage directing the show, musical directing the cast and orchestra, and world premiering the new Critical Edition of IOLANTHE.
The show featured complicated choreography which the cast members carried off so well that at times, it was hard to remember that we were watching a group of college students do this and not a group of professionals. The orchestra was equally professional and a pleasure to listen to.
Highlights of the production included the use of smoke during Iolanthe's first entrance (very effective); excellent choreography during the "March of the Peers," which provided the audience in the "nose bleeder seats" with great general effect sequences the kind of thing that marching bands do; a "gospel revivalist" version of "Into Parliament he shall go," which was loads of fun to watch; and a fullfledged production number encore of "If you go in," which involved the entire cast dancing with tap shoes.
Another amusing thing (I later found out this is actually in keeping with G&S tradition) was an update of "Oh Foolish Fay" which featured the fairies saluting "Cochair Sean" of the Holy Cross SGA. Their star was sitting in the audience, and during the song a portrait of him was unveiled on the side of the stage and the lighting crew shone a spotlight on him so that everyone could see who he was.
The critical edition additions were the peers' reprise of Phyllis' solo in the first act finale and a solo by Strephon in Act 2 called "Fold Your Flapping Wings". During this song Strephon made nice use of some "fairy dust" to conjure up images of street bums and Fagin from Oliver. He also used his fairy dust in the first act finale to call the fairies, which was a nice touch.
Notable performances were given by the Fairy Queen (Kristen Egan), Iolanthe (Nicole Bard), Strephon (Stephen Shove), Lord Tolloller (Michael Rudman), and Private Willis (Steven Gagne).
Weak points of the show included clumsy fairies (although the audience liked this a lot, I object!), and microphone problems which made it difficult to hear the leads who could not project without them working. Bad miking made it especially difficult to hear the Lord Chancellor, which was frustrating at times. Also having three encores for "If you go in" was a bit much. The final production number was wonderful but would have been just as effective nay probably more so if that had been the only encore after the song. The two repeats of the third verse of that song preceding the production number got to be tiresome to watch.
But overall, this production of IOLANTHE was highly entertaining. Congratulations to the cast and crew for putting on one of the best Gilbert and Sullivan productions that I have seen in a very long time.
RANDI M. KESTIN
At Worcester: IOLANTHE Unexpurgated!!! IOLANTHE as its creators launched it was brought back to life in January by Alternate College Theatre, the student performing company at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. Under Bruce Miller's scholarly musical and stage direction, ACT was the first group in this country to base its IO on a new Critical Edition developed for Broude Brothers, Ltd. by Dr. Dinah Barham and Prof. Gerald Henry.
The only notable difference from the usual was the resurrection of a recitative, "My bill has now been read a second time" and a song, "Fold your flapping wings, soaring legislature," both sung by Strephon immediately before his doleful second act soliloquy. The passage is a Dickensdark reproach to Parliament for its indifference to social ills and class injustice, and a bitter "therebutforthegraceofGdgoI" protest. It was cut after opening night in response to harsh critical complaints that it was wholly out of place in a comic opera. More on the subject elsewhere.
ACT's performance was vigorous, workmanlike, and for the most part musically satisfying. As conductor of the competent and (Hooray) sufficientlystringed orchestra, Prof. Miller moved things at a sensible pace (an occasional leisurely start notwithstanding). The choreography moved suitably, given the confines of a small stage required at times to hold a chorus of more than 30 , plus principals.
Of the principals, Nicole Bard as Iolanthe was outstanding in every way. (She was the only principal to eschew a body mike.) Stephen Shove as Strephon sang and acted very well, though his appearance and bouncy bearing seemed much too littleboyish for a man of fiveandtwenty. Craig Cormier as Lord Chancellor displayed proper bearing and a satisfactory voice, though a combination of a constant downward tilt of the head, plus flapping wig, obscured his words. The other principals were creditable, save for Phyllis, sadly, who often strained vocally (with facial expression to suit) and sometimes went a bit flat. Oh, and Private Willis's rifle drill led one to wonder how Wellington ever beat Bonaparte.
But it was a good show, withal, even unto the seemingly mandatory collegecompany Charleston dance routine and, this time, a Gospelstyle turn as well. Good fun, then, from ACT, in its fourth G&S offering in 20 years. May they do many more. GAMMA REX
"FOLD YOUR FLAPPING WINGS" UNFOLDS. Strephon's bitter second act recitative and song, removed form IOLANTHE after opening night when critics panned it, was restored in Worcester's Alternate College Theatre production, based on the new Critical edition of IO published by Broude Bros Ltd. This gratuitous lecture on social injustice had no place in a comic opera, critics had to complain. They were right, I think, despite themselves; it was out of place, but not for the reason they argued.
One must hear the music, really, to know why the passage does not fit. Sullivan set Gilbert's scathing attack on legislative indifference toward social ills and inequities with music that is grim, almost grisly, in its darkness. Had Gilbert written more in this vein, he might have been known as Charles Dickens' heir. Had Sullivan composed more such music, he might today be called a direct precursor of Kurt Weill and the Stephen Sondheim of Sweeney Todd. But Gilbert was not Dickens Redux. His heart did not bleed for the downtrodden lower classes; he was eminently satisfied middle class, and this volley was aimed not at injustice but at the aristocracy embodied in the House of Peers whom he disliked; and Sullivan was not a Kurt Weill, painting society's discords with musical discords. Never did Sullivan approach elsewhere the anguish he put into "Fold..."
Was it wholly out of place in a comic opera? Not in the abstract, perhaps, but it was unsuitable for this comic opera. It cannot be likened to Iolanthe's confrontation with her husband, or Katisha's lament, or Jack Point's painful end. These were fully in context within their stories , and musically congruent with what precedes and follows in Sullivan's familiar sweet wistfulness. "Fold..." is a thunderclap, a passionately angry intrusion, dropped suddenly into fundamentally a lighthearted romp, and just as quickly jerked away and forgotten.
I am glad to have heard it and thereby learned of a facet of Sullivan's creativity I did not know. Would there were more of it somewhere, in a context it deserves. SHELDON HOCHMAN
We can't decide whether We're disappointed or delighted at these reviews. After all the brouhaha about the Critical Edition (and after reading Bruce Miller's contributions to Savoynet), We expected the Worcester IO to be the IO to end all IOs: the definitive Traditionalist version of the show. What We are reading is that it was an excellent, highspirited college production which also included some of the stuff that nobody does any more. We suspect there were more CriticalEdition details that Our reviewers simply missed. So We're sorry that the world has not yet been shown the Pure Light of Ideal IO glad it was an enjoyable show and relieved that all the other IOs coming up this year (there are lots of them, including Ours at MIT in April) will not be Cut Out. Now Traditionalists will have to wait for news of the West Coast group that's planning a reconstruction of the original production, down to the sets and costumes! mlc
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MIKADO in Russia. Last month We asked NEGASSers what they thought about Stanislavski's Method and its application to G&S performance styles. Didn't get much response except for one fat envelope from Ralph MacPhail, who sent Us a copy of an article from the 10/26/68 Saturday Review, written by Hedy and George Jellinek and titled "The One World of Gilbert and Sullivan." In listing and describing all the productions throughout the world which were mounted soon after the original shows were staged, the authors described the first production of MIKADO in Russia: "In 1886, [Stanislavski] was still known by his family name of Alexeyev, head of a brilliantly enterprising family workshop called the Alexeyev Circle. Operetta was the principle interest of the group that year... their sisters came back from Paris with glowing reports about a new English operetta depicting Japanese life, and soon the entire Alexeyev group was engulfed by a MIKADO craze. 'During that winter our home resembled a nook of Japan,' wrote Stanislavski in My Life in Art. '... A troupe of Japanese acrobats, who were appearing in the circus stayed with us day and night... they taught us all the Japanese customs, the manner of walking, deportment, bowing, dancing, and the handling of the fan... We mastered all the Japanese poses without exception ... Every passage, bar of music and strong note had its definite gesture, movement, and action with the fan...'" Stanislavski's brother played the title role; Stan the Man directed and played NankiPooh, apparently to critical acclaim. Ralph also sent Us a copy of the relevant pages from My Life in Art. We'd be happy to share these, and the rest of the SR article, with anyone who asks! mlc
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ELDERHOSTEL G&S: Do you fancy you are elderly enough? If you (or one of you, if a pair) have attained the age of 55, Elderhostel offers you G&S this summer [as in previous summers] in nearby Ivorytown, CT, June 1117. Bob Cumming and other members of the Connecticut G&S Society offer "Gilbert & Sullivan: Museum Pieces or Modern Parody?" a week of lectures, readings and recordings. The week will be capped by informal performances (by those so inclined).
At the notsonearby University of Kent at Canterbury, England, there is a threeweek program, July 18August 10 (conflicting with Buxton), which includes, inter alia, a G&S course described as exploring "the marriage of music and lyrics, drama and staging ... through the context of one of their best and one of their worst operettas." What are their choices, I wonder? Call the Elderhostel at (617) 4268056 for further information.
SHELDON HOCHMAN
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CALENDAR:
Catch the Sudbury Savoyards' MIKADO this weekend! March 2325. Walt Howe will be the eponymous protagonist, with Bill Kuhlman as NankiPoo, Stephen Hird as KoKo, Dennis O'Brien as PoohBah, Paul Lemieux as PishTush, Mary Whallon, Debra Hanggeli and Christine Larsen as Yum, Pitti & Peep, and Paula Moravek as Katisha. Call Producer John Covert at (508) 2635433 for further info.
The Westborough Players will present PIRATES, directed by Lora Chase (Stage) and Fred Frobotta (Music) at the Gibbons Middle School in Westborough 3/ 1718 & 2425 at 8 p.m., and 3/26 at 2:00. Tix are $12 and $10. Call (508) 3667587 for tix & info.
The King Phillip Savoyards will present GONDOLIERS 3/24 & 25th at 8 PM, and 3/25 & 26 at 2 P.M. at the Duxbury Elementary School. Stage Director: NEGASSer Michael McGuire; Conductor: Merilee Mafera; Producer: Richard Knox. Call (617) 9340468 for more info.
If you're planning a trip to San Francisco, catch PIRATES during the weekends of March 18 April 30. Call (415) 2270331 for more info.
Catch Royal Vic's OUR ISLAND HOME before the NEGASS meeting: On March 31 at 8 PM at Watertown High School (a benefit for the school's drama program call 9264552 for tix), or April 1 at the First Parish Church in Watertown (a benefit for the Wright Fund call 9246143 for tix).
On Friday and Saturday, April 6 & 7, Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, MA, will present MIKADO. For information or to order tickets, call the school at (508)7993270.
Montreal West Operatic Soc. will present IOLANTHE April 5 8 at Royal Vale Theatre, 5851 Somerled in NotreDamedeGrace (Montreal). [NEGASSer Wilfrid de Freitas is the Lord Chancellor!] Later performances are planned for Quebec City (4/22) and Knowlton, PQ (5/6). Curtain time for all shows is 8:00 p.m.. For tix & info, call (514) 4887629, write to P.O. Box 1091, Station "B", Montreal, PQ, H3B 3K9, or send email to Shaun G. Lynch (s_lynch@cam.org).
A Noise Within, a Southern California classical repertory theatre company, has scheduled 20 performances of Gilbert's play ENGAGED, from April 5 through May 21. There is a question (being debated on the 'Net) as to whether this will be the West Coast premiere of the play, or even the US premiere. For more info, contact them at A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Ave., Glendale, CA 91204, phone (818) 5461924.
The HarvardRadcliffe G&S Players' PATIENCE will be performed 4/6,8 & 1315 at 8 p.m., and 4/8, 9, & 15 at 2 p.m.. (Yes! They're performing over Easter and the beginning of Passover.) Director is Eileen St. David; Music Director is Benjamin Di Scipio. For tix and info, call (617) 4964747. Secrets from the Inner Brotherhood: Opening Night at Harvard is always Black Tie & Tails; Closing Night is always "Hack Night," so don't go then if you want to see a serious performance.
The MIT G&S Players' production of IOLANTHE (Stage Director: Marion Leeds Carroll; Music Director, David Grunberg) will be performed April 13 and 20, 21 & 22 at 8 P.M., with a 2 P.M. matinee on the 22nd. (Yes! We're avoiding the Easter/ Passover/Patriot's Day weekend!) Familiar names in the cast include Grace Colon as the Fairy Queen and Neal Addicot as Strephon; and WE'RE STILL SHORT OF CHORUS PEERS! If you know the music and would like to join the rehearsals late, give MITG&SP a call! For more info call (617) 2530190, or email: savoyardsrequest@mit.edu
Catch UMGASS in PINAFORE April 616 in Michigan, call 7617855 for info.
If you're in England, trot over to Grim's Dyke some time to enjoy a G&S Cream Tea ( 5/21, 6/4, 7/16 and 8/27) or a G&S Dinner (4/16, 5/21, 6/4, 7/16, 8/27 or 12/31). There are other special occasions throughout the year. These are splendid concerts in fancy Victorian dress; former President Nancy Burstein attended one several years ago, and loved it! (Grim's Dyke, NEGASSers all know, was Gilbert's final home, and the place where he lost his life as a result of an attempt to rescue a girl from drowning.) Phone 081 954 4227 for more info.
The OffMonroe Players will produce MIKADO May 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 at 8 p.m. and May 7& 14 at 2 p.m. in Rochester, New York. CoDirectors are Jean Ryon (2562781) & Joe Washington (2429271). For tix & info, call 2325570 starting 4/24. Send Email to CoProducer Bob Weeks (RCWACC@RIT.EDU) for more info. Performances of The Bronx Opera Company's YEOMEN will take place 5/5 6 at Lehman College in the Bronx, and 5/12 13 at the John Jay College Theatre in Manhattan. Conductors: Michael Spierman and Beatrice Affron; Director: Scott Pegg.
Light Opera Works of Evanston, IL plans PIRATES June 311. The biggest boast on their flyer: The theater in which they perform has been renovated it has 6 new men's' rooms and THIRTEEN new women's rooms! Now, this is worth a trip to IL! Call (708) 8696300 for more info.
Elderhostel G&S in Connecticut: See article above for details; dates are June 1117.
Ocean State Light Opera Company of Providence, RI plans TWO summer productions: RUDDIGORE June 29 July 9 and PINAFORE Aug. 24 Sept. 3. Also, for the second year OSLO will take part in the Maritime Arts Festival in Newport by performing RUDDIGORE on the deck of the sloop Providence from May 19 to 21. For more info, call 5083364915 or 4013316060
We've missed the first run of Hancock County G&SS's 1995 production of IOLANTHE, but the show will be repeated during the third week in July for the summer folk. A local newspaper clipping indicates that the February run was entirely sold out, so get your July tix early! The venue is the Grand Auditorium, Main Street, Ellsworth, ME. Call 207/3745859 to reserve tickets.
Jim Farron of Springfield, VA invites everyone to visit the Gilbert & Sullivan Archive WWW Server at
http://diamond.idbsu.edu/GaS/GaS.html
(Whatever all that means...apparently you can download all sorts of graphics for specific shows; they're asking for groups to send in stuff about their MIKADO productions right now. If you're on the WorldWide Web, you already know more about this than We do! mlc
THE NEW ENGLAND GILBERT AND SULLIVAN SOCIETY
PO Box 367, Arlington, MA 021740004
President RICHARD FREEDMAN
(617) 6309525 ~ wk/voice mail: (508) 8804032
email freedman.richard@mail.ndhm.gtegsc.com
Secretary CAROL MAHONEY: (617) 6481720 Membership Officer BILL MAHONEY: (617) 6481720
Acting Treasurer CARL WEGGEL: (508) 4740396 Program Chair PATRICIA BREWER: (617) 3233480 Editor MARION LEEDS CARROLL: (617) 6469115
NEGASS membership dues are $15 and up. Please send membership inquiries to: Bill Mahoney, 111 Jason Street, Arlington, MA 02174
Marion
Page created 28 Nov 1996