The World of Gilbert and Sullivan
The World of Gilbert and Sullivan
Directed by John Segers
Orlando Gilbert and Sullivan Players
Athens Theatre, Deland, FL</strong>
Attending a Gilbert and Sullivan concert often reminds me of crashing a church service. There’s a hyper-realism to the event, everyone but you knows the music, but after a little while you catch on and soon you’re singing along. Next thing you know, you’re on the Building and Grounds Committee and your wife is baking cookies for the choir.
It’s a bit of a drive out the charming Old Florida town of Deland, but they’ve done a nice job of giving the old down town some shops and restaurants. Best of all, they’ve reconstructed the classic old Athens Theatre. Its right across from the Court House, the seating and acoustics are superb, the sound and lights excellent, and the place is so new it still smells of plasterboard. They’re still auditioning for a ghost, if you’re feeling poorly and looking for work.
Gilbert and Sullivan dominated the Victorian passion for Light Opera, Today we’d call it Musical Theater – not all the dialog was sung, conventional acting and speaking fit between the musical numbers, but the songs were the golden nuggets of G&S’s 14 shows. While someone lost their first production, Thespis, numbers form each of the remaining libretti cross tonight’s stage.
The Master of Ceremonies and director, John Segers, appears in an age-appropriate tuxedo and handlebar moustache, introducing the music and occasionally performing. This set of 7 players are all excellent singers and bring out the best in G&S, even if they avoid the well known for the more obscure. The opener comes from “The Gondoliers”, one of G&S’s later numbers. As Erik Branch and Gerrit Koester ice dance across stage, they sing the story of two taxi drivers who take over the monarchy of Venice and remake it as an enlightened democracy. The theme is a staple, the writers loved exploring class distinction and it absurdity.
As the 12 remaining stories are sampled, we get such gem as “Three Young Girls” from “The Mikado” performed by Kelly Fagen, Theresa Segers, and Patricia Osbourn, “Ruth” from “Pirates of Penzance” sung by Terrilea Myers, and probably their all time biggest hit, “I Am The Model Of A Modern Major General” sung by the Maestro Segers. That song underwent a major rewrite by Tom Lehrer in the ’60s to become the well known Geek Anthem “The Element Song.”
The Orlando Gilbert and Sullivan Players presented of fine program of Victorian music, and after you here enough of the songs, you’ll detect certain melodic themes that the writes rely upon over and over. Lyrical fireworks subdue the stock music, but Gilbert and Sullivan have such as strong style that after this show you ought to pick out any random G&S song with 99% accuracy. It’s almost like the styling of church musicians, the faithful can tell Martin Luther from Charles Wesley just as easily as you can tell Bach from Handel. This is music for the faithful, and the fellowship is wonderful.
For more information on events at the Athens Theatre in Deland, please visit http://www.athenstheatre.org
The Orlando Gilbert and Sullivan Players have more information at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/event.php?eid=56313942778&ref=mf</em>
