Gaily Tripping Iolanthe at Young Victorian Theatre Company

This summer, Young Victorian Theatre Company offered as its production Iolanthe, the seventh of the fourteen operas written by W.S. Gilbert as librettist and Arthur Sullivan as composer. On opening day, general director Brian Goodman introduced the work as Gilbert and Sullivan’s “most political,” and with the characterization of the Peers and Lord Chancellor and the discussion of Liberal versus Conservative, it’s easy to see why. The changes made to the libretto, reflective of our contemporary time as is tradition for shows in this canon, made for pointed commentary that the audience very much enjoyed. In the opening scene, gaily tripping came the lovely fairies. Sullivan fills the score with what can only be described as the very sound of fairies, as if he sprinkled the music in pixie dust. The entire female ensemble was excellent and also adorable, with gorgeous costumes from the Sarasota Opera Association supervised by Mary Bova and coordinated by Jane Kennedy. Makeup director Nic Berg also brought the fairies to life with colorful eyeshadow and tons of glitter. Among the cast, Cassidy Dixon, Ann Fogler, and Dorienne Hoven brought spunk and sass to their principal fairy roles, informing their Queen that she cannot kill ALL of them if all should choose to marry mortals, as had the title character. Rebecca Sacks, another perfect casting choice as the Queen of the Fairies, ruled the stage as well as the fairies in her gold gown and jewels. Unafraid to use her instrument to the furthest possible dramatic effect, as with the loe register in the Act I finale, she also demonstrated her facility with legato in her Act II aria. Hannah Wardell as Iolanthe also showed off her fabulous mezzo voice, even with the little the composer gave her to work with. Despite the fact that it is the title role, the character herself gets criminally little stage and singing time, which made it all the more critical that Wardell make the most of it, and she did. One of the plot points is that Iolanthe is a mother as well as a fairy, and Wardell conveyed that warm maternal characterization with Steven Warnock, who played her son Strephon. She also successfully differentiated that from her romantic warmth and tenderness with the Lord Chancellor later in the show, so kudos to her for showing the audience two different types of love in one performance. Last but certainly not least for the women, Claire Iverson was a perfect Phyllis, with a crystal-clear soprano and a flair for her lines that perfectly captured their comedy, for example when she expresses an indifference for which Peer will take her as his bride. She also looked stunning in her costumes, particularly in her gold gown in Act II. Both her costumes and voice were paired well with Warnock’s strong baritone and charming characterization of Strephon, at times sharing his shepherd’s crook and in both acts matching his clothing colors. Being thus charmed by Warnock, who was no less than amazing in his role, one might have wondered how the other men in the cast would match him. Enter the Peers and Thomas Hochla as the Lord Chancellor, with Hochla specifically strutting and flourishing his gown with more flair, composure, and grace than a debutante at a ball. His choreography for this production was excellent, as to be expected, and also he somehow seemed overall to raise the bar a notch for this production in terms of dialect, singing, and characterization, which everyone around him rose to meet. A true triple threat, the company is both lucky to have him and wise to keep him. Right alongside the Lord Chancellor are the Earl of Mountararat, played by Spencer Adamson, and Earl Tolloller, played by Daniel Casasanto. These two played an irresistible comic pair, at first competing for Phyllis, but then realizing they love each other too much to consider fighting each other to the death, as would be required if she chose one of them over the other. Always a pleasure to see and hear Adamson, who is a regular at the company and hilarious as well as charming in this role, this was my first time hearing Casasanto, and I found his tenor to be brilliant and his comic timing to be spot-on. He and Adamson played off each other so naturally that one hopes to see them in more such pairings in the future. Finally among the male principals, Jim Williams was delightful as Private Willis, in particular stealing a moment at the end of the show when he is granted fairy wings and transforms from his serious expression into a look of unbridled, childlike elation. As far as the technical aspects of the show, Chris Flint’s scenic design was excellent, with interesting angles making for good stage pictures with the actors onstage. The 3D-printed statue of Queen Victoria was possibly the most impressive set piece, especially when considering how strikingly it and the Queen of Fairies resembled each other. Katie McCreary’s lighting design made use of beautiful colors, though in some colors it seemed the London backdrop, and Big Ben specifically, got revealed sooner than intended. Both the acting and technical aspects of this production reflected the stellar work of Catrin Davies, the stage director and artistic director of the company. In collaboration with the artists, choreographer, and production team, Davies in this production created a work of storytelling that was both beautiful and true to Sullivan’s score and Gilbert’s words. Davies has said that Iolanthe is her favorite work in the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, and that showed. Finally, the orchestra. J. Ernest Green once again lead a beautiful, clean sound from them. Sometimes, the orchestra overpowered the singers, but not for the most part, and part of that can be attributed to the acoustics of the theater, where sound does not carry as far the further upstage the actors are. That said, this is an orchestra that is a privilege to hear. One would be hard-pressed to find an ensemble that can play this music as well as they do. Altogether, this summer’s Iolanthe reinforces why Young Victorian Theatre productions should be a yearly tradition for any opera fan. So, what’s planned for next year? Those who listened to the music in the bows might just have gotten a hint. Maggie Ramsey Iolanthe or, The Peer and the Peri Music by Arthur Sullivan Libretto by W.S. Gilbert Cast The Lord Chancellor – Thomas Hochla; Earl of Mountararat – Spencer Adamson; Earl Tolloller – Daniel Casasanto; Private Willis – Jim Williams; Strephon – Steven Warnock; Queen of the Fairies – Rebecca Sacks; Iolanthe – Hannah Wardell; Celia – Cassidy Dixon; Leila – Ann Fogler; Fleta – Dorienne Hoven; Phyllis – Claire Iverson; Page to the Lord Chancellor – Cass Niazy; Fairy Attendants – Elyse Bitner, Teleri Jenkins; Chorus of Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts, Barons, and Fairies – Marina Beeson, Abigail Bilenki, J Austin Bitner, Page Bitner, Zhan Caplan, Howard Freeland, Fallon Goodman, Jeff Hochstetler, Timothy Kjer, James Kolar, John La Costa, Kristin Pagent, Andres Perez-Doval, Sarah Robinson, Jason Rudy, Chyna Sinclair, Kevin D. Smith, Caroline Soden, Charlie Sweet, Jon Teter, Margaret Yefimenko Production Staff General Manager – Brian S. Goodman; Associate General Manager – Fallon Goodman; Accountant – Kathy Mardaga; Artistic Director – Catrin Rowena Davies; Music Director & Conductor – J. Ernest Green; Director of Production & Scenic Designer – Christopher Flint; Choreographer – Thomas Hochla; Stage Manager – Hanna Ward; Lighting Designer – Katie McCreary; Costume Supervisor – Mary Bova; Costume Coordinator – Jane Kennedy; Wig & Makeup Director – Nic Berg; Light Board Operator – Levi Gorstan; Stage Crew & Property Manager – Armaan Uppal; Stage Crew & Property Manager – Dominic Yap; Surtitles – Phyllis Everette; Public Relations Director – Laura Farmer; Box Office & House Manager – Larry Lambert; Graphic Designer & Website Manager – Todd Douglas; Orchestra Manager – Bill Welty; Concertmaster – Greg Kuperstein; Orchestra Librarian – Kari Shea; Rehearsal Accompanist – Erica Rome; Costumes – Sarasota Opera Association Top image: (L to R) Jim Williams as Private Willis, Rebecca Sacks as Queen of the Fairies, Thomas Hochla as The Lord Chancellor, and Hannah Wardell as Iolanthe All photos by Todd Douglas