Friday, April 25, 2008

The Yeomen of the Guard

The Yeomen of the Guard (or, The Merryman and His Maid) by Gilbert and Sullivan (or, G & S)

The play began with the arrival of Queen Victoria and her court, of which our friend played the part of being the Queen's right handmaiden. Everybody stood and the whole cast and some members of the audience sang, "God Save The Queen."

"The Yeomen of the Guard" tells the story of Colonel Fairfax (Steven Lumpkin), wrongly imprisoned in the Tower of London on a charge of sorcery. He has a secret admirer, Phoebe (Evelyn McCauley), who sighs with hopeless love for Fairfax. Wilfred Shadbot (Jim Burnette), head jailer and assistant tormentor, looks on with jealous eye, as he hopes to catch Phoebe's eye. Dame Currithers (Karen Gray), Tower housekeeper, cares not for Phoebe's lament as she believes Fairfax to be guilty.

Phoebe's father, Sergeant Meryll (Richard Dideriksen), believes in Fairfax and hopes that with the arrival of his son, Leonard (Ben Neufang), will come a reprieve for Fairfax. Alas, none is forthcoming. Behind Fairfax's imprisonment is the jealousy of his cousin Sir Clarence Plotwhistle (sir not appearing in this production), who stands to inherit the Fairfax estate should Fairfax die unwed. Fairfax asks Sir Richard Cholmondeley, the Lieutenant of the Tower (Richard Palmer) to find a woman willing to marry him. The dowry would be a hundred crowns. Sounds simple enough, but where to find a mate?

Enter a jester, Jack Point (John Adams), and a merrymaid, Elsie Maynard (Katherine Anderson). The Lieutenant approaches Elsie with Fairfax's proposal. Despite some heming and hawing (mostly by Point-who harbors a desire to marry Elsie), Elsie agrees. Fairfax never actually sets eyes on Elsie, as he is locked in his cell and she does not enter it.
Meanwhile, Meryll has conceived of a plan (with the help of Phoebe and Leonard) to help Fairfax escape.

Chaos ensues when it is discovered that the prisoner has escaped. Elsie is still married. Point cannot marry her. Phoebe cannot marry Fairfax as he is married to Elsie. Point comes up with an elaborate plan, with the help of Wilfred the jailer, to prove Fairfax is dead.

More chaos and hilarity ensues when the plans of Meryll and Point unravel. Part of the unravelling was done by Phoebe-unwittingly, and part by news that a pardon for Fairfax has arrived and that Fairfax (who is very much alive) is coming to claim his bride.

A very well done production. Superb job by all the leads. I was especially impressed by Ms. Anderson (Elsie). A nice blend of humor and drama. Mostly humor. The orchestra (while one of the violins was out of tune) got a well deserved ovation for the music it provided during the show. It would be easy to crticize by saying a couple lines were missed and you couldn't hear all the parts when multiple people were singing different lines at the same time. But hey, it was not so bad as to be distracting. The pros far outweigh any petty criticisms that could be levied. Any mistakes in lines-and they must have been very few indeed-were well covered over. The actors obviously took pride in their craft. The set design, while not overly elaborate, served its purpose well and was used effectively.

I liked the musical humbers very much. And the wife pointed out that "I Have a Song to Sing, O!" (done by Point and Elsie) was also done by Peter, Paul and Mary. The story and action flowed smoothly from scene to scene. I thought the dance numbers were well choreographed and performed. Having done marching band and taking ballroom dancing lessons, it is not a small thing to be able to perform the correct steps and their number at the right time in the music. And this was not merely moving feet, but hands and arms as well, and all the while singing. High marks are given to all who made the Durham Savoyards Ltd production of "The Yeomen of the Guard" a great show.

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