Gilbert & Sullivan's IOLANTHE to Return to New York for Limited Engagement

New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players will conclude its 50th Anniversary Season with fan favorite Iolanthe. Performances will be Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 6, 2025, at 3 p.m. at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College.
 
A fanciful Victorian tale with a heady mix of drama and comedy, Iolanthe or The Peer and the Peri, explores whether a man who is half a fairy can find happiness in a world where to marry a mortal is a capital crime. Despite its completely whimsical premise involving fairies and fairyland, Iolanthe's topsy-turvy plot is a commentary on human nature, human foibles and political institutions that are all too familiar in any age. Sullivan's brilliant score, with echoes of Mendelsohn and other classics, is also appropriately evergreen.
 
"New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' performances can be thoroughly enjoyed by novices and G&S buffs alike," said NYGASP Artistic Director & General Manager Albert Bergeret. "There is not a company anywhere in the United States that provides a better introduction to G&S than we do. Iolanthe tops my list of G&S favorites and has something to delight every generation."
 
Bergeret, founder of NYGASP has dedicated his professional career to the works of Gilbert & Sullivan. For 50 years, he has been its guiding light as both Artistic Director and general manager. Bergeret directs the large cast and also conducts the 25-piece orchestra, with co-direction and choreography by David Auxier.
 
The cast features: James Mills as the Lord Chancellor, Daniel Greenwood as Lord Tolloller, Matthew Wages as Lord Mountararat, David Macaluso as Strephon, Claire Leyden as Phyllis, Angela Christine Smith as Queen of the Fairies, David Wannen as Private Willis, and Amy Maude Helfer in the title role of Iolanthe. The principal cast is rounded out by Caitlin Borek as Celia, Alexandra Imbrosci-Viera as Leila and Natalia Hulse as Fleta. Peter Shaerf is the Lord Chancellor’s Train Bearer.
 
The ensemble includes Sam Balzac, Carlyn Barenholtz, Michael J. Connolly, Katie Hall, Maurio Hines, Hannah Holmes, Sarah Hutchison, Dana Kluczyk, Patrick Lord-Remmert, John Charles McLaughlin, Quinto Ott, Kendrick Pifer, Michelle Seipel, Laura Sudduth, Tyler Tejada, and Adam Hirama Wells.
 
The pastoral and urban London settings are by Jack Garver, with lighting by Benjamin Weill. Costumes, including replicas of ceremonial robes worn by British Lords, are by Gail J. Wofford.