Gilbert and Sullivan Announce Casting for PATIENCE at Kaye Playhouse

After a sell-out engagement with their new production of The Mikado, New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, America's preeminent professional Gilbert & Sullivan repertory company, continues its new and exciting 2016-17 Season with the audience favorite Patience playing for a strictly limited engagement (April 29 & 30) at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (East 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues). Casting was just made public.

A trio of youthful stars of NYGASP headline the cast of Patience - the Gilbert & Sullivan classic featuring Poet(ic) Obsession, or, the new celebrity fascination of the Victorian Era. The NY Times described this cast's performances in these roles as "played to the hilt, fawning and prancing with willowy abandon" (James Mills as poet Bunthorne); "sang ably and acted admirably" (David Macaluso as poet Grosvenor); and "sweet voiced, amiably blank" (Sarah Caldwell Smith as the naïve village milkmaid Patience). They are joined by Company stalwarts Caitlin Burke as the elderly Lady Jane ("ample voice and physical gusto...genuinely uproarious"), and another macho military trio "terrific as dragoon officers" including Matthew Wages, CameRon Smith, and Jason Whitfield. The Ladies obsessed with the celebrity poets are played and sung, in over the top fashion, by Brooke Collins (Ella), Michelle Seipel (Saphir) and Amy Maude Helfer (Angela) - all veterans of past NYGASP productions. At the helm, and in the pit, is Founder and Artistic Director Albert Bergeret (who the Times mentioned as a New York treasure for having "done yeoman's work guarding and promoting the peerless operettas and traditions of the English duo for which his company is named") - ably assisted by Choreographer and Associate Stage Director David Auxier (who conceived and directed NYGASP's recent hit production of The Mikado). Benjamin Weill provides appropriately moody lighting and Gail J. Wofford manages the colorful and exotic costumes with scenery by Albère.

Patience is a virtue. And a milkmaid. Fads come and go, and aesthetic poetry is all the rage these days, especially among the maidens who have all become groupies of the self-styled poet Reginald Bunthorne - to the dismay of their macho military boyfriends. All but Patience, the virtuous village milkmaid who claims to have never loved anyone. She doesn't care for poetry much either, and, as it turns out, neither does Bunthorne! And while Bunthorne is infatuated with Patience, she falls for her childhood crush Archibald Grosvenor, another famous and attractive aesthete. The rigid military men attempt to win back their ladies by comically posing as willowy poets, but, when exasperated Bunthorne challenges Grosvenor to give up the current aesthetic craze, and he does, it backfi res. Being common becomes the new celebrity, and all the ladies choose their old sweethearts, including Patience - proving after all, that every generation has its own temporary insanity!

Sunday afternoon's performance will be host to the popular Family Overture Series - a musical introduction and plot summary made entertaining for the entire family! *Matinee admission is your ticket to Family Overture!

Under the dynamic leadership of Artistic Director Albert Bergeret, The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players has been hailed as "the leading custodian of the G&S classics" by New York Magazine and has created its own special niche in the cultural mosaic of New York City and the nation. Since its founding in 1974, the company has presented over 2,000 performances of the G&S masterpieces throughout the United States, Canada and England, captivating audiences of all ages. NYGASP's productions are charged with engaging contemporary entertainment values while retaining respect for the famous duo's comedic and musical genius.

The NYGASP 2016-17 season is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Performance times for Patience at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (East 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues are as follows: Saturday, April 29 (2pm); Saturday, April 29 (7:30pm); Sunday, April 30 (3pm, Family Overture @ 1:45pm). Tickets are priced at $95 - $25. Discount Offers include: 50% off children 12 and under, accompanied by an adult; 10% off seniors 65 and older. *Premium tickets for Patience are not available at discounted prices. Matinee admission is your ticket to Family Overture.

For more information and tickets for the limited engagement of Patience (April 29-30, 2017) at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (East 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues) visit www.nygasp.org or phone the Kaye Playhouse box office (212) 772-4448. Premium tickets are available for purchase by visiting www.nygasp.org or calling 212-769-1000.

Photo Credit: William Reynolds