The Company of IolantheThe McGill Savoy Society opened its new production of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Iolanthe on February 9, 2018. The show runs for three more performances on Friday, February 16 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, February 17 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm at Moyse Hall Theatre in the McGill University Arts Building at 555 Sherbrooke Street West.
Magic and politics collide as a band of woodland fairies turns the stuffy House of Peers upside down in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta. Years ago, Iolanthe broke fairy law by wedding a mortal. Now, her half-mortal son Strephon is barred from marrying his own true love Phyllis by her guardian, the powerful Lord Chancellor. Sullivan's sparkling melodies and Gilbert's satirical wit animate this tale of love at odds with the law.Aaron Meredith and Guy Ettlin
Iolanthe, or The Peer and the Peri, premiered at the Savoy Theatre in London on November 25, 1882. Running for 398 performances, it was Gilbert and Sullivan's fourth consecutive success and their first operetta to open at the Savoy. Iolanthe was also the first original theatrical production to use only electric lighting, which allowed for some innovative effects that were not previously possible in the age of gaslight. Across the Atlantic, a New York production opened simultaneously, and the operetta reached the rest of the UK and the US via touring companies. The first London revival hit the stage in 1901, and the showed toured in repertory with The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1891 almost continuously until 1982.
Lindsay Peets
The new production at McGill is directed by Roger Andrews, whose credits as a professional singer include performances with the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the New York Philharmonic. Assistant direction and choreography are by Coralie Heiler, scenic design by Jean Claude Olivier, costumes by Nicole Heiler of Les Productions Coracole, lighting by Gaspard Nahmias, sound design by Emma van Esbroeck, makeup design by Sophia Chau Hoang, and stage management by Maya Caplan. The 24-piece orchestra is directed by Sara Wunsch, with vocal direction provided by Didier Blach-Laflèche (who also conducts two of the six performances). The show is co-produced by Marc Ducusin and Matthew Mckeown.
Founded in 1964, The McGill Savoy Society celebrated its 53rd Anniversary last year as the oldest university-affiliated Gilbert and Sullivan Troupe in Canada. As a student-run organization of the Students' Society of McGill University, the McGill Savoy Society is a non-profit, high-profile theatre group that produces a mainstage production operetta in addition to a variety of sideshows every year. The McGill Savoy Society is proud to foster a widespread plethora of theatrical knowledge both on and off stage.
(1).jpg "BWW Previews: Gilbert and Sullivan's IOLANTHE at Moyse Hall Theatre")
%20appeals%20to%20the%20Lord%20Chancellor%20(Guy%20Ettlin).jpg "BWW Previews: Gilbert and Sullivan's IOLANTHE at Moyse Hall Theatre")
%20spreads%20her%20wings%20as%20Celia%20(Hannah%20Moloshok)%20looks%20on.jpg "BWW Previews: Gilbert and Sullivan's IOLANTHE at Moyse Hall Theatre")