Gilbert & Sullivan's
The Gondoliers
(or, The King of Barataria)

June 12, 13, 19 & 20, 2009 at 8pm
June 14 & 21, 2009 at 2pm

Directed by Kelly Newman O'Connor
Music Directed by Joseph Sorge

Cast   

The Duke of Plaza Toro - Gary Sullivan
Luiz - Peter Oliver-Krueger
Don Alhambra de Bolero - Blair Eig
Marco Palmieri - Jacy D'Aiutolo
Giuseppe Palmieri - Bill Brown
Antonio - Adam Jackson
Francesco - Rick DuPuy
Giorgio - Tom Goode
Duchess of Plaza Toro - Melissa Kornacki
Casilda - Sarah Kate Walston
Gianetta - Jennifer McGinnis
Tessa - Monica Szabo
Fiametta - Gwendolyn Mravca
Vittoria - Carla Rountree
Giulia - Madeleine Smith
Inez - Jane Maryott

Ensemble - Lauren Anguish, Noah Friedlander, Annie Gribben, William Hernandez, Tara Hockensmith, Laura Hubbard, Rand Huntzinger, Ralph Johnson, Carlton Maryott, Tom McGrath, Annie Milligan, Jim Noone, Lynn Ritland, Julie Stevens, Rebecca Sullivan, Ed Vilade

Orchestra

Violin 1 - Steve Natrella (CM), Bonnie Barrows, David Friedlander, Carolyn Larson
Violin 2 - Martin Brown, Irv Berner, Alexandra Morton, Alana Liskov, Andrew Nixon
Viola - Amanda Laudwein, Victor Ontiveros
Cello - Michael Stein, Andrew Schneider, Laurie Brown
Bass - Pete Gallanis, Kimberly Johnson
Flute - Jackie Miller, Louise Hill
Oboe - Gwen Earle
Clarinet - Laura Langbein, Laura Bornhoeft, Jim Bensinger
Bassoon - John Hoven, David Bell
Horn - Joe Cross, James Kocsis
Trumpet - Curt Anstine, Bernie Rappaport
Trombone - Al Potter, Frank Eliot
Percussion - George Huttlin

Production Staff

Producer - Denise Young
Assistant Director - John O'Connor
Assistant Music Director - Jenny Craley Bland
Choreographer - Laura Boyer
Stage Manager - Denise Young
Assistant Stage Managers -  Tony Dwyer, Lucy Hellerman
Lighting Designer - Jonathan Zucker
Assistant Lighting Designer - Jeff Mikoni
Set Design - John O'Connor
Scenic Artist - Rebecca Meushaw
Costumes - Kelly Newman O'Connor
Costume Assistants - Linda Newman
Master Carpenter - William Kolodrubetz
Carpenters - Pete Silvia, Peter Finkel, Tony Dwyer, Les Elkins, Bill Rippey, Dave Kaysen, Pete Oliver-Krueger
Rehearsal Pianist - Jenny Craley Bland
Photography - Harvey Levine
Program - Denise Young
Surtitles - Doug Maryott
Graphic Design - John Boulanger
Publicity - Sandy Rovner, Ed Vilade
Properties - Company
Educational Outreach Program - Lisa Freese
House Management - Merle Haber
Set Storage - Rockville Civic Center

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Director's Note

Benvenuti a Venezia! Gilbert and Sullivan loaded this show with songs beautiful and hilarious, and more dances than in any other of their shows. In addition to such familiar dances as waltzes and minuets, the choreography also includes more obscure dance styles such as the gavotte. The highlight of any production of The Gondoliers is the Spanish-flavored cachucha. The lively dance first appeared in the 1830's; the show takes place in the 1740's, but it is clear to see why Gilbert and Sullivan couldn't resist including "the wildest of dances". According to www.streetswing.com, "cachucha" means "anything that is graceful and pretty"; our choreographer certainly bore that in mind.

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!" Don Alhambra de Bolero, the Grand Inquisistor in The Gondoliers, is an experty in surveillance and enhanced interrogation techniques. Venice has a long history of employing Inquisitors for the purpose of public safety. This is a rather surprising figure to find in a musical comedy, but G&S often mix in a bit of danger--think of the potential beheadings in The Mikado. The Don's name lets us know that he's not too dangerous, though; the Alhambra is a beautiful palace in Spain, and the Bolero is a romantic dance.

Speaking of names for comic effect, there is the Duke of Plaza-Toro, Count Picadoro, Baron Matadoro--all three of his titles refer to bullfighting, but he is rather timid.

Gilbert also expertly makes fun of the new trend for members of the nobility to earn extra money by capitalizing on their names. "Celebrity endorsements", we call it now--as when Princess Fergie does commercials for Weight Watchers, or Britney Spears advertises for acne cream. Lillie Langtry, the celebrated Victorian beauty-turned actress, is credited with the first celebrity endorsement in 1881; she had her picture on posters advertising Peat's Soap. Similarly, the Duchess of Plaza-Toro says that her own "complexion derives its perfection from somebody's soap--which it doesn't!"

Gilbert and Sullivan were satirizing current events and political figures of the end of the 19th century; today, you'd need footnotes to understand some of the jokes, unless you update the script. We've changed a number of the lyrics--our talented cast members rewrote their own words, but not too far in advance. We realized how quickly jokes based on current events can fade--what was a clever dig two months ago is already old news.

Slang changes even faster, but one word we decided not to tamper with is the adjective "jimp", which is used to describe the lovely Casilda. The word entered the English language in 1508, and it means "slender, graceful, and neat" (Oxford English Dictionary). Try it out on your friends!

Our designer, who is a heraldry buff, enjoyed tweaking the Castilian coat of arms for the Plaza-Toros, and "canting", or making a visual pun, on the Baratarian royal crest. Look at the shields in Act II; the design works as a rebus.

It has been a privilege and a joy to work with the talented and delightful VLOC community--mille grazie a tutti!