A fresh twist on Victorian satire
REVIEW | Light Opera's 'Iolanthe' is stylishly droll
Contemporary audiences tend to roll their eyes at the mention of Gilbert & Sullivan, quickly consigning that bristlingly sardonic team to the dustbin of quaint British Victorian music hall history. A big mistake, for just think of it this way: Librettist William S. Gilbert was really the Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert of his day. And frankly, it's too bad neither Stewart nor Colbert have the services of a composer as droll and playfully mocking as Arthur Sullivan.
Just take a peek at Light Opera Works' beguiling, often-hilarious revival of "Iolanthe," now in a lavishly designed, hugely engaging revival. The show, which puts a Victorian spin on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," tells the fanciful tale of a group of smug, superficially gentlemanly members of the House of Lords and their romantic entanglements with the "peri" subculture (a "peri" is a fallen angel, supernatural sprite or woodland fairy, but let's just call those gathered here a group of mischievous, eternally young women). And because "Iolanthe" is very, very English, this is not simply a classic tale of sex and politics, but one of class tension, too.
The little miracle in all this is how deftly and convincingly the Light Opera Works cast manages to make the show feel wholly fresh. Credit director Kurt Johns for his impeccable sense of style, Rudy Hogenmiller for his zesty musical staging and conductor Roger L. Bingaman and his 26-piece orchestra for the deliciously grand sound. And don't overlook Gilbert's timeless wit, either. Listen to the lyrics of the Lord Chancellor's song about insomnia (a brilliant turn by the peerless James Harms). Or delight in the naughty knowingness of the super-smart Grenadier Guard (Frank DeVincentis), who muses on the way humans can be neatly divided into those "a little bit liberal and a little bit conservative." (DeVincentis brings down the house with this song and should be hired to repeat his performance at both political conventions.)
There is equal fun to be had in the on-again, off-again romance between Strephon (Colm Fitzmaurice is perfection), the boyish half-man, half-fairy who moves from shepherd to leading member of Parliament, and the upwardly mobile shepherdess Phyllis (a deliciously manipulative Alicia Berneche). She, in turn, is pursued by several bigwigs, including two lords (terrific turns by Alex Honzen and Bill Chamberlain). Meanwhile, Veronica McHale is all grande-dame hauteur as Queen of the Fairies, Jessye Wright is full of dignity as Iolanthe, the long-suffering bride of a mortal, and Natalie Ford, Heather Brandon-DeSouza and Baylea Morgan lead the rest of the addled but adorable fairies who complicate (and brighten) the lives of the lords.