Wright State Theatre presents Gilbert and Sullivan’s mistaken identity musical farce, THE GONDOLIERS in the Herbst Theatre from February 18-27. Written in 1889 by the great founders of English Musical Comedy, Sir Arthur Sullivan and Sir W.S. Gilbert, THE GONDOLIERS is at times as comic as a Saturday Night Live sketch, at other times touching and romantic, and always relentlessly tuneful. Gilbert and Sullivan are the forerunners of some of the greatest writers in the history of Musical Theatre, including Cole Porter, the Gershwins, and Stephen Sondheim. The influences of their comedy and music can be heard in even contemporary musicals like Book of Mormon, Avenue Q and Urinetown.
(seated) Nora DeGreen, Elizabeth Mies, (above) Kyle Channell, Jamie Cordes, Director, Kevin Lausche
The silly story concerns the young bride of the heir to the throne of the fictional kingdom of Barataria who arrives in Venice to join her husband. It turns out, however, that he cannot be identified, since he was entrusted to the care of a drunken gondolier who mixed up the prince with his own son. To complicate matters, the King of Barataria has just been killed. The two young gondoliers must now jointly rule the kingdom until the aged nurse of the prince can be brought in to determine which of them is the rightful king. Moreover, when the young queen arrives to claim her husband, she finds that the two gondoliers have both recently married local girls. A last complicating factor is that she, herself, is in love with another man. Though many audience members have seen The Pirates of Penzance or The Mikado, The Gondoliers is a rarer trat and is Gilbert and Sullivan’s last great hit, running for more than two years in London.
The Gondoliers is directed by Jamie Cordes (Human Race’s Airness, Wright State’s If/Then), who says, “Taking a break from contemporary musical theatre, the students have the opportunity to sing a beautiful, funny and exciting score unplugged. The Gondoliers offers a chance for the students to embody grand characters in a world of outlandish circumstances. The intimate Herbst Theatre provides the perfect place to experience light opera. This production should prove to be a wonderful marriage of singing, movement and acting with elements of Monty Python and a smattering of the surreal humor from the 1980 film, Airplane. If you enjoy that, you will most likely love the writing of Gilbert and Sullivan.” The Gondoliers is Music Directed by Matt Ebright (Staff Musical Director) and Choreographed by Senior Musical Theatre major, Nora DeGreen.
Patrons, cast and crew are required to wear masks at all times. Seating for this production is limited to sixty patrons per performance.
Tickets can be purchased at www.wright.edu/theatre.
For more inco call the box office at(937) 775-2500
