Light Opera Works sure knows how to mount Gilbert & Sullivan’s operettas. Their latest production is a wonderful production of what this reporter believes is Gilbert & Sullivan’s finest work – The Yeomen of the Guard. Yeomen contains all of the wit and satire expected in a G & S operetta yet it has the sweet charm and lovable characters with one in particular that brings us to tears at the end – Jack Point, played with comic aplomb and empathy by George Andrew Wolff.
While there is promise here in Dana Lynn Formby’s play, it has hints of Lanford Wilson and Tracy Letts in the emotionally charged family dynamics, it develops too slowly with all the early speechifying monologues.
The orchestra, under Ryan Brewster’s direction was excellent and not too loud. They made Menken’s score soar. Jonathan Hymen played the nerdy Seymour with gusto. Ashley Bush, as Audrey and Peter Verdico, as Mr. Mushnick offered sincere performances. The chorus of Irene Parino, Jill Valentine and Erin Elle East sang their hearts out.
There is much more in this fun filled two hours; hand balancing, cube aerialists, Ring rolling foot manipulators ( the amazing Laurinos from Argentina), strap flying, Perch balancing, wire walking and while all these events are taking place other cast members are creating the city scene as objects and people.
Ron Conner, Bakestra King, Ericka Ratcliff, Alexis J. Rogers and Samuel G. Roberson, Jr. pour energy, comic shops, and over-the-top acting to garner enough belly laughs to satisfy…
George C. Wolfe’s wild comedy pulls no punches as it satirizes, with exaggerated images of black life, by accentuating the extreme stereotypes of blacks in 11 sketches…
The Lester clan is a morally corrupt group of poverty stricken sharecroppers that find themselves without money, food or hope. The Lester’s give new depth to dysfunctional and desperate families. They are faced with starvation and eviction from the land they have farmed for generations.
I was never able to get over the above flaws. Added Phyllis’ insecurity or jealousy when Joyce tells her that she wants to pose nude for Frank. Phyllis threatens to leave Joyce if that happens. Phyllis, despite Cheryl Graef’s attempts to make her likable, comes of as a nasty, narrow-minded control freak feminist.
Fuerza Bruta means Break Free, and this is what we the audience get to do as we watch the performers tell their stories. Reality, the world we just came from no longer exists ( at least for the next 65 minutes) as we get caught up in the action and music of this spectacular presentation. The visual effects that we see are indeed mind-blowing and the performers are in great shape
Taking a Czech novel from the 1930’s translating it and adapting it to the stage is a difficult task but Jason Loewith and Justin D. M. Palmer has succeeded in creating a fascinating world where man’s self destructive nature finds its match.
The early monologues featuring rapid speech and pointless ramblings about apartments came across as whining. I found all four of the characters as insecure losers devoid of ambition and self-confidence. Why Ruth has to move so often is never adequately explained and Astor’s unwillingness to work makes couch surfing an urban survival skill for him.