Iolanthe

Of course, I'm easily amused, but the Gilbert and Sullivan Player's second production could easily amuse anyone. After all, the only thing that Gilbert and Sullivan really requires is a good chorus and plenty of vigor. Iolanthe has both, and more. The show has a few good voices, enough upright carriage and arching of brows, and just the right proportion of gentle traipsing. Iolanthe's brilliant lines, scoring Liberals and Conservatives, Queen Victoria, and the peer-made British plebes, Parliament and Chancery and even Captain Shaw of the London Fire Brigade, could carry virtually any cast. Happily, they do not need to carry this one.

As usual, the chorus dominates the production and, in this case, typifies its vigor and beautiful clumsiness. The fairies, while retaining their mock grace throughout, have enough individuality of feature to be genuinely comic, rather than a mere weary shuffling crowd. And the Peers manage to retain their stiff upper lips almost all the time, but fortunately not quite all the time. (Besides, they manage some very nice harmonies.) Richard Grand, the stage director, keeps them moving just enough to keep things lightsome.

The males in the cast give generally the most impressive individual performances, with Bruce MacDonald given highest honors because he cannot only sneer and hop, but sing. Benjamin Neilson, as the other Earl, is not troubled by this latter difficulty, but carries himself well and obscures none of the humor, which is all that counts. The Lord Chancellor, Arthur Waldstein, has an even less prepossessing voice, and occasionally his froggish hops seem uncertain and feeble, but he does manage some of Gilbert's speedier lyrics, all the while conveying a most Chancellorial wizenedness. Perhaps less sure of himself on stage, and thus even more effective (as a shepherd gone M.P.) is John Bernard, a Strephon with a good voice and lively (though mortal) legs.

Although the males in the cast carry most of the operetta, perhaps the standout is Alison Keith as Queen of the Fairies. Wonderfully arch, she carries off everything she attempts, even mixed lines. Though Elizabeth Peterson confounds none of her lines, nor in fact does anything foolish, she somehow conveys a less satisfactory impression. She is said to have a good voice, but I find it, and the seriousness with which she takes it, irritating. Her part, of course, will not permit the clownishness of the others, but still one wishes that she would consent to do mere Gilbert and Sullivan. (With a heynonny. .) Another element of undue sobriety can be found in the piano-playing, which because of its conscientious competence makes the overture seem interminable. The blocking is also occasionally stiff, but, in the case of the chorus, amusing enough. The production as a whole is more than amusing enough.