'Ruddigore' Brings a Spark of Magic to Agassiz

Biting wit met the supernatural in “Ruddigore; or, the Witch’s Curse,” to genuinely comedic effect. The Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players’ latest endeavor, which ran Oct. 30-Nov. 8 in the Agassiz Theater, brimmed with energy. Backflips and extended chase sequences filled the stage in a show of lively dynamism, but “Ruddigore” was ultimately a delightful experience not for the hilarity of its script but instead for the intelligent approach taken by its cast and crew. Through well-rounded acting and effective technical design, the production successfully provided laughs with a dash of fitting self-awareness.

“Ruddigore” follows Robin Oakapple (Jake A. Corvino ’19), who is actually Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, the Baronet of Ruddigore—a cursed position that forces him to commit a crime every day or perish in agonies. After faking his death and passing his nefarious duties to his younger brother Despard (Andrew B. Jing ’19), Robin lives as a farmer and falls deeply in love with the beautiful maiden Rose Maybud (Arianna N. Paz ’19). His pursuit of Rose and simple life soon unravels, however, when he must accept the title he has tried to shirk. Ghostly hilarity and romantic hijinks ensue as the characters move towards a satisfactory resolution in typical Gilbert and Sullivan fashion.

Stage director Guan-Yue Chen ’17 relocated “Ruddigore” from a Cornish town in the late 1800s to New Orleans during the Roaring Twenties. At some moments, this directorial decision felt extraneous to the production, except to define an aesthetic atypical from the usual English-based HRGSP shows and perhaps to make Rose’s adherence to proper etiquette more ridiculous. Nevertheless, the relocation seldom distracted from the storyline of the play, while it allowed the technical crew to showcase its talents and creativity. For instance, the set design, by Graduate School of Arts and Sciences students Elizabeth Pattyn and Rahul Kulka, transitioned cleanly from the brightly colored houses and steamer that represent New Orleans to the darkly painted Ruddigore mansion, filled with foreboding images of past Baronets, between the first and second act. Such attention to details (like a gold elevator with unmistakably 1920s adornments) created a sense of seamlessness as the production progressed.

The comic opera’s high-quality production extended beyond the set design. The lighting design, by Kathleen C. Zhou ’17, complemented the events occurring on stage with intense results. When Mad Margaret (Julia E. Belanoff ’18) first appeared, the lighting shifted from the lighter yellow and pink hues of previous songs to a red as stark as Belanoff’s dress; the effect was powerful and immediately signaled that Belanoff’s character was different from those introduced earlier. In that way, the lighting successfully contributed to defining the mood of the production—a mood that often acknowledged its own histrionic quality.

Strong vocal and theatrical performances from the entire cast enhanced the production’s hilariously melodramatic character. Gilbert and Sullivan shows demand agile, powerful voices that can spew out tongue twisters in a slick manner—a requirement that every cast member fulfilled thoroughly. During “My eyes are fully open,” Corvino, Jing, and Belanoff effortlessly chirped their lyrics on pace with the orchestra’s quick tempo. The only flaw in this astounding feat, however, appeared when the orchestra overpowered the actors’ singing. This issue occurred several times throughout the production, and in a show where the best lines and greatest plot development are often sung, it detracted from comprehension.

Meanwhile, each actor infused his or her individual performance with energy and excitement. For instance, Erik B. Fliegauf ’19 as Old Adam Goodheart, Robin’s dutiful servant, strutted around with arms splayed and mouth often agape, to great humorous effect. Juxtaposed with the tongue-in-cheek nature of the source material, such potentially over-the-top performances struck a hilarious chord. “They sing choruses in public,” Mad Margaret says of Despard and his crew. “That’s mad enough, I think.” Stated in a theatrical production, the line spoke to the show’s self-aware nature, and the actors emphasized this idea through their stylized performances.

While such acting might have seemed one-dimensional in another production, HRGSP infused this show with a certain charm and self-consciousness. This was most evident in the little nuances afforded to each character. For instance, Corvino excellently balanced Robin’s supposed humility and timidity with the royal gusto expected from someone born into an aristocratic position. He complemented the false modesty suggested for his character in the script (at one point, Robin says, “You’ve no idea what a poor opinion I have of myself, and how little I deserve it”) with certain tics, such as his constant preoccupation with adjusting his cuffs or the way he occasionally clicked his tongue. This attention to detail resonated in the performances of each member of the cast, aiding in elevating the show’s quality to a higher level.

The Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players’ latest show was a boisterous operetta filled with just the right amount of humor and dramatics for its source material. Ultimately, even with an occasionally too-powerful orchestra, the strong performances and technical design in “Ruddigore” made it an excellent romp that continued HRGSP’s tradition of providing lighthearted, high-quality productions.