The Free Press--November 9, 1972

Savoyard's Iolanthe tomorrow by Renee Loth, News Staff Reporter

Boston University's only light opera company, the Gilbert and Sullivan Savoyards, will present Iolanthe next month as its first major production of the 1972-73 school year. Gilbert and Sullivan wrote for 20 years together in search of the ludicrous in 19th century England. Iolanthe portrays a fairy world which the fairy Iolanthe (Sarah Maxwell) is banished from, for the crime of marrying a mortal. Her husband, The Lord Chancellor, played by Norman S. George, believes her dead and is enamoured of Iolanthe's son's fiancee. David Silber plays Strephon, Iolanthe's half-fairy half-mortal son, and Phyllis, a ward of the Chancery, Strephon's lover, is played by Phyllis Forman. The fairy Queen is played by Roberta Gilbert, who has`been secretary of the company for three years. The opera contains traditional love interests, identity confusions, and delightful satirization of British justice as the laws of lolanthe's fairy kingdom clash with the amourous desires of The Lord Chancellor. The Savoyards are a diverse group of patter voices, converging here from many area universities. Many of the players migrate from the Harvard Savoyards. There are a large number of that University's alumni and graduate students as well, and each season the orchestra contains a small contingent from the New England Conservatory of Music and a couple of Simmons violins. The Savoyards first appeared at Boston University in 1926, when Harry D. Center, Chairman of the College of Business Administration' journalism department, organized the Gilbert and Sullivan society with eight students at the Copley Square campus. The group dissolved in the mid-5O's, reappearing in spring, 1966 with a production of Patience in the basement of the College of Liberal Arts. This year Iolanthe will be performed in Hayden Hall with full orchestra, set, lighting and costumes, on November 10 and 11, and November 16, 17, and 18, all at 8 pm. Tickets will be $2.50 and $3.50. On Sunday, November 18, a matinee will be held at 2:00 pm. Tickets for that performance will be $12.00 and $3.00. Savoyards regularly receive invitations to perform for charitable organizations. In conjunction with the city's Department of Community Affairs and Volunteer Services, they give special performances for the old and underprivileged. This year a full production at Norfolk State prison was planned, however a recent escape attempt and killing have dimmed these prospects considerably. In September the Savoyards achieved somewhat fantastic ends with the traditional freshman orientation performance of Trial by Jury. The Gilbert and Sullivan piece is a complete 40-minute oratorio, with virtually no dialogue. The group prepared the show, containing orchestration and choreography, in a total of five days. The term "Savoyard" originated with the Savoy theater in London, built for Gilbert and Sullivan by Richard D'Oyly Carte. The term "savoyard" traditionally means a devotee of the Savoy theater and should be pronounced with an accent on the second syllable. This year's director of the company is the flamboyant and somewhat spectacular Jeffrey Wayne Davies, erstwhile pastry chef and restauranteur. Recently from Wales, Davies has worked nine years with Gilbert and Sullivan, done three shows with the University troupe, and is considered by many to be the area's "best patter baritone." Davies'last direction of the Savoyards was HMS Pinafore in spring, 1971. The performance netted a profit, and enabled the company to donate $1,000 to reconstructing the School of Fine and Applied Arts' Concert Hall. Davies' directorial style is best known for its imaginative, near-extravaganza dance numbers and finales. Roberta Gilbert, the comany's secretary, said that "Jeffrey wants us to bowl the audience over with the way we look as well as the way we sound." Musical director Ken Seitz will be working his second show with the group this year. A highly capable musician himself, he has accompanied and directed at both Oberlin and Tanglewood. His work with the Savoyards is entirely voluntary. The company is "non-profit yet self-supporting" and no one receives a salary.

The NEWS--November, 1972

Iolanthe a Success Despite Minor Flaws by Daniel Heller, Arts Writer

The BU Savoyards, hampered by the inadequacies of Hayden Hall, staged their production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe this weekend. Although the production was overall successful, it was not without its flaws, some of which were inexcusable. Director Jeff Davies attempted to captivate his audience by resorting to impressive visual effects. The chorus of fairies came off resembling the Rockettes. In Gilbert and Sullivan, sight gags are allowed, but the impact of the lines is of supreme importance. Some of the choreographic routines were rather complex, and the players had trouble executing them. For most of the night, the performers were bumping into each other and tripping on their floor-length costumes. Still, the merits of the performance deserve mention. Davies did the best he could under the circumstances. His efforts as Director, Costume Designer, Set Designer (along with M.H. Kelberman), and Make-Up Artist (along with Judith Loyte), must be appreciated by anyone who knows the amount of work involved in a theatrical production. The orchestra, conducted by Ken Seitz, gave a fine performance, and received an enthussiastic round of applause after the overture. The role of the Lord Chancellor, played by Norman George, was one of the finest performances of the evening. George's rendition of the Lord Chancellor's patter song ("When You're Lying Awake With a Dismal Headache") was exceptional. Young Strephon, played by David Silber, was a rather blase performance. Roberta Ann Gilbert displayed, her talents as a fine comedienne in the role of the Fairy Queen. Sara Love Maxwell, as Iolanthe, and Phyllis Forman, as Phyllis, each gave a superior performance. William R. Walton, as the philosophical Private Willis, was a pleasant surpise. His solo highlighted the evening. The singing was fine, but at times was obscured by the orchestra. This was more than the performers fault than the orchestra's, but it was also due in part to the poor accustics of Hayden Hall. Except for these few drawbacks the performance was entertaining. Iolanthe will be playing November 17 and 18.

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