The Yeomen of the Guard or The Merryman and his Maid music by Arthur Sullivan, libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Oct 10th, 11th, 12th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 2008. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:PM; Sundays at 3:PM. Tickets Adults $12 Children $10. The Ivanhoe Theatre is located at 16661 Northup Way in Bellevue, WA 98008. Directions Cast and Crew Sir Richard Cholmondeley (Lieutenant) Col. Fairfax (under sentence of death) Sgt. Meryll (of the Yeomen of the Guard) Phoebe Meryll (his daughter) Leonard Meryll (his son) Jack Point (a strolling jester) Wilfred Shadbolt (Head Jailer) Elsie Maynard (a strolling singer) Dame Carruthers (Tower Housekeeper) Dame Carruthers (Tower Housekeeper) Kate (her niece) First Yeoman and Second Citizen Second Yeoman and First Citizen Penny Vrachopoulos Mark Hammer Dan Reinking Dale Green Steven Duncan Jennifer Hawkins Sean Callahan John Bucharov Scott Phillips Jessica Martin Meg Tierney Oct 10-12 Janet Smith Oct 17-19 Laura Vidale Kim Cooney Jim Ray Artistic Director Music Recordist Please help us spread the word. Email, blog, IM, text, and print and put up our poster. Questions on joining? 425-454-1906.

About the Opera by Raymond Jones When Yeomen was first produced at the Savoy Theater on Oct. 3rd, 1888, it ran for 423 performances. Yeomen was the favorite opera of both Gilbert and Sullivan, the work “which both felt expressed most nearly their true artistic selves” (E. Rickett and B. Hoogland.) The Yeomen of the Guard is an Elizabethan romantic drama interspersed with music hall turns. To be in touch with what the work is trying to do, watch closely the characters of Colonel Fairfax and Jack Point. Colonel Fairfax is the archetype of a gallant Elizabethan gentleman. a man who is ready to handle whatever comes in life with a persona; style of dignity and grace: “ Truth to tell, I would gladly have my life, but if that may not be, I have the next best thing to it – which is death.” His attitudes and style are particularly clearing his solo “Is life a boon?” It does not surprise us that women such as Elsie Maynard and Phoebe Meryll find him fascinating and attractive. Jack Point is a jester, a Fool in the Elizabethan sense of a character who may appear at first to be only a professional jokester, but reveals a heart full of a broader range of feelings. When Elsie and jack enter, Jack describes them as “ merry folk who would make all merry as ourselves.” Elsie calls her duet with Jack, “I have a song to sing, O!” a “singing farce,” but the brilliant music of Sullivan removes all element of farce from the words; the overall impression is that of a fairytale telling a story of sincere love and the tragedy of loss. Note the effective use of the chorus as a bagpipe-like drone at the end of the piece. Like butterflies caught in a mill wheel, both Jack and Elsie are caught up at once in the Meryll family’s attempts to save Colonel Fairfax. Before they quite know what is happening to them, Elsie has been married to Fairfax (although she doesn’t know her new spouse’s name), and Jack has given false testimony about Fairfax’s death. Does Elsie come to love her mysterious spouse? Does Jack become reconciled to Elsie’s marriage? Is the role of Jack Point the most interesting and demanding acting role in the whole Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire? I have my answers to these questions (yes, no and yes): Come to see the show to see whether you agree with me. Much of the music of Yeoman is extraordinary. The overture, which Sullivan composed and scored in twelve hours, sets the mood of autumnal grandeur that pervades the work. The Contralto has a rousing and fearsome solo: “When our Gallant Norman Foes,” in Act 1. In Act 2, the lovely quartet “Strange Adventure” is a highlight. The chorus, especially the male chorus, has much noble music to sing: Note particularly the Act 1 Finale. Much more could be said about The Yeomen of the Guard but I don’t have the space to say it. Let me sum it up: This work is full of fine things that are worth experiencing.