ANOTHER REVIEW

I attended opening weekend of the Blue Hill Troupe's production of The Sorcerer. I enjoyed both 'opening performances' as the shows are double-cast.

Savoynetters in the show:
Rich Miller - Closing cast Alexis
Dan Rous - Closing cast Marmaduke
Carol Davis, Eric Peterson, Katie Holler and Matt Hughes, chorus.
Gary Slavin - Stage Director

I enjoyed viewing two slightly different interpretations of the characters in ways that all worked beautifully. Gary Slavin is open minded when he works with the principals, enabling them to develop their own subtle character interpretations, while maintaining continuity in the
characterizations to fit his vision for this opera.

I too was leery about the contemporary vision (for me, part of the fun of G&S is seeing or getting to wear 19th Century costumes, traditional appearances, etc.), but in this case I was very pleasantly surprised. The Sorcerer's plot is the kind that can work in any time frame.

I do not want to give too much more away, with the hopes that I can entice folks to attend one of the six remaining performances in New York City but here are highlights of the principals and chorus:

I have to repeat Jim's note about the chorus. I have NEVER (well hardly ever) heard an amateur chorus use so much diction. I heard and understood every word which is really important when performing a G&S that is not as well known to the general public. The vocal blending and
quality was outstanding.

In addition to Jim Cooper's positives about Craig Burmeister's excellent tenor voice and strong acting as Alexis, I equally enjoyed Rich Miller's realistic and energetic interpretation of the character and strong vocal quality. While Amanda Smith had a sweet, tender voice and truly delicate features that epitomizes Aline, I also thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth Sanders' command of the role with her strong, glorious voice and her strength of character that worked well against Rich's Alexis. I laughed at the Aline's text messaging during Alexis' Act I monologue.

I particularly enjoyed both of the J.W. Wells – David Pasteelnick and Kevin Murray. Both used excellent diction during the patter and exhibited very believeable characterizations. I also liked the genuine displays of remorse in Act II generated by them both.

Both Constances - Kathleen Stetson and Dena Cubbin have outstanding voices and rather different, but equally effective interpretations of their characters. Both had me laughing out loud. Ditto with the Partlets - Lesley Berry and Suzanne Taylor. Both are strong actresses and I loved what Gary did with their characters, expanding their roles.

Now on to the 'parents'. The Sir Marmadukes - were played effectively, yet differently by Dan Rous and Alan Abrams. I love Dan's deep voice and his depiction of someone with a truly aristocratic nature. Alan Abrams exhibited a believeable character and several times had me laughing in the right places. The Sangazures were handled with aplomb by Leslie Middlebrook and Cornelia Iredell, both nailing their two intense and lengthy duets that round out their characters. The staging for both numbers with Marmaduke and Wells is exceedingly
clever.

Dr. Daly is one of my favorite characters (after Captain Corcoran, of course), and I had the pleasure of watching two wonderful actors, Win Rutherfurd and Ron Madden who brought such a genuine sensitivity to this character. The singing of Daly's two notable songs were beautifully done.

I was intrigued by the staging coordinated for the quintet. (Most of the time the actors are kept standing in a static group - which I gladly did not see in this case).

The principal parts are rounded out by a seemingly cold-ridden snuffy (but not so poorly dressed) Notary played by William Tost. He had me in stitches every time he was featured. The Hercules was played most effectively by Julian Rosenberg. I think this was his first on-stage
performance, but he had full command of the stage. His part was increased but I will not give away what his unique and engaging activities entailed.

The chorus members each developed a unique character in great detail (some of these characters are famous today). I was glad to see the show more than once to get to watch how all the chorus members were intricately intermingled. The Sorcerer is one of the best operas for chorus because it really gives each person a chance to do his or her own thing and make it work within the confines of the plot.

The orchestra was excellent and Music Director Zachary Schwartzman expertly kept everyone together, utilizing solid, realistic tempi (which is something I always notice) and kept the pace moving briskly.

The set and lighting are incredible. How so? Buy a ticket and find out!

I strongly encourage anyone available to be in NYC next week to attend a performance. The production benefits Inwood House, a charitable NYC organization that helps troubled teens.

For more information and to order tickets, go to:
www.BHT.org.


Wendy Falconer
Stamford, CT