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The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is pleased to announce that it will present The Yeomen of the Guard, for four weekends, from March 6 through March 29, 2026.This production will be directed by Gary Briggle, with music direction by Dr. Randal Buikema.
THE CAST:
Elsie Maynard: Mary Kettlewell
Phoebe Meryll: Charlotte Smith
Dame Carruthers: Lara Trujillo
Kate: Ella Rose Katzenberger
Jack Point: Sam Vinitsky
Colonel Fairfax: Graham Remple
Sergeant Meryll: Waldyn Benbenek
Wilfred Shadbolt Trevor Woggon
Lieutenant of the Guard: Eric Sorum
Leonard Meryll: Andrew Peterson
Chorus of Townspeople:
John Azbill-Salisbury
Mary Mescher Benbenek
Maggie Benham
Amanda Bindner
Maya Gitch
Mary Gregory
Liza Hartshorn
Shawn Holt
Therese Kulas
Anna Maher
Mallory Rabehl
Lowell Rice
James Ruth
Emma Shine
Holly Windle
Chorus of Yeomen of the Guard:
Dean Laurance
Wilson Alness
Scott Benson
Tom Berg
Jonathan Flory
Stephen Hage
Richard Rames
Niko Simmons
Seth Steidl
Mike Tober
Kate Jennings, Dame Carruthers cover
Alexander Gerchak, Wilfred Shadbolt cover
The Story:
The Yeomen of the Guard is set in the Tower of London during the reign of King Henry VIII. The plot concerns Colonel Fairfax, a gentleman, soldier and scientist, who has been sentenced to be beheaded in an hour on a false charge of sorcery. To avoid leaving his estate to his accuser, and with the help of the Lieutenant of the Tower, Fairfax secretly marries Elsie Maynard, a strolling singer. The bride agrees to be blindfolded during the ceremony and expects to be a well-paid widow in an hour. With the help of the Meryll family, Fairfax escapes, throwing the Tower into confusion and the astonished Elsie and Jack Point, a jester who loves her, into despair. But Fairfax, disguised as Leonard Meryll, woos Elsie, and after a number of plot complications are worked out, she unknowingly falls in love with her husband, but leaves Jack Point broken-hearted.
The Impact:
The Yeomen of the Guard has been described as Gilbert and Sullivan’s most emotionally engaging operetta, more serious in character, with none of Gilbert’s typical satire of British institutions. While the libretto does contain considerable humor, Gilbert’s trademark satire and topsy-turvy plot complications are subdued in comparison with the other Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Musically, the operetta is considered to be one of Sullivan’s finest, most musically ambitious.
***The following performances will be covered by the understudies for the principal roles:
Saturday, March 14, 7:30 pm
Farifax: Andrew Peterson, for Graham Remple
Leonard: Mike Tober, for Andrew Peterson
Friday, March 20 7:30 pm
Dame Carruthers: Kate Jennings, for Lara Trujillo
Lieutenant: Scott Benson, for Eric Sorum
Saturday, March 21, 2:00 pm
Jack Point: James Ruth, for Sam Vinitsky
Sgt. Meryll: Tom Berg, for Waldyn Benbenek
Saturday, March 21, 7:30 pm
Kate: Anna Maher, for Ella Rose Katzenberger
Wilfred Shadbolt: Alexander Gerchak, for Trevor Woggon
Sunday, March 22, 2:00 pm
Elsie Maynard: Therese Kulas, for Mary Kettlewell
Phoebe Meryll: Amanda Binder, for Charlotte Smith
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Event Venue
Howard Conn Fine Arts Center, 1900 Nicollet Ave,Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
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