The NEWS--November 26, 1968

The Savoyards do it well by Jules Becker

Iolanthe, the Savoyard's Gilbert and Sullivan production last Friday through Sunday, is a charmingly funny operetta on love between fairies and mortals and the effect of these relationships on the English Parliament. The Savoyards' production artfully combines evocative sets, elegant costumes and finely coordinated singing and dancing. Particularly noteworthy in an excellent cast are Bastian Blessing as the whimsical, often silly Lord Chancellor, Constance Miller as the robust, influential queen, Juliet Cunningham as the ageless Iolanthe, Paul Seltzer as the love-swept Strephon and Eileen Himmelfarb as the lovely Phyllis. Five or six encores characterized one particularly lively scene, the dispute between the two lords and the Lord Chancellor as to who should marry Phyllis. During "One Fair Lady," Blessing, Alan Abrams (Mountararat) and Mike Campbell (Tolloller) frollick (sic), jig, strut, and cavort on stage to the wildly enthusiastic applause of the audience. Gilbert and Sullivan is the specialty of the Savoyards; "Iolanthe" is expert and totally enjoyable.

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