Review of Our 2004 Production

From the Chicago Reader:

THESPIS, or The Gods Grown Old

Operetta fans can die happy now that the Savoyaires have “re-created” Gilbert and Sullivan's first collaboration. Only two of Sullivan's songs survived the original 1871 production of Thespis, but in 1982 Kingsley Day composed a score as faithful as he could make it, now lavishly arranged for 25-piece orchestra. The result is as exhilarating as if the music had been recovered. Though Gilbert’s plot is light on incident and silly even for a Savoy opera, it’s vintage topsy-turvy: inspired by Orpheus in the Underworld, Offenbach’s spoof of classical mythology, it traces the calamities that ensue when a troupe of temperamental actors replaces the aging gods of Olympus. Wasting no time on logic or psychology, Terry McCabe’s witty staging honors the 14 musical numbers, each a cunning blend of Sullivan-esque sweetness and Gilbertian tartness. Among many charming performances, Julia Hathaway's Mercury scintillates. —Lawrence Bommer

October 8, 2004

The Savoyaires
P.O. Box 126
Evanston, IL 60204
E-mail: info@savoyaires.org
Phone: (773) 262-2954

The Savoyaires are sponsored in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency