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Gilbert & Sullivan's The Gondoliers Plays Friday and Saturday, May 7-8 at 7:30 p.m. and May 8 at 2:00 p.m. in Wilder Main.
Story by Michael Chipman
"You should expect to laugh a lot and have a great time at
this show," says Jennifer Spitulnick, a double-degree
sophomore from Potomac, Maryland, who is the director of the
Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan Players' (OGSP) production of
The Gondoliers that opens Friday night, May 7, at
7:30 p.m. in Wilder Main. Spitulnik describes Gondoliers as
a "delightful romp through love and socialism in old
Venice."
Spitulnik was chosen by the general membership of the OGSP to direct this spring production. She says, "We had a choice between Gondoliers and H.M.S. Pinafore. Pinafore has only two parts for women and seven parts for men while Gondoliers has eight parts for women and nine for men. That was important in the decision because usually more women audition than men, and we wanted to give more women a chance to shine. Besides, I'm always nagging theater, dance and the opera departments to do shows with more roles for women. I felt that if I didn't provide opportunities, who would?
"Gondoliers is almost two different shows in one," says Spitulnik. "On one hand, there are the picturesque gondoliers and contadine (peasant girls) cavorting in the piazzas of Venice, taking love lightly and living it up while they're young. On the other hand, there is the upper crust, slightly dysfunctional Ducal Family, with their daughter and her servant behaving like tragic figures in grand opera. When the two worlds collide, it is really remarkable."
Spitulnik describes the music as "catchy and tuneful -- some of Sullivan's best. Sullivan was sulky because he wanted to compose serious operas, but he could only make money writing musical comedies. He also felt that his music was upstaged by Gilbert's clever librettos. Gilbert decided to compromise (for once in his ill-tempered life) and the result is Gondoliers, one of the more operatic operettas."
"I'm absolutely in love with the cast," says Spitulnik. "They're all very talented and have a great comedic instinct." The cast includes, as the Gondoliers, juniors John Rodger, from Miami Beach, Florida, and Jonathan Stinson, from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; as the Gondoliers' wives, freshmen Andrea Raab, from Woodliff Lake, New Jersey, and Margaret Heffner, from Pottstown, Pennsylvania; as the Duke, Hugh Floyd, assistant professor of choral conducting; as the Duchess, Tiffany Tucker, a sophomore from Lanham, Maryland; as the Duke's daughter, Sara Holliday, a senior from Arlington, Texas. The cast also includes Renato Estacio, a senior from Oberlin; Charlene Wass, a freshman from West Seneca, New York; and Lauren Harrison, a sophomore from Seneca, South Carolina. Musical direction is by Heather Reichgott.
The Gondoliers will play Friday, May 7 and Saturday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday May 8 at 2:00 p.m. in Wilder Main. Tickets are $3 at the Wilder desk.
The Gondoliers has also been selected as a commencement presentation. Spitulnik welcomes anyone interested in being in the chorus or orchestra for commencement to contact her at jennifer.spitulnik@oberlin.edu or karalee.poschman@oberlin.edu.
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