Life > March 27, 2008

By Jermyn Davis | Staff writer

Drama? Singing? A full orchestra? All of the above? Can that happen at our university? Yes, it can!! This year all of the arts are joining forces as University Theatre and department of music collaborate to present the season’s final production, W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s comedic opera – The Gondoliers (or The King of Bataria).

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The opera details the lives of two very good-looking gondoliers (Giuseppe and Marco) who eventually take two wives (Tessa and Gianetta, respectively). Unfortunately, the Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro, an aristocratic couple, arrive with their daughter Casilda and their servant.

“They are looking for the man their daughter married as an infant who is the uncrowned king of ‘Barataria,’ but has lived in Venice as a baby and grown up as a gondolier’s son,” University Orchestra Director David Hagy said. “The gondoliers and their wives are pleased at the prospect of being royalty, but not pleased at the fact that one of gondoliers already has a wife which means (the current wife) will not be queen.”

This comedic opera is such a tall order that James Dodding, professor emeritus of theatre, has come out of retirement to direct the show. Flanking Dodding in the other directorial roles David Hagy, , professor of voice Teresa Radomski, the singing director and Nina Lucas, director of dance.

According to junior Virginia Browne, one of the opera’s leads playing the role of Gianetta, “The audience should know what a legend Mr. Dodding is! We have a fabulous leadership team with directing, singing, dancing and stage management who have really shown their dedication to Wake Forest theatre!”

Not only have the directors shown dedication, but everyone associated with this production has been hard at work for a very long time.

“We have been rehearsing about three-to-four hours nightly since late January,” senior Will Daniel, who plays the role of Marco, said. “We first had to learn the music (over 300 pages), block the movement on stage and now we are in the process of integrating our work with the orchestra!”While they have worked hard on this production they have some memorable times as well.

“One of my favorite moments was during musical rehearsals,” Browne said.

“We had yet to block anything and we were still learning the music, trying to memorize everything. (Freshman) Ae’Jay ‘(Mitchell) and (Senior) Troy (Pellom) were leading this one song, and their energy was infectious. Suddenly, everyone was singing and dancing from their heart and just having a wonderful time. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear, and at that moment I knew that we were going to have a great show!”

Though this should be a fun opera to see, it will also teach a life lesson as well. “The Gondoliers tells the story of everyday people falling in love,” Senior Johanna Young, who plays the role of Tessa, said.

“Granted, it is not often that many of them are chosen to be king, but the joys and hardships that each character faces is true to real life. Overall, we want the audience to be uplifted, and to leave feeling satisfied, with a new sense of joy for life.”

Overall, this show promises to be exciting. Tickets are $12 general admission and $5 for students and are available through the Wake Forest Theatre Box Office. The show is 7:30 p.m. April 4-5, April 9-12 and 2:00 p.m. April 13 in the MainStage Theatre.