Chatham Drama Guild Delights With Gilbert And Sullivan Review

The Chatham Drama Guild’s “I Have a Song to Sing, O! A Gilbert and Sullivan Musical Revue” opened on Saturday night to an enthusiastic audience, who responded with delighted applause and afterwards spilled out into the August night singing.

Directed by Robert Grady and Pam Banas with musical direction by Geraldine Boles, the revue features 24 of the Victorian-era duo’s best songs from five of their 14 comic operettas: “H.M.S. Pinafore,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” “Iolanthe,” “The Mikado” and “Yeoman Of The Guard.”

A frame story was in order to tie the songs together into a sensible narrative, and it comes in the form of several different theater companies, or teams, accidentally being scheduled to perform different Gilbert and Sullivan works on the same stage at the same time. One team — bent on performing “The Pirates of Penzance” — is passionate about adhering to every nuance of the original work, even to the extreme of wearing underwear from the 19th century in spite of its “scratchiness.” They must vie for stage space with a determined all-female production team of “H.M.S. Pinafore,” a steampunk production team of “The Mikado,” and a colorful LGBTQ+ team, complete with rainbow banners and glittering butterfly wings, performing the fairy-filled “Iolanthe.” The comical mixture of characters and costumes onstage, along with moments of operetta-battling, had the audience in stitches as the titular pirates of Penzance, singing “Oh, Far Better to Live and Die,” faced off against the fairies of “Iolanthe,” who were “Tripping Hither, Tripping Thither.”

The lighthearted catchiness which Arthur Sullivan brilliantly wove into the songs is certainly part of the reason for the longevity of Gilbert and Sullivan’s work. The comic elements of the lyrics are another reason for their unceasing popularity over the years. The Drama Guild’s cast brought their satirical wit to the fore with every number. Considering that the oldest of the works selected debuted nearly 150 years ago, it is a testament to the timelessness of dramatist W.S. Gilbert’s humor as well as to the performances of the Drama Guild’s all-volunteer cast that a song poking fun at arbitrary promotions within the British Royal Navy in the late 19th century (“When I Was a Lad,” hilariously performed by Alison Hyder) is as funny today as it undoubtedly was in years long past.

Some of the standout moments of “I Have a Song to Sing, O!” include a pleading “Spurn Not the Nobly Born” by the excellent Joseph So, a breathless whirl of “I Am the Very Model” sung by Robert Grady and the chorus, a gorgeous rendition of “Poor Wandering One” by the gifted Laura Barabe, a touching “My Lord, A Supplicant at Your Feet” performed by Pam Banas, and a rousing rendition of “He Is an Englishman” by Scott Hamilton and the chorus. The members of the entire cast put their team differences aside and join together in the final spirited number from “Yeoman Of The Guard,” “I Have a Song to Sing, O!”

If you are in the mood for an evening of song and laughter, don’t miss the Chatham Drama Guild’s “I Have a Song to Sing, O! A Gilbert and Sullivan Musical Revue,” onstage through Aug. 18, featuring Laura Barabe, Suzanne Fecteau, Alison Hyder, Lizzy Smythe, Pam Banas, Alex Lucchesi, Scott Hamilton, Joseph So, Joe Theroux, James Batzer and Robert Grady, with excellent accompaniment by pianist and musical director Geraldine Boles, costumes and set dressings by Pam Banas, light board operation by Rachel Banas, follow spot operation by Violet Skinner, publicity by Rachel Walman and sign painting by Rachel Banas.

You will find yourself singing all the way home.

Details:

“I Have a Song to Sing, O! A Gilbert and Sullivan Musical Revue”

At the Chatham Drama Guild, Crowell Road

Through Aug. 18

Information and reservations: 508-945-0510, chatdramaguild.org