New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players 33rd Anniversary Repertoire Season

The New York Gilbert & Sullivan repertory ensemble, have announced its 33rd Anniversary season, which will feature fully staged productions of The Yeomen of the Guard, The Mikado and a one night special performance of The Rose of Persia as part of its New York season scheduled for 5 - 14 Jan 2007 at NY City Center.

• The Yeomen of the Guard, music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert.

  The story of a gallant prisoner falsely accused, two girls who love him, and an out of work itinerant jester. A comic jailer and a busy body old lady provide comic relief from the multiple tales of intrigue as the heroic prisoner narrowly escapes execution, woos the woman to whom he is already secretly wed, and dashes the hopes of the jilted jester in the process.

  The cast features Stephen Quint (Jack Point) Keith Jurosko (The Lieutenant), Richard Holmes (Sgt. Meryll) and Angela Smith (Dame Carruthers).
  All casting is subject to change

  
  
• The Mikado, music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert.

  The location is a fictitious Japanese town full of colorful characters - 3 little maids from school, a wandering minstrel, a hilariously corrupt public official, and a Lord High Executioner who may have a list of potential victims but is too tenderhearted to actually perform his duties. Beautiful school girl Yum-Yum loves the romantic minstrel Nanki-Poo but is engaged to Ko-Ko the executioner. This romantic triangle takes the usual course of thwarted romance, until the arrival first of the fearsome Katisha, claiming Nanki-Poo as her 'perjured lover,' and later of the emperor, or Mikado, himself - with his own list of punishments to fit the crime.

  The cast features Keith Jurosko (The Mikado), Laurelyn Watson (Yum-Yum), Michael Scott Harris (Nanki-Poo), Stephen Quint (Ko-Ko) and Louis Dall�Ava (Pooh-Bah).
  All casting is subject to change

  
  
• The Rose of Persia, music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by Basil Hood.

  Slave girls and the Sultana herself, Rose-In-Bloom, seek escape from the boredom of the harem by concealing themselves in the home of a wealthy philanthropist named Hassan who shuns the society of the Sultan�s court. Hassan has 'only' 25 wives, but is constantly trying to escape their whining complaints, especially those of his domineering first wife, Dancing Sunbeam. When the Sultan himself and his 3 top officers, disguised as holy men known as dervishes, come to check out the eccentric behavior of Hassan, things get hot for all concerned until the Sultan devises to play a joke whereby Hassan, in a drug induced stupor, is taken to the palace and hailed as the real Sultan - to the delight of Hassan�s social climbing wives.

  The cast features David Wannen (The Sultan), Laurelyn Watson (Rose-In-Bloom), Michael Scott Harris (Yussuf the Storyteller), and Kimberly Bennett (Heart�s Desire)
  All casting is subject to change.

All three productions are directed by Albert Bergeret, and feature set designs also by Albert Bergeret, with costumes by Gail J. Wofford and lighting by Sally Small.

Under the artistic and music direction of Albert Bergeret, the company has presented over 2,600 performances throughout the United States, Canada, and England. Its productions feature contemporary energy while retaining a traditional respect for each of the G & S masterpieces.