Utopia: It's the Closest You'll Ever Get at Harvard

Utopia Limited, the Gilbert and Sullivan production which opened at the Agassiz Theater on April 2, takes its audience into the realm of Utopia, a little country ruled by King Paramount the First (played magnificently by Erike Hanson).

The king, however, does not think that his kingdom is a wonderland of any kind. His model for perfection is Great Britain and his infatuation with the country and its customs has caused him to send his eldest daughter, the Princess Zara (Victoria Wei) to England so that she may return with the knowledge that has made the great country what it is.

In the absence of the princess, Utopia deteriorates into a crime-infested country, with the ineffective king himself under the thumb of two judges of the Utopian Supreme Court, Scaphio and Phantis (played by Adam Feldman and Jonathan Deily respectively).

Scaphio and Phantis slander the king in the Palace Paper--a gossip newspaper that makes scandalous assertions about him. The mysterious author of these starting revelations--about how the king bathes in rum punch and gets showered down by a garden hose--is the king himself, who desperately tries, under Scaphio and Phantis' coercion, to make a statement about his sense of humor.

Utopia, Ltd. dir. Gina Fried-Miller and Richard Hoeber at the Agassiz Theater Through April 11

The king's love for Lady Sophy (Christine Kienzle), an English Gouvernante who instructs his princesses Nekaya (Zarya Rubin) and Kalyba (Katie McGovern) in the ways of proper English ladies, further complicates his life. Phantis, meanwhile, loves Princess Zara, who will return that night from her voyage to the distant epitome of perfection that the king believe Great Britain is.

The princess does return, and to the delight of her sisters and the Utopian maidens (Kathleen Sterling, Nadya Labi, Carole Stoops and Atissa Banuazizi), brings the handsome Captain Fitzbattleaxe (Peter Sroka) and two dashing First Life Guards (Andrew Howard and Anton Quist)--much to the consternation of Lady Sophy and the king. However, the king quickly changes his mind, sanctifying the attraction, when the captain informs him that the attraction is "particularly British."

The stage is already complex enough, with peripherals such as the hilarious public Exploder Tarara (Leo Clark) and the meek Vice-Chamberlain (Mark Hagar) adding to the confusion, without Scaphio falling in love with the Princess Zara. In one of the play's most humorous moments, Scaphio talks insensibly about his love for Zara, whom he calls "intoxicating, a veritable goddess," prompting Phantis, who has loved the princess all along, to reply with characteristic understatement, "Yes, the girl is perfectly okay."

When she finally has a moment alone with her father, Zara criticizes him for letting the country lapse into such a state of affairs, and directs her anger primarily at the Palace Paper, which she calls "ungrammatical twaddle." The unhappy King, whose bruised ego has been dealt yet another blow, finally confesses the hold that Scaphio and Phantis have over him.

The princess finds him a solution in capitalism, which "The Imported Flowers of Progress" bring with them to Utopia.

Gavan Meehan and Colum Amory play Lord Dramaleigh and the Company Promoter Mr. Goldburg, who brings limited liability to Utopia. As they set about their task of forming a company out of the country, where "every child has its own prospectus" and "every man, woman and child is a company limited," Dramaleigh and Goldburg woo the two highly repressed princesses, much to the annoyance of Lady Sophy, Phantis and Scaphio.

The production of the musical really picks up at this point, as the scheming, romancing and irrational characters all fight for power in Utopia.

Director Gina Fried-Miller has dealt well with a demanding play whose greatest weakness is the script itself, which, despite being humorous, falls short of expectations at crucial junctures. Nevertheless, she has done well in producing an entertaining and successful mixture of magnificent acting and singing in the gorgeous Agassiz Theater.

Victoria Wei and Adam Feldman stand out in this well of talent for the spontaneity with which they play their extremely demanding roles. Feldman's sleazy, antiquated voice and Wei's commanding stage presence radiate with the easy identification that they have forged between themselves and the characters that they portray.

Kienzle is delightful as the complex Lady Sophy, and Rubin and McGovern magnificently complement her performance in one of the most demanding roles in the show. McGovern and Rubin's portrayal of the princesses is as flawless as their beautiful voices. Erick Hanson as the King amazes the audience, and his versatility in emoting irrationality, earnestness, fear and dependence does not escape notice.

Amory shines as Mr. Goldburg, and his portrayal of the English Gentry is perhaps the most convincing performance of all.

A superb orchestra complements the cast, and music director Erich Hoeber Deserves as much credit as director Fried-Miller and the producers Maria Gamble and Michael Voll, whose attention to detail brings realism to the utopian world that the audience is drawn into.

Utopia Ltd. will surely make for an enchanting evening. Its wonderful acting and lively eccentricities make for some very good viewing.