'Sorcerer' Conjures Whimsical Fun

Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Sorcerer” follows a fairly simple recipe: combine a cast of eccentric villagers with a powerful love potion and see what hijinks ensue. The new production by the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert & Sullivan Players of the classic opera and satire of early Victorian life, which opened last night and runs through November 15 at the Agassiz Theatre, aims to successfully convey the piece’s whimsical nature.

The opera’s lighthearted plot runs as follows. As the residents of Ploverleigh celebrate the engagement of a couple, a sorcerer visits and creates a love potion which everyone drinks. Soon, the villagers begin falling in love with the first person they each set eyes upon, resulting in a number of comically mismatched couples.

“It’s really a charming little piece. It’s really funny, really cute. It’s all about love and magic,” says stage director Davida Fernandez-Barkan ’11. “I think it’s a really beautiful show.” Though the show was originally conceived in Victorian England, this particular production’s styling and costume will be decidedly more Elizabethan. “Shows get taken to the present a lot, and I thought it would be fun to take a show back.” Originally, the plan was to set the production in medieval times, but anachronisms such as a vicar getting married prevented that from becoming a plausible reality.

“Gilbert and Sullivan is just really fun plotlines that people can enjoy, and the music is beautiful,” says Marit A. Medefind ’12, who portrays Aline Sangazure. Her character’s relationship with her soon-to-be-husband Alexis Pointdextre is one of the key relationships of the plot.

Zander J. MacQuitty ’10, in his sixth production with the HRG&SP, plays Alexis, describing him as the character that sets everything in motion. “He’s convinced that love will solve all problems. He’s obsessed with the notion of love being indiscriminate to age, rank, beauty, fortune, and [of it being] the cure for all ills,” he says. Those who attend the show on both weekends of its run will get to see two different takes on the role, however. Scheduling conflicts necessitated that Ben J. Nelson ’11 covers the part for the first weekend, while MacQuitty will play the part next weekend.

Medefind has encountered no problems having to perform with two different takes on her suitor’s character; in fact, she has nothing but praise for each actor. “They’re both fantastic. Each of the respective couples have really great chemistry. We each have different interactions and ways we do things onstage. It’s different but fun and fabulous.”

Noting the hard work the entire cast and crew have put in, Sofia M. Selowsky ’12, a campus opera veteran who plays Lady Sangazure, is very confident about the show. “The whole crew has been absolutely fantastic and very efficient and organized. I’m hoping people will find it funny and we’re working with some special effects this year, which will be cool,” she says. These effect-laden sequences, which include a scene where one character is swallowed into the fires of hell, help add action to the quaint humor on display throughout the opera.

Describing Gilbert and Sullivan’s works, Fernandez-Barkan praises their lightheartedness and accessibility. “They’re whimsical and wonderful,” she says. Other cast members call Gilbert and Sullivan works absurd, hilarious, and even topsy-turvy. With this enthusiasm for their subject matter, it’s clear that the cast and crew are far from stressed about their work on the opera. If that translates onto the stage, the result is sure to be a lighthearted, harmonious, and humorous production.