The Pittsburgh Savoyards continue their 84th season of honoring the timeless operatic collaborations of Gilbert and Sullivan by performing Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant.
A hilarious twist on a traditional medieval fairy tale, Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant tells the tale of the titular Princess Ida and is partially based on the 1847 poem The Princess by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It is the tale of a Princess who eschews her marriage obligations to the Prince of a neighboring kingdom (the wedding pact made when they both were infants) to run a women’s university. The Prince, Hilarion, in an attempt to woo her, disguises himself as a maiden and sneaks into the women’s compound, accompanied by his friends, Cyril and Florian, who are forced to dress up, as well. Eventually, Ida discovers the trio’s secret and apprehends the intruders. Women as warriors, men as maidens, something for everyone! The operetta satirizes feminism, women’s education, Darwinian evolution, stuffy men and just about everyone else.
Princess Ida is the eighth of the fourteen collaboration between W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, the only one in three acts, and the only one with dialogue in blank verse. It originally debuted January 5, 1884 at the Savoy Theater and ran for 246 performances.
(The group’s name comes from the Savoy Theatre in London, where many of the operettas originally premiered.)
Brought to life by Stage Director Michael McFaden, Assistant Stage Director Sean Lenhart, and longtime Savoyards Music Director/Conductor Guy Russo, the production is at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Ave, Carnegie, PA 15106. Online live streams of select performances will also be available.
Show dates and times are: Friday, October 8 at 7:30pm, Saturday, October 9 at 7:30pm, Sunday October 10 at 2:30pm, Thursday, October 14 at 7:30pm, Friday, October 15 at 7:30pm, Saturday, October 16 at 7:30pm, and Sunday October 17 at 2:30pm. *Multiple roles are double cast.
There will be closed captioning for songs at all shows and complete closed captioning for songs and dialogue at the Saturday, October 9 and Thursday, October 14 performances.
The Thursday, October 14 performance is a special ticketing night for which discounted tickets will be available for $15. As with all performances, ticketing will be reserved seating and admission will follow Pittsburgh Cultural District Covid-19 protocols.
Adult general admission tickets will be available for $25 each at our website: http://www.pittsburghsavoyards.org or at the box office, with discounted admission available for children, students, and seniors. Ticketing will be reserved seating, and admission will follow Pittsburgh Cultural District Covid-19 safety protocols.
Categories: Show Previews
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