The Pittsburgh Savoyards continue their 85th season this fall with The Sorcerer, stage directed by newcomer Brady Collins, a stage director, classically-trained soprano, and producer, who you may have seen in her smash hit, The Wild Stage, earlier this year.
One of Gilbert and Sullivan’s spookier productions, The Sorcerer, tells a tale of romance, magic, and a love potion that throws an entire town into chaos. The plot focuses on the villagers of Ploverleigh, who are celebrating the engagement of Alexis of the Grenadier Guards, (played by Andrew Boag), the son of Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre, an Elderly Baronet (Phil Hayes, alternating with Bob Herold) to Aline (Caryn Greco), daughter of Lady Sangazure, who happens to be Sir Marmaduke’s old flame.
However, Alexis is obsessed with the idea of love leveling all ranks and social distinctions. To promote his beliefs, he invites the proprietor of J. W. Wells & Co., Family Sorcerers, to brew a love potion. Unfortunately, this causes everyone in the village to fall in love with the first person they see, which results in the pairing of comically mismatched couples! In the end, Wells must make a difficult choice to break the spell and set things back to normal.
Based on the story An Elixir of Love which Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876, The Sorcerer is Gilbert & Sullivan’s third composition as a duo and originally premiered in November of 1877. The opera’s success paved the way the following year for the duo’s first smash hit, H.M.S. Pinafore.
Here is a short video clip featuring Brady Collins;
The creative team for The Sorcerer: Stage Director – Brady Collins, Music Director – Guy Russo, Production Manager – Lynette Garlan, Stage Manager – Andrea Lisiak, Technical Director – Robert Hockenberry, Costumier – Mary Lepiane, Properties Designer – Leslie Clark
See this mystical, eerie production at a new venue for Pittsburgh Savoyards; the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center, 3579 Masonic Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15237, on October 21-23 & October 28-30, with two live stream dates also available.
Tickets at https://www.pittsburghsavoyards.org/wordpress/tickets/
Categories: Show Previews
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