Samuel Gale Rosen '06, here singing to a group of children, gives an excellent performance as Merryman Jack Point.

THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD
LOCATION: Agassiz Theatre
DATES: April 6-April 15, 2006
DIRECTOR: Roxanna K. Myrhum ’05; music direction by Emily Senturia
PRODUCER: Margaret D. Maloney ’06 and Charlie I. Miller ’08

There’s something naturally funny about a bunch of British guards in flowery tights and red costumes drinking beer and singing in close harmony about their jobs. See? You probably laughed at that last sentence.

Even if you didn’t, you would certainly enjoy the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ production of “The Yeomen of the Guard.”

Produced by Margaret D. Maloney ’06 and Charlie I. Miller ’08, directed by Roxanna K. Myrhum ’05, and with musical direction by Emily Senturia, the operetta is a delightful update of one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best. It is not so much that they are faithful to the nearly 120-year-old material, as it is that they retain the spirit of the original writing and music without making it too stiff or old-fashioned.

Set in the year 1530 in England, the yeomen in question guard the Tower of London, where unjustly accused sorcerer Colonel Fairfax awaits his execution. Sergeant Meryll (Bo Meng ’06) and his daughter Phoebe (Jess G. Peritz ’06) hatch a plan to bust him out for their own personal reasons. Marriage, hiding, confusion, and general amusement ensue.

The show doesn’t quite pick up steam until the entrance of Merryman Jack Point (Samuel Gale Rosen ’06) and his Merrymaid Elsie Maynard (Celia R. Maccoby ‘06) about halfway through the first act. Rosen, in particular, brings a real sense of physical comedy to the stage. As a result, every performer in a scene with him ends up inevitably playing straight man (or woman).

That said, each of the actor’s performances, without exception, is colorful and exciting, musically and dramatically.

The best thing about this operetta is that it musically goes a step beyond the rest of the “Savoy Operas,” as the classic-era G&S operas were called. While the story is appropriately wacky and amusing, one appreciates when characters frequently stop to wax poetic or to throw off an endless stream of words in beautiful song.

The Act I Finale and patter song “O! A Private Buffoon is a Light-Hearted Loon” will probably please most fans of traditional G&S, but audience members should definitely notice the stunning pair of quartets in the second act, “Strange Adventure!” and “When A Wooer Goes A-Wooing.” The former, in particular, showcases the flawless singing of Dana C. F. Schlegel ’07 as Kate, niece and lackey of Dame Carruthers (Susan C. Merenda ’06).

There’s another significant element of the operetta: it’s not really a happy ending. As the story isn’t known to everyone, I won’t reveal its conclusion, but suffice it to say that Gilbert and Sullivan were obviously trying to aim higher than your standard crowd-pleaser. Keeping in that tradition of classically British humor, the performers do a great job of allowing us to laugh in the face of other people’s misfortune; only the most sensitive of viewers would consider this production a tragedy.

The well-designed set by Courtney E. Thompson ’09, if not quite as grand as the emotional and musical ambitions of the operetta, is limited only by the constraints of the Agassiz. Lighting designer Christen L. McDuffee ’08 made great choices with the multi-tiered set, and the Ravenmaster (Nick Bentley) sported a funny-looking but well-made raven puppet, the symbolism of which I have yet to figure out (as do the two noisy old people who sat next to me).

The one drawback to this production is that while Senturia certainly had a tremendous hand in preparing and perfecting the all-but-perfect songs, she is unfortunately cursed with a string section that can stay neither in time nor in tune.

Despite the dated nature of a few of the jokes, “Yeomen,” which runs through April 15, never fails to be enjoyable. Productions with this level of professionalism prove to skeptics that the best art does not need to change with the times.

—Staff writer J. Samuel Abbott can be reached at abbott@fas.harvard.edu.