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| Picture shows Lindsey Lefler, Chad Dickerson, Laurence Cox, Casey Lebold, and a Chorus of Professional Bridesmaids |
Light opera should be fun, and by that measure alone, Light Opera of Portland’s
current production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore is a clear success. However,
LOoP’s return to the Multnomah Arts Center after a five-year absence is a delight
on every level – and with only a two-week run, and three performances left, I
recommend that plan your weekend around this gem. It’s clearly a labor of love,
and several players are doing double duty – there’s Director (and set designer,
and Robin Oakapple) Laurence Cox, Music Director (playing keyboard/synthesizer)
Reece Sauve, Costume Designer (and Rose Maybud) Lindsey Lefler, and Producer
(and Dame Hannah) Sara Rivara. These key players and the rest of the 21-person
cast work together seamlessly to wring every drop of humor out of this bawdy
parody of conventional melodrama.
Not unexpectedly, the plot is convoluted and fairly silly. Many years ago, a witch
placed a strange curse on the Baronets of Ruddigore which rendered them wicked
and required them to commit at least one crime each day (the first Baronet of
Ruddigore had rudely burnt her at the stake). Failure to fulfill the rules of the
curse doomed the Baronet to die in agony. After the death of the most recent
Baronet, Sir Ruthven, his younger brother Despard inherited the title and its
attendant wickedness. In the meantime, the exceptionally proper Rose Maybud,
fairest woman in the village, has no suitors – all of the eligible men are afraid to
speak their hearts, and none will wed another if there’s a chance of winning Rose.
A chorus of professional bridesmaids yearns for the day that Rose will wed, as
their careers have been stunted by the absence of any weddings for the past six
months.
Timid, lovestruck young farmer Robin Oakapple has caught Rose’s eye, and she
his, but her obsession with etiquette and his timidity make courting impossible –
until Robin’s foster brother, the dashing rake Richard Dauntless, offers to speak
up for Robin. Richard takes one look at Rose, falls in love, and proposes to her –
and she accepts. Side plot alert: the evil Sir Despard Murgatroyd, wicked Baronet
of Ruddigore, has broken the heart of Mad Margaret, a crazed maiden – and she
fears that Sir Despard will carry Rose off as one of his daily crimes. Rose assures
her that she is betrothed to another and that Mad Margaret need not worry.
There’s lots more, much of it entertainingly preposterous, but you’ll have to see
the show (or consult Wikipedia, I suppose) to find out how it all turns out!
The Professional Bridesmaids, led by Zorah (Dominique Garrison), are marvelous
as they flit about the stage dancing and singing their little hearts out (and flirting
madly with any man in sight). Their male counterparts, the chorus of sailors,
bucks, and blades, are hilarious as they gamely attempt to execute the
choreography – the sailors’ hornpipe and other dances juxtapose nicely with their
flawless vocal harmonies. Sara Rivara’s dry performance as Dame Hannah delivers
a dose of (at least by G&S standards) relative sanity, and she plays a central role in
delivering the back story of the Wicked Baronets, plus her contralto stands out
nicely on a stage full of sopranos.
For me, Chad Dickerson’s “Richard Dauntless” clearly takes top honors for
comedy – he never misses a chance to express his character’s insuppressibly
bawdy and self-serving nature; while delivering his vocals in a blameless tenor, he
makes the most of the nickname “Dick” at every opportunity. Laurence Cox uses
his marvelous voice as well as the comic timing needed for Robin Oakapple as he
switches convincingly from timid hero to a reluctant, ineffective villain and back
again – Dauntless may be the family seaman, but Cox navigates the show’s most
improbable plot and character twists. Finally, there’s Lindsey Lefler’s “Rose” – as
always, Lefler’s soprano vocals are impeccable, but it is her straight-faced
expression of the character’s bizarre addiction to etiquette that really makes the
role.
The costumes and set are perfect – elaborate costumes, simple set – with a huge
thumbs up for the clever Act II portraits! Sauve’s work on the synthesizer stands
in nicely for a room full of instruments, and the frequent interplay between Sauve
and the cast adds another level of humor to an already funny show. Quite
honestly, I was shocked that the production didn’t get a massive standing ovation
– perhaps when you see it you can remedy this grave injustice!
Light Opera of Portland’s production of Ruddigore is playing at the Multnomah
Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Highway, Portland through Sunday, October 30 th ,
with shows at 7:00 pm on Friday and Saturday and a 1:00 pm Sunday matinee.
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