“It really is surprising what a thorough Anglicizing we have brought about – Utopia’s quite another land; in her enterprising movements, she is England, with improvements, which we dutifully offer to our mother-land!”
Utopia, Limited
Utopia, Limited or The Flowers of Progress
February 22 to March 16, 2008
Our production of Utopia, Limited was dedicated to the memory of long-time company members, violinist Debbie Feinwachs, and alto Marcia Hill.
A Word About Our Upcoming 2024 Production
Our company has revised Utopia, Limited to address both the literary and structural issues with the operetta and the issues of racism and imperialism implicit in the original script. We encourage you to read about our revisions on our website’s Utopia, Limited Revised page and to review the revised script.
It is our hope that our revision version Utopia, Limited, which we share freely, will help to make it possible for Utopia, Limited to become an operetta that is performed far more regularly by Gilbert and Sullivan companies around the world.
Directors
| Stage Director: | Lesley Hendrickson |
| Music Director: | Marina Liadova |
Director’s Note
Spoiler Alert: Utopia, Limited is the least performed G&S operetta and comes with a number of problems a producing organization must be prepared to solve. The show’s beginnings were not auspicious: indeed, after The Gondoliers, Gilbert and Sullivan were ready to call it quits on their collaboration. They had never been friends, but after a messy lawsuit (in which Sullivan took D’Oyly Carte’s side against Gilbert) even a working relationship seemed impossible. It was four years before they came back together for Utopia. Sullivan used the hiatus to write the grand opera he had long promised. But when Ivanhoe proved an expensive flop, Sullivan needed more lucrative work. Sullivan’s disappointment combined with Gilbert’s infamous ability to hold a grudge made collaboration tense. Neither was willing to offer or accept editorial advice.
In Utopia, Gilbert presents us with unusually long dialogue scenes. Sullivan retaliates with long orchestral interludes, scenes, dances, and extended choral sections. None of this serves the plot very well. And, by the way, what is the plot? Gilbert threw in all his favorite legal, political and social targets, but took such a long time deciding on a storyline that Sullivan finally put his foot down and declined to set any more music.
The good news is that there is considerably more wheat than chaff in Utopia. Two years’ work (by a number of company members) has led to our revised version. We have propped up the storyline, trimmed the verbiage, excised chunks of music (including a lovely little waltz in the first act finale … another time, maybe) and promise to have you home well before midnight. As always, the energy, intelligence, talents and collegiality of the GSVLOC make our collaborations a joy that I hope will show in every moment of this production.
Lesley Hendrickson
Two excellent internet resources for information about Utopia, Limited:
Show Poster
Company Photo
Photography by Daniels Studio>
“Government by Party! Introduce that great and glorious element; and all will be well! No political measures will endure, because one Party will assuredly undo all that the other Party has done. Then there will be sickness in plenty, endless lawsuits, crowded jails, interminable confusion in the Army and Navy, and, in short, general and unexampled prosperity!”
Utopia, Limited
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