“Tower warders, under orders,
gallant pikemen, valiant sworders!
Brave in bearing, foemen scaring,
in their bygone days of daring!
Ne’er a stranger there to danger,
each was o’er the world a ranger;
to the story of our glory
each a bold, a bold contributory!”
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and his Maid
March 1 to 24, 2013
The Yeomen of the Guard Program
Directors
| Stage Director: | Lesley Hendrickson |
| Music Director: | Marina Liadova |
Director’s Notes
GSVLOC audiences love to laugh, and a common lobby comment after a show is that the cast looks as if they are “having such a good time!” It wasn’t too far into the rehearsal process for The Yeomen of the Guard that company members began making wan jokes about how likely that comment was to be made this year. Yes, in Yeomen Gilbert takes us into far darker territory than in the other Savoy operas, but have no fear: there is plenty of opportunity for laughter.
The French classic dramatists thought Shakespeare barbaric for (among other things) mixing comedy and tragedy. That could be part of the reason why today audiences worldwide are more likely to flock to Hamlet than to Ernani, but a more immediate example might be nightly network television. Your basic police procedural may offer goofy office banter one moment and a grisly forensic report the next. Life itself brings both comedy and tragedy, and rarely has the courtesy to warn us ahead of time which is which. Jack Point says he has no choice but to “laugh at myself till I ache for it.” Whether you are moved to laughter, to tears, or to both, we hope you enjoy The Yeomen of the Guard.
Lesley Hendrickson
Quinn Shadko as Elsie Maynard,
Josh Kowitz as Colonel Fairfax and
Jacob Wellington as Jack Point
Two excellent internet resources for information about The Yeomen of the Guard:
Show Poster
Poster design by Tom McGregor and Mary Olson
Company Photo
Photography by Daniels Studio
“I have a song to sing, O!”
“What is your song, O!”
“It is sung with the ring of the songs maids sing
who love with a love life-long, O!
It’s the song of a merrymaid, nestling near,
who loved her lord – but dropped a tear
at the moan of the merryman, moping mum,
whose soul was sad, and whose glance was glum,
who sipped no sup, and who craved no crumb,
as he sighed for the love of a ladye!”
The Yeomen of the Guard
Photo Gallery
