Video: If You Missed the First Weekend of Princess Ida, Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austiin, June 13 - 23, 2013

Video highlights of Acts I and II, opening weekend of







production of


Princess Ida

by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
Ralph MacPhail, Jr., stage director
Dr. Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, musical director
with a cast of 36 and an 11-piece orchestra
June 13 - 23, 2013
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
matinees at 2:30 p.m., Saturday and Sundays, June 22 and 23
Worley-Barton Theatre at Brentwood Christian SchoolN
11908 N. Lamar Blvd - click for map

BUY ONLINE via the Long Center or call 512-474-5664

Tickets by phone available M-F 10am-6pm & Sat 10am-4pm
Note: If you order online, your seats will be auto-selected. To choose specific seats, please order by phone

.

Robert Faires interviews artistic director Ralph MacPhail, Jr., for the Austin Chronicle, June 13
Review by Jeff Davis at www.austin.broadwayworld.com, June 16
Review by "odoublegood" at metroblogs, June 18
Click to view libretto in .pdf

Auditions for Princess Ida, Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin, March 2 - 3, 2013

The Austin Gilbert and Sullivan Society announces Auditions for Princess Ida Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3, 2013 by appointment only.
The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin announces auditions for its June 13-23 Grand Summer Production of Princess Ida by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Ralph MacPhail, Jr. and Jeffrey Jones-Ragona will be returning as artistic and music directors, respectively.


Auditions are approximately ten minutes long, by appointment only. All roles are open for casting, including principals and chorus. A prepared musical selection and completed audition form are required. A résumé and headshot are requested. A small honorarium will be paid to all performers. Auditions will be held at Genesis Presbyterian Church, 1507 Wilshire Blvd (click for map).

Those auditioning should memorize a song from Gilbert and Sullivan or something similar that will show their voice and range to best advantage. An accompanist will be provided, although singers may bring their own pianist if they wish. Please note that unaccompanied (a cappella) auditions are not accepted, nor are self-accompanied auditions. A public domain version of the Vocal Score and Libretto are available.
Call Pat Turpin at 512-963-9021 (7 am - 8 pm) or email audition@gilbertsullivan.org to reserve an audition time slot. Complete information at www.gilbertsullivan.org.Music rehearsals will begin on April 30 and the grand summer production takes place June 13 - 23, 2013.
Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant was Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert’s eighth comic opera out of fourteen. The Society is producing it for the first time in its history. Sullivan’s score is majestic, and many consider Gilbert’s libretto one of his funniest. This is the only three-act Gilbert and Sullivan opera.

This melodic and hilarious comic opera features proto-feminist Princess Ida, the daughter of King Gama. The princess founds a women’s university from which all men are barred, and she and her faculty teach that women are superior to men and should rule in their stead. Romantic Prince Hilarion, to whom Ida had been engaged in infancy, sneaks into the university along with two friends with the aim of claiming Hilarion’s bride, instigating a riotous war between the sexes. Princess Ida satirizes feminism, women’s education, masculine pugnacity and militarism, grand opera, and Darwinian evolution - topics which were controversial in conservative Victorian England. It is based on a narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson called “The Princess.”


The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin was founded in 1976 with the purpose of education by preserving and presenting the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. 

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin PO Box 684542 / Austin, Texas / 78768-4542 / 512.472.4772 / info@gilbertsullivan.org

Video: Dress Rehearsal for The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin, June 9 - 19

An ALTcom glimpse of the company's first dress rehearsal with the orchestra of The Mikado, a four-minute compendium of scenes from Act I:

Apple users: can't see the video? Click to go to YouTube!

presents its summer 2011 grand production

The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu

by Sir W. S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan

directed by Ralph MacPhail, Jr., with musical direction by Jeffrey Jones-Ragona

June 9-19 -- 9 Performances

Evening performances Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Matinees at 3 p.m., June 12, 18 & 19.

Travis High School Performing Arts Center / 1211 E. Oltorf (click for Google map)

For information, visit www.gilbertsullivan.org or call (512) 472-4772

Click here to purchase tickets on-line

Upcoming: The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin at Travis Performing Arts Center, June 9 - 19

Received directly:

presents its summer 2011 grand production

The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu

by Sir W. S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan

directed by Ralph MacPhail, Jr.

musical direction by Jeffrey Jones-Ragona

June 9-19 -- 9 Performances

Evening performances Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Matinees at 3 p.m., June 12, 18 & 19.

Special Children’s Activities Sunday, June 12 at 2 p.m.

Travis High School Performing Arts Center / 1211 E. Oltorf (click for Google map)

For information, visit www.gilbertsullivan.org or call (512) 472-4772

For group sales of 10 or more, contact Michael Meigs at (512) 420-0888 or michael@gilbertsullivan.org

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin is proud to present its Summer 2011 Grand Production of The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu. The Mikado has delighted audiences for more than a century and is perhaps the most popular comic opera ever written. This quintessential satire of human nature represents Gilbert and Sullivan at the height of their creative geniuses. The Mikado is filled with masterful Gilbertian lyrics and magnificent Sullivanian musical “hits,” conveyed with orchestral brilliance. Populated with memorable characters and colorfully exotic costumes and sets, The Mikado is wildly funny. Audiences of all ages will be captivated by its hauntingly beautiful tunes and its colorful pageantry.

The Mikado opened in London on March 14, 1885, and ran for a record-breaking 672 performances at the Savoy Theatre. This comedy about an executioner, while set in Japan, displays wit that is very much British, albeit kimono-clad. Victorian England is the target of Gilbert's satire, thinly disguised as a strange and distant land. The Mikado has had an extensive influence on popular culture, from “Pooh-Bah,” “Tit-Willow," “A Wand’ring Minstrel I” and “Three Little Maids” to the 1999 Mike Leigh film “Topsy-Turvy,” which tells the story of the creation of The Mikado.

Artistic Director Ralph MacPhail, Jr. returns for his 11^th summer with the Society, along with Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, enjoying his 15^th season as Music Director.

The cast includes Holton Johnson (Nanki-Poo), Tamsen Cohagan (Yum-Yum), Russell Gregory (The Mikado), Janette Jones (Katisha), Arthur DiBianca (Ko-Ko), Patricia Combs (Pitti-Sing), Robert L. Schneider (Pooh-Bah), Angela Irving (Peep-Bo), Jay Young (Pish-Tush), and a Chorus of 24 Noblemen and School-Girls.

A free Opening Night Gala with refreshments follows the Friday, June 10 performance. Special Children's Activities precede the performance on June 12 at 2 p.m. All performances will have supertitles.

Usually regarded as Gilbert & Sullivan's masterpiece, The Mikado has been translated into other languages and adapted more than any other of their works. The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin will continue its tradition of offering The Mikado that Gilbert and Sullivan wrote, demonstrating why the work has proved so enduring and endearing for 125 years.

Read synopsis and further information at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: Auditions for The Mikado, Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin, March 4 & 5

Received directly:

The Austin Gilbert & Sullivan Society announces

Auditions for The Mikado

Saturday, March 5 & Sunday, March 6
By appointment only

Call Chuck Antonie at (512) 733-1006 or (512)-825-5187 or email cantonie@yahoo.com to reserve an audition time slot.

Complete information at www.gilbertsullivan.org

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin announces auditions for its June 9-19 production of The Mikado by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Ralph MacPhail, Jr. and Jeffrey Jones-Ragona will be returning as artistic and musical directors, respectively.

Auditions are approximately ten minutes long, by appointment only. All 33 roles (except that of Katisha) are open for casting, including principals and chorus. A prepared, accompanied aria, completed audition form, résumé, and headshot are required. A small honorarium will be paid to all performers. For complete details, visit www.gilbertsullivan.org. Auditions will be held at Genesis Presbyterian Church, 1507 Wilshire Blvd.

About The Mikado
Last produced by the Society in 2005, The Mikado has delighted audiences for more than a century, and is arguably the most popular comic opera ever written. This quintessential satire of human nature represents both Gilbert and Sullivan at the height of their creative geniuses.

The Mikado opened in London on March 14, 1885, and ran for a record-breaking 672 performances at the Savoy Theatre. This comedy about an executioner, while set in Japan, displays wit that is very much British, albeit kimono-clad. Victorian England is the target of Gilbert's satire, thinly disguised as a strange and distant land. Its influence on popular culture is pervasive, from “Pooh-Bah,” “Tit-Willow," “A Wandring Minstrel I” and “Three Little Maids” to the 1999 Mike Leigh film “Topsy-Turvy” which tells the story of the creation of The Mikado.

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin was founded in 1976 with the purpose of education by preserving and presenting the works of Gilbert & Sullivan. The Gilbert & Sullivan Society is sponsored in part by the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Sneak Peek Images: Yeomen of the Guard, Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin, June 11 - 20

Austin's Gilbert & Sullivan Society, now in its 34th year, is preparing for the June 11- 20 presentation of The Yeomen of the Guard, directed by Ralph MacPhail, Jr., with musical direction by Jeffrey Jones-Ragona. The show has been cast and musical rehearsals are proceeding.


ALT offers some of the publicity images taken by Brenda Ladd photography of three of the principals -- Russell Gregory as Sergeant Meryll of the Yeomen of the Guard, Arthur DiBianca as Jack Point and Michelle Hache as Elsie.




(all images © 2010 Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin)


View more images at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .