One of the greatest partnerships in musical theater - wordsmith W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan - encountered periodic misunderstandings and conflicting goals. A particularly trying time for these two strong-willed creators of the world's most-popular operettas came in 1889, when Sullivan decided he needed a text that would be secondary to the music. Naturally, the librettist took severe umbrage at the idea. Testy letters were exchanged, egos severely bruised.
The duo seemed on the verge of disunion when, thanks to diplomacy by producer Richard D'Oyly, who had made a fortune on G & S, a handshake saved the day. The result was the 12th Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, and one of their biggest successes: The Gondoliers.
Although The Gondoliers initially ran for 554 performances (H.M.S. Pinafore chalked up 571, The Pirates of Penzance 363, The Mikado 672), it doesn't enjoy as much familiarity as the other hits today.
The Young Victorian Theatre Company, keeper of the G & S flame in Baltimore for nearly four decades, will once again do its part to remind people of the musical and theatrical brilliance in The Gondoliers with a production that opens Saturday at the Bryn Mawr School, directed by James Harp and conducted by J. Ernest Green.
"We do it every eight to 10 years," says Brian Goodman, Young Vic's general manager (he began his association with the troupe as a student performer 31 years ago). "It's one of my favorite shows. In England, it's almost as popular as Pinafore, Penzance and Mikado. But it's expensive to produce. Most G & S shows have seven or eight leads; this one has 14."
All of those characters are caught up in a typical Gilbert plot that revolves around a case of baby-swapping, years earlier, at a royal court. The result is that two gondoliers in Venice are led to believe that one of them is really the King of Barataria. Throw in a Grand Inquisitor and the Duke of Plaza-Toro, not to mention assorted ladies of both common and aristocratic heritage, and you've got a colorful excursion into a world of romance, humor and gentle satire.
"It's a fun show to do in a presidential election year," Goodman says, "since it has a lot of references to Republican government."
