The Troupers tackled The Yeomen of the Guard with gusto on two Saturdays in mid-April at the Norwalk Concert Hall. The Troupers have been our local operetta company since 1946(!). They performed Yeomen seven seasons before this.

The creators, William S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, were blessed with a quick rise to stardom both in the British Isles and the USA. But this stalled (relatively speaking) with Princess Ida. In the meantime, Sullivan was growing more attracted to serious forms of music, less to Gilbert’s proposed plots. Happily, The Mikado caught his attention; it was their biggest success. Ruddigore, which followed, was praised by many, especially for Sullivan’s music, but not enough to keep it running long. Again, Gilbert proposed and Sullivan rejected his proposals. It looked like the end of the road.

So the story goes, one day Gilbert saw a poster at a train station advertising the Tower Furnishing Company, with the Tower of London in the background and a Beefeater in the foreground. Bingo! Sullivan was immediately taken with the humanity of it. The rest is history. The Yeomen of the Guard is their most serious collaboration. Some, taking it a step further, have called it England’s finest opera.

This season the Troupers bring new creative forces to the table. Nancy Meyer, with a long list of experiences in all manners of musical theater, made her company debut as Stage Director. Conspicuous are the energy changes afforded by the plot and the interactions/reactions of the players: they came to life effectively; they interact in natural ways, consistent with their personalities. Even the characters and chorus surrounding the principals reacted to the story as it progressed. Welcome!

New, too, is Zachary Kampler, Music Director. Fine moments musically were everywhere. Interesting that in this production the Orchestra was behind the sets, not in sight in the “pit” before us.* The artists were carried by waves of music, not struggling to sing through them. Cues were delivered via a screen center stage. Kampler was constantly sensitive to the flow of the music and the singers. Neil Flores, who starred in major roles in the past for the Troupers, is here Stage Manager.

Christina Kampler is Elsie Maynard, the young woman who is wandering from gig to gig with Jack Point, a poor street entertainer. I liked the intensity and passion she brought to the role. Gregory Suss brought new life to Point through gesture and expression. A quasi-serious character, Point strives to be entertaining, but underneath it all he is a sincere fellow...and sad. At the end one felt his sadness over losing Elsie to another. His daughter Katie made her debut in the Chorus.

**Christina Kampler as Elsie Maynard and Gregory Suss as Jack Point**

Colonel Fairfax, nicely sung by James Ring-Howell, is at the center of the action. He’s about to be beheaded for sorcery, a false charge by a greedy kinsman who wants his money and estate. Phoebe Meryll, daughter of Sgt. Meryll (a Yeoman of the Guard at the Tower) has taken a liking to Fairfax. She is, of course, saddened that he is to be executed later that day.

John Hoover as one of the Townsfolk (also Technical Director) and Rhianna Ring-Howell as Kate

The truth that Fairfax saved the life of Phoebe’s father in battle motivates the rescue team. Sgt. Meryll’s son has returned from battle, but no one has seen or would recognize him. Meryll, sung by David Schanncupp, and Phoebe, sung by a feisty Ria Ipa, conspire to free Fairfax, pass him off as Meryll’s son and save his life. Tyler Panek is Leonard Meryll.

To make this work, they need to spring Fairfax, which involves stealing the keys to the jail cell from William Shadboldt, comically performed by Mark Callahan. It also turns out he has a thing for Phoebe, which further complicates the plot.

In the meantime, with only a short time to live, Fairfax, through Lt. Cholmondeley, here forcefully played by Alan Briones, fulfills his request to be married before he is executed so that the relative scum don’t inherit his estate. Coincidentally, Elsie Maynard and Jack Point enter; she consents to marry Fairfax. Briones has performed with Troupers in the past.

Marian Shulman sang Dame Carruthers, a stern guardian of Tower tradition; she also was the show’s Co-Producer, one of the Costumers! Her list of performances and her dedication to Troupers, both on stage and behind the scenes is long and legendary. Rhianna Ring-Howell, daughter of James Ring-Howell, makes her company debut as Kate. Noteworthy is her attention to the emotions of the moment and her ability to translate these into song and expression.

Ria Ipa as Phoebe, Rhianna Ring-Howell as Kate, Christina Kampler as Elsie, and Marian Shulman as Dame Carruthers

The men of the Chorus, many familiar to us, are Rob Strom, Jim Cooper, William Abbott, Paul Cernysh, Ben Dussault, Sam Harris, John Hoover, Bill Kenyon, Kenneth Skjeveland, Mathew Young, and Jeff Rossman; the women of the Chorus are Melinda Bauers, Vicki Cooper, Laura Ann Heckman, Maribeth Johnson, Rachel Lese, Miki Nakahata, Marisa Schafer, Lea Kessler Shaw, and the aforementioned Katie Suss and Rhianna Ring-Howell.

The Troupers’ production was big in sets…after all, it is the Tower of London! Carl Mezoff, a legend in our time, designed the sets to relay the sheer size and color of the Tower, but with easy exits and entrances for the singers and chorus. Bravo!!!

All in all, it was an entertaining afternoon (April 22).

An aside: the Troupers are one of the reasons I knew I had settled in the right place many years ago.

Look for the Troupers next spring! Happy Mother’s Day!

Best wishes, OM.

*The Troupers tried this before with H.M.S Pinafore/Trial by Jury, either in March, 2002, at the Saxe Middle School or in April, 2009, at New Canaan High, but I don’t remember which one. I was at both with my family and in-laws. What I do remember was that the orchestra sound did not come across reliably. This season was far better. Hope to hear it this way again!