THEATER REVIEW : SATIRE OF ‘RUDDIGORE’ STANDS THE TEST OF TIME

Arthur Sullivan’s sprightly overture to “Ruddigore” is just the first hint of the fun that follows.

With the overwhelming success of “The Mikado” barely behind them, Sullivan and his witty writing partner, W.S. Gilbert, set out to put 19th-Century melodrama in its place. Through their operetta “Ruddigore,” they thrashed the popular form mercilessly with song and satire, producing fair maidens and villains in abundance and showing the world just how simply the fight between good and evil might be resolved.

Now the San Diego Gilbert & Sullivan Company has taken up the call. The company wisely recruited Clarence E. Stephenson to stage the attack, which alternates with “The Savoy Theatre Cat” through Oct. 19 at Balboa Park’s Casa del Prado Theatre.

Stephenson handles “Ruddigore” with as much wit as Gilbert must have instilled when it was first brought to the stage. He has boldly but tastefully tampered with everything, creating his own choreography and taking courageous liberties (for a Gilbert & Sullivan production) that result in such delightful romping that the lead performers are required to do things one almost never sees on the local stage.

In one instance, Mad Margaret (Patricia McAfee) dutifully appears midway through the first act in her tattered purple gown, long red locks streaming. She is soon singing her rejected-maiden-gone-mad lament while lying flat on her stomach at center stage. McAfee lets herself go full out, delivering one of the best performances among a handful of surprisingly good characterizations.

Nita Wilson is as sweet as condensed milk--and as glowingly pure--in her role as Rose Maybud, Gilbert’s version of the virginal heroine. Wilson sings with ringing clarity but she can also act, which starts the production off in the right direction. She captures the tongue in Gilbert’s cheek, particularly in her introductory number, “If Somebody There Chanced to Be,” during which Rose, etiquette book in hand, lets her audience know that she is not the kind of young lady to settle for second best among her suitors.

Joseph Grienenberger, as the youthful Robin Oakapple, is cheery and shy and tormented by his love for Rose. Grienenberger also knows how to handle the witty sarcasm woven into the plot as the usual tangle of events reveals first his unrequited love, and, more ominously, his real identity as Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, heir to villainy as one of the feared Murgatroyd baronets of Ruddigore, who have long been cursed by a wicked witch to commit a crime a day or die a horrible, agonizing death.

Since Robin/Ruthven fled this destiny of wickedness as soon as he was able, concealing himself as a farmer in Rose’s sunny village, his brother, Sir Despard Murgatroyd (Stuart Conroy) inherited the job. Conroy’s entrance is as hiss-inspiring as any good melodrama, but he quickly explains (musically, of course) that he keeps his villainy to the bare minimum. He commits his dastardly deed early in the morning, at the relentless behest of the “picture gallery” of Murgatroyd ancestors that hang in his evil castle. Once routinely acquitted of his despicable duty, he is free to commit good deeds for the rest of the day.

Despard is in for a thrill when Richard Dauntless (Jim Tompkins-MacLaine), Robin’s foster brother, falls in love with Rose in the midst of proposing to her on Robin’s behalf, and in order to win her must reveal Robin’s true nasty identity as the bad baronet.

Quicker than you can say Savoyard, the good guy becomes the bad guy, the bad guy is the good guy and the stage is full of gloom and ghosts and maidens betrothed to men they don’t love. It all works out in the end, of course, in what must be the fastest resolution ever written for the stage. The ending is the weakest part of this production, but what goes before makes up for it.

Stephenson’s first coup was in finding capable actors and actresses for the major roles. All are well done. Tompkins-MacLaine is able to deliver his hearty “Hornpipe” dance (with the director’s witty additions) and negotiate Sullivan’s melodies at the same time.

Conroy goes lickety-split from nasty villain to stuffy British bureaucrat, which in Gilbert’s view may not be such a great distance to travel. Grienenberger is consistently amusing, and Wilson and McAfee are bright flowers at opposite ends of the Maypole.

Hollace Koman’s orchestra dips and soars skillfully through the madrigals and patter songs, and the men’s and women’s choruses keep up the pace.

N. Dixon Fish has created a painted village in bright rosy tones that bears the good-natured, cartoon-like sculpting of a Disney animation and the widest contrast possible with the gloomy gray castle required for Act II. Tim Reeve’s lighting follows Fish’s cues, and Cindy Cetinske’s costumes keep the lively feeling fresh.

Stephenson has scored a hit with “Ruddigore” by bringing his imagination and intelligence freely to the task. The local company should always be so fortunate. “RUDDIGORE”

Words by W.S. Gilbert. Music by Arthur S. Sullivan. Directed by Clarence E. Stephenson. Conductor and musical director is Hollace Koman. Set design by N. Dixon Fish. Costume design by Cindy Cetinske. Lighting design by Tim Reeve. With Ellen Gregg, Cathy Newman, Marion Davidson, Nita Wilson, Joseph Grienenberger, Richard Seeman, Jim Tompkins-MacLaine, Patricia McAfee, Stuart Conroy, Richard A. Wright. Saturday, and Oct. 18 and 19 at the Casa del Prado Theatre, Balboa Park. Produced by the San Diego Gilbert & Sullivan Company.