By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Feathery, wispy, carefree sounds rose up from the orchestra pit as the overture began, indicating the evening would be filled with lighthearted musical entertainment.
Though the music was delicate rather than bold, the dimming of the lights in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center in Houston caused all chatter to cease for the opening night of “Iolanthe” an operetta presented by the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston.
As the curtain rose, bright, bold flowers, cattails, other foliage associated with being near a body of water, rocks and what seemed to be a stream adorned the stage.
Sleeping creatures on the stage began to awake with slight sounds almost like meows. The creatures were fairies who had been resting near the water. Suddenly the fairies were joined by others of their kind, all sparkling in their fairy lights, tulle skirts and effervescent wings that matched their effervescent characters.
Their female voices began singing and chattering.
It seemed some injustice had occurred, and the fairies were very displeased. The injustice of which they complained was that one of them, named, Iolanthe, had been doomed to death, but she was living — or merely existing — with frogs.
The fairy queen relented to the pleadings of her followers and allowed the assumed-dead fairy to come to life, though the ferry under discussion had broken a cardinal rule in fairy kingdom by marrying a mortal. Thus begins the light-hearted saga which leads the operetta into exploring matters of the human heart and of the mind of fairies.
While married to the mortal, Iolanthe had birthed a son who was now nearly 25 years old. We learned that her son had fallen in love with a mortal and intended to marry her that very same day. More of the story of love that seemed doomed to be unrequited began to unfold.
As the operetta moved along, the stage was filled with males dressed in top hats, coats with tails, formal shirts and neckwear typical for men of means during the Victorian era. They very loudly proclaimed their status as men with money and titles.
Their proclamation of wealth and status was about where it became crystal clear the operetta is a comedy with many satirical moments. The men on stage were attempting to be quite serious —but there was a hint of silliness as they moved about the stage.
Alas, there is a dilemma presented. The lovely young lady whom the son of the fairy wished to marry was being courted by the group of lords who proclaimed they each had the resources to fill her life with all a woman would ever desire.
Phylis, the young lady, had discussed this possibility with the love of her life, Strephon, the half-fairy, half-human son of Iolanthe. But he had not revealed neither his mother nor the true nature of his mother’s identity.
As his mother was revealed, there was a misunderstanding. I, too, was perplexed because how does a woman who looks no more than 17 years old have a son who is 25? The humor and satire continued to unfold in song, as words and antics kept the audience laughing and applauding.
Iolanthe’s appearing to be younger than the man who professed to be her son caused for a breakup in the engagement. Phylis resigned herself to marrying any one of the lords, as she felt anyone of them was as good as the other.
The plot did not thicken. Instead, it twisted and turned in the most unexpected ways. The twists and turns were delightfully presented by the performers on stage with the help of whimsical props. The performers communicated through their antics a cheerful manner of solving all the twists and turns without exhibiting too much frustration.
The second act opened on the stage with simple items denoting the exterior of a public building in Victorian England.
More twists and turns unfolded as the highest-ranking lords refused a duel, and then the Lord Chancellor, who was very much too old to marry the young, lady began to lament his unrequited love. This love happened to be for the lovely young lady, who was also his ward.
During all the turning and twisting of a Victorian-era operetta arose a twist with the involvement, on the opening night, of a very well-known 21st century Houstonian, who it seemed, just might solve all the problems with his low prices on mattresses.
There he was on stage with the performers, a man the region has come to know as Mattress Mack. The audience showed their delight with applause and laughter. His was a cameo role for that performance. It added to the humor of the operetta.
Despite the cameo appearance, all the problems were solved in the end, not by a simple gesture from one hero but by the transformation of characters within the operetta coming together to solve their dilemmas.
In short, with “Iolanthe” the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston did not disappoint. The theater company once again delivered a crisp, engaging and very fun performance of a show written by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The costuming was fabulous, and the performers were all bewitching as they lured the audience into a state of comfort and merriment.
One young family was surprised their three-year-old had stayed awake for the entire operetta.
“We loved it. We all just loved it!” said the mother of the three-year-old and a six-year-old daughter. The older girl and the girls’ father, too, had stayed awake for the duration of “Iolanthe.”
In from Wisconsin for opening night was the mother of Zack Scott Frank, who played Strephon, and she too, loved the evening.
“Everything about it was exciting, lots of energy, great voices and, of course my own son,” said the mother of the actor who played Strephon.
One of those great voices was heard in a rare desperate moment of the evening when Meaghan Heath, who played Iolanthe, poured her heart out, offering to sacrifice her own life so that her son could be with the love of his life, from whom he had about a two-year separation during all the twists and turns of the entertaining plot and performance.
In keeping true to the light, satirical humor of the evening’s operetta, no one’s life was sacrificed.
There are two more performances of “Iolanthe.” One will be on Saturday, July 26 at 7 p.m., and the other will be on Sunday, July 27 at 2:30 p.m. To check for ticket availability, go to gilbertandsullivan.org/tickets.
