‘Gondoliers’ warms up cold night with music

It’s freezing outside. The windows are iced, and the car chokes on its first morning breath. You wear more clothes in one day this time of year than you would through the whole summer. Yep, it’s the dead of winter. But don’t despair. When you’ve got the February blues, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Hancock County is there to warm your heart.

For the last 20 years, the beloved G&S Society has a much-appreciated habit of performing wintertime shows from the repertoire of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, England’s most treasured musical team. This year’s endeavor is “The Gondoliers,” or “The King of Barataria,” which opened last week and will be performed again over the weekend at The Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth.

In typical G&S fashion, the plot line of “The Gondoliers” is filled with romance, ribaldry and fairy tale-style coincidences. Writing a synopsis is not such an easy task. The convolutions alone are dizzying — and that says nothing of the political innuendo and social commentary so delightfully integral to G&S works. Suffice it to say that the queen gets the king, the gondolieri get their contadine, and everyone is as happy as happy can be. Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a company more enthusiastic and committed than the Hancock County group. They almost never fall short of the task before them, and “The Gondoliers” can be counted among their successes. Artistic director Dede Johnson, music director John Mallery Haskell, and choreographer Judy Savage have put together a show with appeal, humor and spunk.

If someone misses a cue, drops a line or skips to the beat of a different drummer, it doesn’t matter in the least bit because these community folks are having fun, and are doing so with no small amount of humor and musical skill. For the most part, they can sing and dance and charm their way right into your heart. Individually and as a group, they contribute significantly to Hancock County’s reputation for having a strong, talented core of musicians and singers.

Of particular note in this production are Francis John Vogt and Roland Dube, who play the title roles, and their female counterparts, Sarah Schneider and Leslie K.A. Michaud. Dube, who lives in Bangor and is a regular in this company, is the type of performer Gilbert and Sullivan were surely targeting with their comic style. Dube is a G&S machine, and where he goes, so go the laughs. He is well matched by Vogt, whose tenor voice and good nature are a treasure. Both Schneider and Michaud are brawny and clever. As a foursome, their group is vocally unstoppable.

Debra Hangge, as the duchess, and John Cunningham, as the duke, turn in amusing and well-crafted performances. David Blanchette, Daniel Mills, Mary Ellen Martel, Bronwyn Kortge and Lindsay Smith are also praiseworthy. The other 47 or so performers, which well outnumber the able orchestra, aren’t any less important, however.

The magic of this show has everything to do with its spirit, a unique combination of passion, mirth and vitality. Few theatrical events can generate this kind of warmth and sense of community. These are the type of folks and fun you want to be around in winter, and they are the type that you may find only in a place like Maine in February.

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Hancock County will present “The Gondoliers” 8 p.m. Feb. 9 and 10, and 2 p.m. Feb. 11 at The Grand in Ellsworth. For tickets, call 667-9500.