Little ‘Patience’ required as operetta opens in Ellsworth

Patience only had to be called upon a few times by the audience attending a production of an operetta with the same name at The Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth Saturday.

“Patience,” performed by the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Hancock County, is a love story that features more self-love and devotion to the idea of love than romancing couples. The fifth collaboration between W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, it is a satire of the aesthetic movement that flourished in Britain during the late 1800s.

“Patience” lacks the memorable melodies of “The Mikado” and the pizazz of “Pirates of Penzance,” but in the experienced hands of GSSHC, it provided enough foolishness to please theatergoers.

Bronwyn Kortge was delightful as Patience the Dairy Maid. Her strong, clear soprano gently rolled over the audience like a welcome spring breeze. The role fit her like a glove, and her straightforward performance countered the flamboyant antics of her costars.

Reginald Bunthrone and Archibald Grosvener were the two rivals for Patience’s affections and the men every woman in the play swooned over as each recited rotten poetry. Roland Dube and David Wilson mustered up their best Oscar Wilde impressions for their respective roles. Both actors were equally amusing, although it was evident that Wilson is too old to be the young lover Gilbert and Sullivan imagined.

Best known for his juggling feats at the Maine Shakespeare Festival, Zachary Field’s tenor was rapturous enough to make theatergoers swoon. His character, the Duke of Dunstable, was part of a trio of Dragoon Guards that included Jason Wilkes and Irv Hodgkin. Field’s voice was the only one to match Kortge’s in quality. Unfortunately, they never sang a duet.

“Patience” is the first GSSHC show directed by Geoffrey Shovelton. Under his guidance, the performers moved relatively comfortably and looked good, but a bit crowded, on the set he also designed. However, Shovelton and musical director Fred Goldrich should have worked more diligently with the chorus for a clearer and more distinct sound. During Saturday night’s performance, singers’ voices often did not blend together and they sometimes swallowed their words.

“Patience” is not the best of Gilbert & Sullivan nor is it most likely the best GSSHC has to offer, but its silliness did ward off the winter blues for one cold February evening.

The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Hancock County will present “Patience” at 7 p.m. Feb. 7-8 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 9 at The Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth. For information, call 667-9500.