The Gondoliers

The College Light Opera Company (CLOC) is proud to present The Gondoliers as its upcoming production.

Twenty years earlier, Casilda, the infant daughter of the Duke of Plaza-Toro, was married to the infant son of the King of Barataria.  Shortly thereafter, the prince was stolen by the Grand Inquisitor and given to a Venetian gondolier for safekeeping, or so he thought.  The gondolier raised this boy alongside his own son.  The boys, now gondoliers Marco and Giuseppe, are oblivious to the fact that they are not brothers and that one is actually the king.  The throne of Barataria has become vacant and the destitute Plaza-Toro’s have come to Venice to lay claim to the throne for their daughter.  The Grand Inquisitor admits that he doesn’t know which gondolier is the real prince and sends for the prince’s nurse to clear up the confusion.  The Grand Inquisitor informs Marco and Giuseppe that one of them is the king and orders them to report to Barataria at once, permitting them to take their male friends, and await the royal determination.  Having just married Gianetta and Tessa, the gondoliers and their fellow gondoliers bid their wives farewell.

Three months have passed, Marco and Giuseppe have remodeled the monarchy on republican principles of equality, and installed their gondolier friends as the new court where “all may equal be.”  Tessa and Gianetta arrive and all celebrate a joyous reunion.  The Grand Inquisitor informs the wives that one of their husbands is married to Casilda, but he does not yet know which.  The Duke and Duchess, now flush with cash as a result of their proximity to the throne, arrive in state with Casilda as they too are awaiting the royal determination.  Realizing that one of the two gondoliers will be their son-in-law, they attempt to educate them in the ways of courtly etiquette.  Finally, the king’s nurse is brought forth to reveal the identity of the king.  But which gondolier will it be?

Stage Director David Ward and Music Director Mary Marcell lead this production. This production will be followed this season by CLOC’s final production of the 2015 season, Me and My Girl. Ward, originally from New York, NY, holds degrees from the University of Houston.   Marcell, originally from Greenwich, CT holds degrees from Smith College and the Hartt School of Music.

The cast is full of new and returning CLOC vocal company members. Talents to look forward to include Matthew Brennan as Don Alhambra Del Bolero, The Grand Inquisitor (From Chicago, IL - Vanderbilt University ’14), Isabella Dawis as Gianetta (Minneapolis, MN – University of Minnesota ’13), Blake Gronlund as Marco Palmieri (Detroit, MI - Western Michigan University), Evan Woods Gunter as Giuseppe Palmieri (Rainbow City, AL - Samford University ’17), Maggie Langhorne as Casilda (Santa Barbara, CA – Oberlin Conservatory ’16), Jim Miller as The Duke of Plaza- Toro (Fort Wayne, IN - Wright State University ’16), Katharine Nunn as The Duchess of Plaza-Toro (Haslett, MI - Michigan State University ’16), Abigail Rice as Tessa (Canandaigua, NY - Gettysburg College ’16), and Christopher Sapp as Luiz (Resaca, GA - University of Georgia ’16).

The Gondoliers will run Tuesday, August 18th  through Saturday, August 22nd at 8 p.m., with a Thursday Matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets are $36 and are available by calling the CLOC Box Office at 508-548-0668 or by visiting the CLOC Box Office, 58 Highfield Drive, Falmouth (open Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., 2:00 – 5:00 p.m., and 7:00 –9:00 p.m.). For more information, please visit www .CollegeLightOperaCompany .com.