Word: mountararat
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Lord Tolloller (Ben Waldman) and Lord Mountararat (David Schrag) do a marvelous job of putting flamboyant foppery across the footlights in songs such as "Blue Blood," with the omnipresent swirling of hands in the air, sniffing and haughty inflection...
...second plot, far and away Gilbert's funniest, concerns the House of Lords. Gilbert has his Lord Mountararat (a name suggesting the aristocracy's excessive reverence for ancestry) proclaim that "If there is a single institution that is unsusceptible of any improvement whatsoever, it is the House of the Lords." This recalls the Duke of Wellington's remark a half-century earlier that Parliament was perfect--on the eve of the Reform Bill...
...LORD MOUNTARARAT (Jeff Zax) and Lord Tolloller (Clifton Lewis) are a superb pair of Peers. Zax in particular seems to want to create his own style of Gilbert and Sullivan delivery rather than rely on the tried-and-true English accents and mannerisms that are part of the D'Oyly Carte canon. On the whole, his efforts are successful. Private Willis (Jay Paul) has the largest voice in the cast; during his one major song, his voice fills the theater with a plenitude and an effortlessness that none of the other performers can match...
...partners in the trio are Peter Ncumann and Barry Morley as Mountararat and Tolloller, respectively. They both seem a bit more leaden than their parts demanded, but generally excellent timing made much of their comedy. Morley even had a good voice. He used it seldom in solos, but added much to the general effect. Unfortunately, Neumann's theatrical equipment does not include singing ability, but his deep voice has a passable range, and the lyrics to his one solo, "When Britain Really Ruled the Waves," are clever enough to support far less vocal talent...
Leonard Osborn turns in a magnificent performance on vocal and acting levels as Earl Tolloller, and Richard Walker is fine as his friendly rival, the Earl of Mountararat. Richard Watson does his brief bit as Private Willis perfectly. Perhaps the weakest member of the cast is Charles Dorning as the male love interest, Strephon. Dorning's voice and style, while certainly adequate, are not up to the abilities of his fellows...