Word: utopia
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...duo’s penultimate Savoy opera is a work that would lend itself to variation after variation. But until the show’s reputation gets the boost it deserves, the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players’ (HRG&SP) new production of “Utopia, Limited,” directed by Jeremy R. Steinemann ’08 (an incredible debut) and produced by Ryder B. Kessler ’08 and Benjamin T. Morris ’09, will do just fine...
...show’s many central characters is King Paramount the First (Jonathan M. Roberts ’09). As ruler of the fictional island nation Utopia, King Paramount champions the radical Anglicization of his country. Though Paramount is a pushover throughout the show, he’s never one that you’ll feel bad laughing at, and Roberts’ voice is the best in the whole show...
...course, English customs and governmental procedures are completely alien to Paramount, and so he enlists the aid of his eldest daughter, Princess Zara (Charlotte Munson, another great singer), who returns from school in England and brings with her four representatives of English society to help Utopia along in its transformation...
...deft caricatures of types that would have been glorified in 19th century England, these four “flowers of progress” careen through “Utopia, Limited” with unreserved joy, building up the military, transforming the Utopian monarchy into a totally commercial state—hence the title—and swiftly seducing all three of the King’s daughters...
Lascivious and exploitative? Certainly. Creepy? Not for a minute. Like “Utopia, Limited” in general, Morris and Kimmey are always charming. It’s also hard to root against a pair who look so good in formal wear...