Singers revive lost piece of light opera

While Thespis is Gilbert and Sullivan's first collaborative work, written in 1871, the Penn Singers are only the second company in history to perform it with the current score. Due to an unfortunate, unknown accident the original score was lost around 1879, and while the original lyrics and dialogue, as well as the two of the ballads survived intact, this score was reconstructed by Penn Singers' Director Bruce Montgomery. It is the only one known to exist. "It was a labor of love," said Montgomery, who rewrote the score in 1954, when he was only 28. "I tried to sound like Gilbert and Sullivan throughout. But Montgomery is quick to point out that he had a leg-up on the creative talents of Gilbert and Sullivan in that he knew what they would write in the 13 years following their collaboration on Thespis. But members of the cast said they believe that Montgomery had a different advantage in reconstructing the score. "We all say he was born about the same time as Gilbert and Sullivan anyway and maybe he originally wrote the show," Bryan Reid, a college sophomore who plays Jupiter and is the group's props manager, said. Montgomery is an internationally acclaimed Gilbert and Sullivan specialist. For 38 years he has directed his own theater company, The Gilbert and Sullivan Players of Philadelphia, which he took over from his father, as well other Gilbert and Sullivan productions around the globe. He has been acting in opera productions since age five. "We don't have to imagine what the director wants because we have him right here," College senior Jennifer Karweit, who plays Venus, said. Montgomery hopes to have his score published soon. The show begins with a group of Thespians picnicking on Mount Olympus. Because the Greek gods have been inactive for a while and have never been down to visit earth, the Thespians are able to convince them to trade places. But the trading partners could not be more mismatched. For example, a Thespian who is a recovering alcoholic exchanges places with Bacchus, the Greek god of wine and revelry. The mortals prove inadequate for their new jobs and turn the world topsy-turvy. The mismatching continues further as the character of Father Time is played by an actor whose voice seems to high and who is too short to be a freshman. The actor is Zach Leibowitz, a 13-year-old seventh grader at Friend's Central School, whom Penn Singers drafted to highlight the mismatch. Leibowitz has experience playing leads in his school's productions of Cats and The Pirates of Penzance and does not expect to be nervous on stage. Leibowitz believes the show will be a success. "It's great, it's enjoyable, [the characters] are wacky," Leibowitz said. Chorus member and Wharton junior Leigh Large agreed, describing the production as "beautiful music [combined] with outrageous British comedy." Performances will be held on April 2, 3, and 4 in Zellerbach Theater. Tickets are availble on Locust Walk and Annenberg Center at $5 for students and $10 for the general public.

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