New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' 2017-18 Season Kicks Off with THE SORCERER

New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, America's preeminent professional Gilbert & Sullivan repertory company, begins its exciting 2017-18 Season on Friday, September 15 (7:30PM) with a new jewel box production of The Sorcerer, celebrating its 140th anniversary this year. The production will be staged at Off-Broadway's intimate Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater (10 West 64th Street). The strictly limited engagement will play September 15 - 17!

The Sorcerer or, The Vicar's Reduction of Tea. The Vicar's brew inadvertently administers a love potion concocted by a highly respectable and old-established Family Sorcerer to the populace of a quaint English village. This cleverly reduced version of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic features the village's eight colorful characters, plus the notable outsider John Wellington Wells of patter song fame. The intimate setting puts the focus squarely on the personal relationships, witty dialogue, and lush score of the creators as brewed by a cast of nine expert singing actors and one accomplished pianist.

From Artistic Director Albert Bergeret:

"The success of last season's Cox & Box with Trial by Jury at this lovely small theater, has inspired us to look at the less frequently performed G&S works in a new light. Our first exploration of a principals only treatment for The Sorcerer, with a freshly minted subtitle, has yielded this uniquely personalized production, which features some of the brightest stars of the NYGASP repertory ensemble. The cast includes nimble James Mills as the respectable pattering sorcery tradesman Wells, rich soprano Laurelyn Watson Chase as the beautiful heroine Aline, mellifluous Richard Holmes as the kindly vicar Dr. Daly, endearing Sarah Caldwell Smith as the ingénue Constance, and dynamic Matthew Wages as leading aristocrat Sir Marmaduke. Also featured are tenor Carter Lynch as bold Alexis, mezzo Caitlin Burke as elegant Lady Sangazure, bass Andrew Herr as the dotty Notary, and mezzo Angela Christine Smith as motherly Mrs. Partlet - all favorite veterans of past NYGASP repertory seasons."

The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. Their third collaboration, the plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, "An Elixir of Love," that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876. The opera opened on 17 November 1877 at the Opera Comique in London, where it ran for 178 performances.

The NYGASP 2017-18 season is made possible with public funds from The New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

The Sorcerer at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater (10 West 64th Street) will play Friday, September 15 (7:30pm); Saturday, September 16 (2pm & 7:30pm); and Sunday, September 17 (3pm).

The season will continue with H.M.S. Pinafore at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (East 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues): Thursday, December 28 (3pm); Friday, December 29 (7:30pm); Saturday, December 30 (2pm & 7:30pm); Sunday, December 31 (3pm). New Year's Eve Gala at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th Street): Sunday, December 31 (8pm). Ruddigore at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (East 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues): Saturday, April 14, 2018 (2pm & 7:30pm); Sunday, April 15, 2018 (3pm). For more information and tickets, visit www.nygasp.org or call 212-769-1000.