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Moldy, messy Gilbert & Sullivan

By Matt Windman | amNewYork theater critic

6:18 PM EDT, June 9, 2008

Louis Dall'Ava as Pooh-Bah in "The Mikado" (Michael A. Nemeth)

The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, which plays City Center every January, is making an unexpected two-week summertime return. The operetta company is offering performances of the entire "Big Three" satire canon ("Pirates of Penance," "The Mikado," "H.M.S. Pinafore") plus "The Gondoliers" as a bonus rarity to attract the die-hard fans.

The troupe's production values, which are designed for a bus-and-truck touring company, are stubbornly antique and minimal. A few of their scenic paintings even look stained due to overuse. Meanwhile, their acting style is stiff and mechanical, and the comedy is extremely broad and exaggerated. But the company is excellent musically, with a large orchestra and cast of trained singers.

Albert Bergeret, who directs and conducts all of the company's shows, awkwardly acts like an old-fashioned maestro, making huge, ridiculous gestures to the audience and trying to showcase himself as much as possible.

Their staging of "Pirates," which is usually a grand slam, has devolved into an unattractive, unrehearsed mess. The production only came to life when Sarah Caldwell Smith took the stage as the ingénue Mabel, possessing charisma and confidence that most of the cast lacked.

"Pinafore," while far cleaner than "Pirates," was basically a bore. It is the weakest of "The Big Three," with only a few rousing anthems separating countless syrupy duets for the weepy lovers and diatribes on economic consciousness. Stephen Quint, the company's leading comic, was a limber delight as Sir Joseph Porter, though even he often looked bored.

Luckily, "The Mikado" is still a damn entertaining production. Here, the company is clearly having more fun, adding bits and pieces of contemporary political humor ranging from Eliot Spitzer to daredevils climbing the Times building. It also helps that "Mikado" has the strongest characters of any Gilbert & Sullivan show, which helps to balance all the broad comedy.

"The Big Three" all deserve new, innovative productions, rather like Shakespeare in the Park's revival of "Pirates" with Kevin Kline in the 1980's. But until then, we have the plain, moldy but frequently delightful New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players.

City Center, 130 West 55th St, 212-581-1212, $40-80. Schedule varies. Thru Sunday.