The Daily Telegraph's review of the premier of The Yeomen of the Guard was positively glowing:"We place the songs and choruses in The Yeomen of the Guard before all (their) previous efforts of this particular kind. Thus the music follows the book to a higher plane, and we have a genuine English opera, forerunner of many others, let us hope, and possibly significant of an advance towards a national lyric stage." The Yeomen of the Guard opened at the Savoy Theater in London's West End on October 3rd, 1888. It ran for 423 performances.With The Yeomen of the Guard, Gilbert's words and Sullivan's score transcended their earlier works, leaving behind much of the institutional satire and lighter fluff typical of its predecessors and offering a somewhat darker, more serious presentation. But while The Yeomen of the Guard offers the audience more meat, it still serves up a generous helping of comic desert.

If you are not familiar with the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, this production will be an excellent introduction to their wonderful style. Lying somewhere between Opera and Musical Theatre (and overlapping on both sides,) their collaborations are considered "Light Operas" or Operettas. Put another way, an Operetta is an Opera with acting while Musical Theatre is a play with singing. An Operetta is truly the best of both worlds.

If you are an aficionado of the genre, The Players are ready, willing and able to present exactly what you have been looking for in classic G&S.

The Players have occasionally done Gilbert and Sullivan pieces in the past and they have always been met with critical acclaim, but we have never before presented The Yeomen of the Guard . As the finale of a season of new and exciting offerings, we are sure that you will be pleased with our efforts.

Performed at:
Shannondell Performing Arts Center
10000 Shannondell Drive
Audubon, PA 19403
click here for map

Dates:

auditions: November 16, 2008 7:00 PM	by appointment only
November 18, 2008 7:00 PM	open call
November 20, 2008 7:00 PM	open call
performance: February 21, 2009 7:30 PM
February 22, 2009 2:00 PM
February 27, 2009 7:30 PM
February 28, 2009 7:30 PM
March 01, 2009 2:00 PM
March 06, 2009 7:30 PM
March 07, 2009 2:00 PM

Audition information:
Contact yeomen.director@kofpplayers.org for an appointment and/or to get copies of the audition music and dialogue.If you have an appointment, your entire audition will be about 15 minutes; you won't have to spend the entire evening at the theater. For open calls, there's no guarantee how long the audition will last; it could be the entire 3-hour period, though we would like to get people in and out as quickly as possible.
Note: The 1st and 2nd Citizen and the Headsman will be cast from the chorus. Potential chorus members should prepare one of the songs in your vocal range.

Open roles:

Sir Richard Cholmondely	male	baritone	1 part	Lieutenant of the Tower
Colonel Fairfax	male	tenor	1 part	Under sentence of death
Sergeant Meryll	male	baritone/bass	1 part	of the Yeomen of the Guard
Leonard Meryll	male	tenor	1 part	the Sergeant's son
Jack Point	male	baritone	1 part	a Strolling Jester
Wilfred Shadboltt	male	baritone	1 part	Head Jailer and Assistant Tormentor
Headsman	male		1 part	silent role, cast from the chorus
1st Yeoman	male	tenor	1 part
2nd Yeoman	male	baritone	1 part
1st Citizen	M/F		1 part	minor speaking role
2nd Citizen	M/F		1 part	minor speaking role
Elsie Maynard	female	soprano	1 part	a Strolling Singer
Phoebe Meryll	female	mezzo-soprano	1 part	Sergeant Meryll's Daughter
Dame Carruthers	female	contralto	1 part	Housekeeper of the Tower
Kate Carruthers	female	soprano	1 part	Dame Carruthers' Niece
Yeomen	male		8 parts	chorus
citizens	M/F		10 parts	chorus