Event

Iolanthe

Fairies. Sometimes clumsy, sometimes delicate, but all want to help their fellow half-fairy, Strephon (Chris Baad), get hitched to the woman he loves: Phyllis (Carley Neill). This is complicated by several issues:

Strephon's most ardent supporter is his fairy mother, Iolanthe (Sara Haugland), who was banished by the Fairy Queen (Katie Daley) for marrying Strephon's mortal father, the Lord Chancellor (Mike Baad), so she can't readily help his case. Furthermore, the Chancellor is conflicted because Phyllis is a ward of his court and wants to marry her himself. On top of that, the whole house of Peers are in love with beautiful Phyllis. Lord Tolloller (Robert Vann) and Lord Mountararat (Bob Schroeder) convince the Chancellor that it really would be okay if he sought Phyllis's hand in marriage.

To help Strephon's case, the fairies put him into Parliament, and force all the other M.P.'s to pass his bills. A sentry guard (Tim Powers) comments on how dull and unthinking the whole Parliament is. But the whole thing comes to a head when Iolanthe reveals herself to the Chancellorwho had thought her dead, knowing nothing of her banishment. In the end, it seems the best course of action is for all the members of Parliament to marry fairies.

As Lord Mountararat says, "This is what comes of women interfering with politics."

This performance is fully staged, with a live orchestra.