Patience Through the Years

Bright red Dragoon coats and helmets were rented for all of NYGASP’s Patience productions, but the personnel were not so consistent.  The women’s costumes evolved over several productions.  I’m not in this picture, but the second Dragoon from the left is NYGASP stalwart Louis DAll’ava and the third from right is erstwhile chorister and former NYGASP board member Steve Senie.  Others of note, besides kneeling Barbara Wright, are Stephen O’Brien in black as Bunthorne (with his back turned) and Maureen Born (pointing as Lady Saphir in profile and white).  Keep those names in mind as you proceed to images of subsequent NYGASP productions.

John Reed, OBE was NYGASP’s illustrious guest artist for several seasons in the 1980’s and in 1986-87 he played Reginald Bunthorne in the Company’s second production of Patience at Symphony Space.  John was a wonderful performer, and a great raconteur - sharing many stories of his long career with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in England.  He was by no means a neophyte when he appeared with NYGASP and, since I had to sign the work visa that he needed to perform with NYGASP, John knew that I knew his age.  Once, while being interviewed at a café with me and asked how old he was by a reporter, I had to bite my cheek when he shaved ten years off his age and squeezed my knee under the table!  That is just one demonstration of the collegial relationship that John had with me and many other NYGASP members.  In a tribute to NYGASP in print, John once paraphrased one of Bunthorne’s lines proclaiming that “If you are fond of great Gilbert & Sullivan, NYGASP is the shop for it.”  By this time, I had relinquished my onstage activities and become the Company’s full time conductor.

1986-1987 NYGASP’s Second Patience

Maureen Born graduated from Lady Saphir in 1981 to the title role of milkmaid Patience in 1986 - shown here with a yoke (still in use today) and 2 wood buckets borrowed from the NYGASP HMS Pinafore production.  Standing beside her are Helene Williams as Lady Saphir, Heidi Merritt as Lady Angela (left) and Kristina Carlson (right) as Lady Jane.  All of these costumes were rented, which will become relevant later in the historical progression of the NYGASP productions.

John Reed is surrounded by the admiring Ladies, but you might note that those red jackets have different belts this time, due to a different rental source.

LEFT: Maureen Born as Patience with Keith Jurosko as Grosvenor (in rental costumes this time) with a set piece (long since discarded) part of the set designed by Jack Garver on the Symphony Space stage.

RIGHT: John Reed as Bunthorne with Kristina Carlson as Lady Jane in the comedic duet “So go to him and say to him…”  This duet is traditionally encored several times - and shows up in other more recent production images as well.  Lady Jane elicits both pathos and humor in her self-proclaimed description “not pretty, massive” as she collaborates with Bunthorne to eliminate his rival aesthetic poet.

John Reed’s wry and delightful partner and business manager Nicholas Kerri often appeared on stage during John’s many guest artist appearances with NYGASP.  Here he is as Bunthorne’s Solicitor – reviled by the Dragoons and admired by the Ladies.

John Reed had retired while almost a decade passed without a NYGASP production of Patience and in the new decade new faces joined the Company stalwarts for another romp in the aesthetic craze.  A new source of Dragoon costumes was found and NYGASP created its own costumes for the Aesthetic Ladies.

1995- NYGASP’s Third Patience

TOP LEFT: In another publicity studio shot featuring a young and hirsute conductor in 1995, Stephen O’Brien returned to his iconic portrayal of Bunthorne along with NYGASP veteran Susan Case as Lady Saphir, while new faces Michael Niemann as Major Murgatroyd, and Lisa Pierce as Patience (still carrying those buckets and the yoke) joined the cast.

TOP RIGHT: Here on stage at Symphony Space are Stephen O’Brien as Bunthorne and Kathleen Larson as Lady Jane performing that encored duet with the line “Sing Booh to you Pooh, pooh to you”.  These costumes (no longer rentals), and the iconic wig with the white hair strand, are still in use in NYGASP’s current Patience production.  Jack Garver’s set remains in the picture.

BOTTOM RIGHT: In 1995 Shuler Hensley (before he became a Tony, Drama Desk, and Olivier Award winner - among many other accolades) joined the cast of NYGASP’s Patience as Colonel Calverly.  This photograph from a dress rehearsal also features a missing helmet on the very bald head of long time NYGASP chorister and board member Alan Hill.  These iconic costumes remain in NYGASP’s current production.

Joining Shuler (far right) in this mock “aesthetic pose” are fellow Dragoon Officers posing awkwardly as poets  (left to right) Michael Niemann (Major Murgatroyd),, and David Hawes (The Duke of Dunstable), with Karen Rich as Lady Angela.

2002 - NYGASP’s Fourth Patience

After NYGASP’s first triumphant season at City Center with Pinafore, Pirates, and The Mikado, the Company returned to Symphony Space for a run of Patience.  Some present and future Broadway veterans headed the cast.  While I conducted the first performances of the production, my colleague from G&S productions with the Barnard College G&S Society, Jeffrey Kresky, took the podium while several of NYGASP’s leading performers and I spent a week in residence with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra doing The Mikado.  This experience exemplifies the expansion of NYGASP’s capacity and reputation.

Larry Raiken (formerly of Broadway’s Woman of the Year) as Bunthorne and Michele McConnell (subsequently of The Phantom of the Opera) as Patience. Also of note in the 2002 production were Michael Scott Harris as The Duke and Melissa Parks as Lady Jane.

In the final scene of Patience the Ladies give up on the aesthetic craze and don more traditional Victorian dresses.  NYGASP repurposes women’s dresses from its original production of The Pirates of Penzance, created by my wife Gail Wofford, for the final scene.  In front of the chorus in a classic pose are Michele McConnell as Patience and Mark Womack as reformed poet Grosvenor in the most garish and unaesthetic suit imaginable.

2012 & 2014 - NYGASP’s Fifth Patience

Another 10 years passed before NYGASP remounted Patience for a fifth time.  For a single performance at Symphony Space in 2012 we replaced Jack Garver’s set with an expanded version of my original design from 1981 - combining elements that I created for the only touring performance of Patience that NYGASP has ever done (in Columbus, Ohio) while retaining one notable distant castle flat from Jack Garver’s design (see photo).  The success of this single performance led to a one week run at Symphony Space in January 2014 with mostly the same cast and production values.

See if you can identify the 3 lead Dragoons (Matthew Wages, David Wannen, and Daniel Greenwood), Lady Jane (Caitlin Burke), along with Louis Dall’Ava and Stephen O’Brien in the ensemble behind the 3 lead Ladies (Meredith Borden, Melissa Attebury, and Erika Person) and Bunthorne, played for the first time by James Mills.

Although I was the tech director for Symphony Space’s first years, renovation and other presenters needs had reduced NYGASP to limited performance opportunities in 2012 - with the orchestra necessarily on the stage rather than on the floor in front.  Here I am in front of the title banner, orchestra players, and scenic elements in 2012.

Here once again are those iconic classic poses of Patience (Sarah Caldwell Smith) first with Bunthorne (James Mills) and then with Grosvenor (David Macaluso).

Another classic moment – the 3 fake poets (Matthew Wages, Daniel Greenwood, and David Wannen) with 2 Ladies (Melissa Attebury and Erika Person)

The ever popular duet for Lady Jane (Caitlin Burke) and Bunthorne (James Mills)

The final scene, this time with David Macaluso in the garish suit, with many familiar faces behind...

2017 - NYGASP’s Sixth Patience

Just 3 years elapsed before NYGASP mounted its sixth production of NYGASP’s Patience in 2017, this time at The Kaye Playhouse where the full setting could be displayed.  Much of the previous cast of principals remained the same, with a few exceptions.  The continuity of the repertory Company reaps artistic rewards.  (Note that the distant castle has now been painted to match the larger castle on the left.)

2023 - NYGASP’s Upcoming eighth Production of Patience

You’ll have to come see this production to create your own colorful images and in order to follow a few changes in the repertory cast, but some variations are worth mentioning in advance.  David Auxier (who has choreographed recent productions of Patience) takes on the role of Colonel Calverly for the first time.  Many of the G&S patter songs are lists sung by a comic baritone, but none is more challenging than the unique instance of bass Colonel Calvery’s long list of obscure references describing a “heavy dragoon”.  In the spirit of both maintaining Gilbert’s lyrics and modern audience comprehension, NYGASP updates those references in a topical encore verse for each of its productions.  The script of Patience calls for the character of Lady Jane to accompany her ballad about the pitfalls of aging on a cello.  For the first time in Company history, NYGASP now has an accomplished cellist, Hannah Holmes, who can follow that stage indication while still singing robustly and making the most of the comic effect.

I hope that you enjoyed these images and comments, and I look forward to seeing you at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College for NYGASP’s current production of Patience on October 28 & 29, 2023!  Click here to buy tickets or call the Box Office at 212-772-4448.

Sincerely,

Albert Bergeret
Artistic Director/General Manager
New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players