The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston

About Yeomen 2008

Yoemen of the Guard

Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and His Maid, opened in London on October 3, 1888 at the Savoy Theatre. It’s initial run was 423 performances.

The Yeomen of the Guard Cast — 2008

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS

SIR RICHARD CHOLMONDELEY (Lieutenant of the Tower of London) Brian Kosior, Jr.
COLONEL FAIRFAX (under sentence of death) Joshua La Force
SERGEANT MERYLL (of the Yeomen of the Guard) Keir Murray
LEONARD MERYLL (his son) Chris Fiorini
JACK POINT (a strolling jester) Alistair Donkin
WILFRED SHADBOLT (head jailer and assistant tormentor) Ralph Katz
ELSIE MAYNARD (a strolling singer) Alison Greene
PHOEBE MERYLL (Sergeant Meryll's daughter) Abigail Coy
DAME CARRUTHERS (Housekeeper to the Tower) Nancy Markeloff
KATE (her niece) Erin Bales
FIRST YEOMAN Alex Hemsath
SECOND YEOMAN Thomas Roduta
FIRST CITIZEN George Eiband
SECOND CITIZEN Harold Wood

Biographies of Principals:

Alistair Donkin will be joining the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston for a 27th summer, as stage director and principal, this time in the bittersweet role of Jack Point, a talented jester who nevertheless "sighs for the love of a lady." Alistair began his performing career in 1979 with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, the company that first produced the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. He was soon singing all the major patter roles and has become one of the world's foremost performing and directing experts living today on the G & S canon.

Joshua La Force, as Colonel Fairfax, will be performing the lead tenor role with the Society for the fourth year in a row, having previously appeared in The Gondoliers, Trial by Jury, H.M.S. Pinafore and Ruddygore. He sang opera in San Francisco and performed lead G & S roles with the famed Lamplighters. He also currently sings in the Houston Grand Opera chorus.

Alison Greene has previously performed principal roles for the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston in Princess Ida, The Gondoliers, Trial by Jury, H.M.S. Pinafore and last year was “sweet” Rose Maybud in Ruddygore. She is active as a principal artist and soloist with many Houston music organizations, including Opera in the Heights, Opera Vista, and Houston Grand Opera's Opera to Go! Her favorite roles include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Olympia in Tales of Hoffman, and Musetta in La Boheme.

Ralph Katz has been performing with the G & S Society since 1974 and has played just about every lead baritone role in the repertoire, including the role he will sing this year, that of the lumbering, sinister Wilfred Shadbolt, head jailer, in Yeomen. Ralph has performed in other venues as well: among his favorite roles are Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and Mr. Van Damme in The Diary of Anne Frank. Movie credits include Murder in Texas and Bill II: On His Own. Ralph is also cantor at Congregation Beth El in Missouri City.

Abigail Coy is making her debut with G & S Houston this year in the role of Phoebe in Yeomen. She earned the Master of Music degree with distinction in vocal performance from Baylor University, where she performed the roles of 2nd Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and the Monitor and La Ciesca in Puccini's Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi.

Keir Murray has sung principal parts with G & S Houston in The Gondoliers, The Sorcerer, and H.M.S. Pinafore, appearing last summer as Sir Roderic Murgatroyd in Ruddygore. He has also appeared in principal roles with Sacramento Opera, Nevada Opera, Pacific Opera Theater, Aspen Opera Theater, Berkeley Opera, San Francisco Camerata and Lyric Theater of San Jose, among others.

Nancy Markeloff has appeared in principal roles with G & S Houston in The Sorcerer, Mikado and The Gondoliers, and last summer was an unforgettable Dame Hannah in Ruddygore. She has performed more than 30 roles with Moores Opera Center, Opera in the Heights, Amarillo Opera, Shreveport Opera, and Houston Grand Opera, among others. She is also assistant director of Lone Star Lyric Theater Festival and a founding member of Col Canto Art Song and Vocal Chamber Music.

Other Principals Associated With the Production of Yeomen:

MUSIC DIRECTOR: Dr. Brian Runnels

This is Dr. Runnels’ debut year as music director for the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston. Dr. Runnels is Professor of Music and Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities at Houston Baptist University. He is also Music Director of the Houston Civic Symphony. He holds an undergraduate degree from Houston Baptist in music education, a Masters in church music and choral conducting from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has conducted numerous opera and musical theater productions in several states.

STAGE MANAGER/LIGHTING DESIGN: Ken Robertson-Scott

This will be Ken’s 10th summer with G & S Houston. He first encountered our Society when G & S Houston performed at the 1998 International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England. Ken, like Alistair, worked with the last incarnation of the original D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and was part of a U.S./Canadian tour that made him, in 1976, the youngest stage manager working on Broadway. Ken staged the G & S segments of the movie Chariots of Fire, and lit over 1000 theatrical productions of G & S operettas, along with other musicals and operas, before expanding his career into television. He has continued since then to work both in television and on the stage.

COSTUME DESIGNER: Bonnie Ambrose

Bonnie Ambrose, owner of Houston’s Performing Arts Supply, has designed and built costumes for G & S Houston since 1978. Her costumes won G & S Houston the award for Best Costumes at the 2004 International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England. Bonnie also builds costumes for Opera in the Heights, the San Antonio Opera, the Victorian Lyric Opera and for hundreds of other productions. In addition, she is an author, lecturer and has hosted her own TV series.

CHORUS MASTER: Kevin Riehle

This is Kevin’s debut season with G & S Houston. He is best known to Houstonians as artistic director of the versatile ensemble CANTARE Houston. Kevin has taught at Tyler Junior College and Houston Baptist University and has directed music and fine arts programs for congregations throughout Texas. His choirs have appeared in New York, Washington D.C., and Colonial Williamsburg, and in England and elsewhere in Europe. In 2001, he made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Beethoven Mass in C Major. He has conducted numerous workshops and clinics, as well as All-State appearances in Louisiana. He is a published composer and arranger with Oxford University Press, Choristers Guild and Abingdon Press. Beginning fall of 2008, Kevin will assume duties of director of choral music at James E. Taylor High School in the Katy Independent School District.