'Trial by Jury' overrules

By Joe Dwyer     10/9/08 7:00pm

The Rice Light Opera Society returns to the stage this week with a solid production of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's one-act light opera, "Trial by Jury." The play is directed by electrical engineering graduate student Patrick Kruse and Claire Hein (Sid Rich '08), with music direction by music graduate student Michael Dirk.The simple plot of the play revolves around the plaintiff Angelina - played by Brown College freshman Rosanna Butterfield - who is suing her former husband, Edwin, played by Geoff Copper (Sid Rich '07), for calling off their engagement. The deep-voiced usher (Sid Richardson College freshman Andrew Owens) urges the members of the jury to remain unbiased, but as soon as Edwin enters, he begins receiving abuse while Angelina's beauty causes the entire men's section of the jury to swoon, and it quickly becomes apparent that things may not be quite so easy.

It doesn't help that the judge (Kruse) finds his newspaper more important than the court proceedings and only stops reading to hit on Angelina. Probably the only sane person in the room is Angelina's counsel (Baker College freshman Erin Dahlstrom), whose objections to the judge fall on deaf ears. Various courtroom shenanigans ensue, culminating in an amusing surprise ending.

With a show this short, it is important to constantly hold the audience's attention, and "Trial by Jury" does not disappoint. The cast's costumes are exaggeratedly bright and colorful, contrasting with the drab courtroom set. The songs are punchy and humorous and are perfectly complimented by the excellent musicians in the pit orchestra. The largely stationary cast even gets up for a couple of dance numbers at the beginning and end of the play.

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Probably the most fun part about the whole show is looking for the hidden nuances sprinkled throughout, like the judge's taste in adult literature or the constant tittering and games of rock-paper-scissors among the jury members in the background. With so many things happening all over the stage, it is impossible to fall asleep.

Overall, the play only suffers from a few minor problems. On occasion it is hard to hear the actors over the orchestra or figure out what they have just said, because most of the songs are performed in a fast, pseudo-British accent, but that is definitely not a deal-breaker. The choreography in the dances could also have been a little cleaner, but given that this is an opera, in which the focus is more on singing than contorting and flinging one's body across the stage, it falls well within the range of the acceptable.

Any weaknesses in the play are more than made up for by the sheer musical ability of the orchestra and chorus. It's as much fun to listen to the orchestra as to the chorus and individual actors, and the huge amount of time and effort they have put in definitely shows in their performance.

While "Trial by Jury" is relatively short at around 40 minutes, it is still very entertaining and a must-see for fans of last year's "H.M.S. Pinafore," since it features several returning cast members. And, of course, even students who never saw "H.M.S Pinafore" should tear themselves away from the library this week to go see "Trial by Jury." The play may be over 100 years old, but it is still making people laugh. Case dismissed.

"Trial by Jury" is showing at Hamman Hall on Oct. 8-12. Evening shows start at 8 p.m. and the weekend matinees begin at 2 p.m. After the matinee shows, the cast will be available for question-and-answer sessions aimed mainly at young performers with interest in musical theatre. For more information visit www.hailpoetry.com.

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