Friday night, August 28
7 p.m. After the long drive from Boston to Rockville (complete with the obligatory traffic jam at the George Washington Bridge), my roommate and I arrived at the motel. While I'm checking in (wearing a Yeomen of the Guard T-shirt from a production a few years ago), I hear a cheery, "Another G&S enthusiast!" from behind me. I guess the shirt was a dead giveaway, as other people's shirts would be at the motel breakfast next morning. After checking in, roommie and I changed from sloppy travel clothes to more presentable ones and headed for the opening reception. The invitation said "semi-formal attire or G&S costume requested," and there were certainly plenty of the latter: a distinguished Lord Chancellor (David Craven, a fellow SavoyNetter), assorted maidens in pastel dresses, and even a scattering of kimono-clad Mikado denizens. Judging by name tags, this seems to be primarily a gathering of peple from Chicago eastward, with a few folks from further west. The Victorian Lyric Opera Company (VLOC), who sponsored the Sing Out, certainly have a lovely spot for it: the Rockville Civic Center Mansion, once home to F. Scott Fitzgerald. We ate, drank, listened to some people trying to rehearse for tomorrow's events, and were part of one of the finest - and loudest - renditions of the "Hail, poetry!" chorus from Pirates of Penzance that I've ever heard. Then it's back to motel and bed; tomorrow will be a long day.
Saturday, August 29
8 a.m. After breakfast at the motel, it's back to the Civic Center (the theater, not the mansion, this time) for the main event. We start a bit late (by the end, we ran more than two hours over the projected time), about 8:15, with (appropriately enough) the earliest surviving G&S work, Trial By Jury. As with most of the shows, the soloists have been drawn from all over. (Registrants for the Sing Out mentioned when they registered whether they were interested in a solo part, and the VLOC folks, led by the dauntless Leta Hall, cast the shows from that information.)
Throughout the day, the chorus waxed and waned as people sang shows they wanted to, then sat out for others (or snagged a bite to eat, or rehearsed for a later solo). I think one of the best parts of the Sing Out was getting to hear Sullivan's marvelous choral music sung by large groups, ranging from 30 to 70 or more, depending on the show. A few brave souls sang every single show. I myself sang at least half of every show; I missed Act 2 of The Grand Duke to rehearse for my solo turn in HMS Pinafore, and parts of Act 1 of Patience and The Sorcerer while I wolfed down the box lunch and box dinner provided by VLOC.
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