The pomp and grandeur of 'Candide' The pomp and grandeur of 'Candide' (March 25, 2005)

40-member cast takes on 260 roles

By Katie Vaughn

Whether you love Voltaire's philosophical writings, Leonard Bernstein's hit Broadway music or both, you're in for a treat as San Francisco's Lamplighters Musical Theatre brings "Candide: In Concert" to Mountain View.

For the past 52 years, Lamplighters has specialized primarily in operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan and their contemporaries. The inaugural performance of Gas Lamp Spring Operetta series, "Candide" is based on the 1759 book by the French Enlightenment philosopher, with a musical score composed by Bernstein. The production is the ninth revision of the operetta; the first premiered on Broadway in 1956 and was not well received.

"It has been described as pedantic and 'preachy,' and just not much fun," said director Philip Lowery. "So Bernstein kept working and reworking the material over the next three decades but with different collaborators."

The version Lamplighters has chosen was commissioned in 1999 for London's Royal National Theatre, a rendition Lowery said differs from others in that it remains truer to Voltaire's original story and uses more of Bernstein's music.

In addition to a 40-member cast, the production features a 21-piece orchestra onstage. Lamplighters emphasizes the music for good reason: the operetta features the best-known overture of the 20th century and includes the famous solo aria "Glitter and Be Gay," plus the transcendent finale "Make Our Garden Grow" and several songs typically not included in other renditions.

The story begins with Voltaire as narrator introducing Candide and his Eden-like town of Westphalia. Candide is in love with Cunegonde, and they, like the rest of the townspeople, are innocent and ignorant. Throughout Voltaire's satire, Candide must reconcile his belief in the goodness of the world despite the people and experiences that seem to contradict it.

And plenty happens to challenge his belief. After being exiled from town by his lover's father, Candide endures horrible wars, illness, torture and accidents as he travels from Europe to South America and back to Europe again. He is repeatedly told Cunegonde has been killed, only to find her and lose her or have her betray him. However, in the end the two are reunited, with a strong conviction about how to live in the world.

In Lamplighters' version of the operetta, most actors play a number of roles, which total over 260, Lowery said. Even conductor Baker Peeples gets in on the action, both leading the orchestra and playing the narrating Voltaire. However, the main characters are easily distinguishable due to their elaborate period-style costumes, and the remaining actors dress in neutral clothing, using accessories to change from character to character.

Lowery said audiences should expect a fast-moving roller coaster of a production that is both thought-provoking and musically brilliant.

"People who are familiar with other versions of 'Candide' will be pleased to hear some of the musical numbers that are so often cut," Lowery said. "And I think the Voltaire fans will be pleased at the integrity of the underlying serious satire."

E-mail Katie Vaughn at mvvoicearts@yahoo.com
Information

What: "Candide: In Concert" presented by Lamplighters Music Theatre Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. When: March 25 at 8 p.m. Call: 903-6000 or visit www.mvcpa.com

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