Revels Inc. - About Revels

CAMBRIDGE - "Let the Revels begin!" When King Henry VIII shouted those words, creating the Office of the Revels, which produced court entertainments and supervised the arts in England, he had no idea how long, or how far away, his order would continue to be obeyed. By focusing this year on Tudor England, the Christmas Revels explores its own festive roots in one of its most seamlessly produced, gorgeously mounted, and lighthearted productions. The music is uniformly lovely, with nary a dud in the 21/2-hour revue. The costumes, designed by Heidi Hermiller, are both courtly and folksy, and the jolly mood is broken only by a few soft carols and wistful love songs.

This show is cannily conceived, beginning in an Elizabethan theater, whose players re-create the moment in Henry's court when he created the Office of the Revels, then return to their own time to entertain Henry's daugher, Queen Elizabeth I. As such, there was no need to justify changes in period or mood, as there is when Revels depicts some ancient village preparing for midwinter. Every set piece seemed perfectly to preface the next.

Actors Ken Baltin and John Sarrouf provided both context and comic relief; they were particularly hilarious in an Abbott-and-Costello-like routine about words one must never say in Henry's presence, including "pope," "wives," and, most of all, "ax." As played by Walter Locke, Henry was a perfectly overstuffed picture of jovial hedonism. Elizabeth was, by contrast, all haughty ice and preening power, her air of flirtatious menace turned to sharp comic effect through the sly mugging of Jennifer Bliss. The Queen's entrance in Act 2 was stunningly staged.

The chorus sang sprightly rounds, complex madrigals, and whispered hymns. Their gentle harmonies behind the hushed singing of the children's chorus on "Green Groweth the Holly" created a beautiful quiet that almost stopped the show. The children capered through intricate singing games and delivered soft numbers with genuine grace.

Soprano Jayne Tankersly's voice was shimmeringly pure, elegantly handling the dense inter-line trills of period songs. Her duets with baritone David Coffin were precise yet lulling. Coffin has grown into a commanding presence as singer, musician, and songleader. When turning to lead the crowd, he stepped out of his courtly manner with such ease that the show's spell was never broken. His singing was classical in its pitch and meter yet invitingly modern in its phrasing. He does these things so naturally it is easy to miss how masterful they are.

The instrumentalists were first-rate, particularly the wind and strings players, who sounded at once like a Renaissance consort and folk ensemble. The trademark Mummer's Play of St. George and the Dragon, which can sometimes get too silly, was a crisp, goofy pageant of broadswords and broader humor. The dragon puppet was a particular delight, occupied by three players of descending height, with the smallest, a child at the tail, scurrying to stay attached.

Perhaps mindful of the troubled times this Christmas falls within, Revels kept itself determinedly merry and bright, offering few somber moments and no brooding ones. Only the Salutation that ended Act 1, written in 1513 by Fra Giovanni, seemed topical, with its message that, however dark the season, there is still hope, peace, and light to be found in life. With that said, the cast and audience, now revelers all, danced to the lobby singing "Lord of the Dance."