The Stanford Savoyards will cap off their 35th season with the California Premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's largest, most ambitious, and most experimental show: The Grand Duke!
Through a mix of low cunning, legal maneuvering and blind luck, a troupe of actors seizes political power in the small duchy of Pfennig Halbfennig. A series of “statutory” duels propels the troupe's leading comedian, Ludwig, first to the head of the company and then on to the Grand Ducal throne. But power, he finds, has its incidental drawbacks, as Ludwig finds himself with more wives — and prospective wives — than he knows what to do with! The delightful songs and humorous dialogue are sure to please as Ludwig bumbles his way through tangled plot twists and a plenitude of absurd characters.