Having completed the “top three” Gilbert & Sullivan (G&S) operettas in sold-out concert productions, LCCT (Lincoln County Community Theater), the resident theater company at Damariscotta’s Lincoln Theater, is pleased to present another major hit by G&S, “Iolanthe” (“Eye-oh-lan-thee”).

The show opens Friday, March 18 playing through Sunday, March 20. The opera satirizes many aspects of British government, law and society and is a perfect tonic to soothe during this year’s U.S. presidential election campaigns.

In the opera, the fairy Iolanthe has been banished from Fairyland because she married a mortal; an act forbidden by fairy law. Her son, Strephon, is an Arcadian shepherd who wants to marry Phyllis, a Ward of Chancery. All the members of the House of Peers also want to marry Phyllis. When Phyllis sees Strephon hugging a young woman (not knowing that it is his mother – immortal fairies all appear young), she assumes the worst and sets off a climactic confrontation between the peers and the fairies.

The show marks the final voyage of “The Never Never Sick at Sea Symphony Orchestra” and the return of “The Quite Content Chorale,” along with many notable soloists - Erin Chenard (Phyllis), Emily Mirabile (Iolanthe), Nina Tilander (Queen of the Fairies), Lesley Dolinger (Celia), Victoria Hamilton (Leila), Aloisia Pollack (Fleta), Joshua Miller (Strephon), Jesse Wakeman (Lord Tollier), John David Adams (Lord Mountararat), Stephen Wallace (Chancellor) and Nick Azzaretti (Private Willis), all under the watchful baton of John Mulcahy.

The original show opened in London on Nov. 25, 1882, at the newly built Savoy Theatre to a warm reception, and ran for 398 performances. It was the first work to premiere there, and it was the first new theatre production in the world to be illuminated entirely with electric lights, permitting some special effects that had not been possible in the era of gas lighting.

Suitable for the entire family, performances are March 18 at 7:30 p.m., March 19 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., with a final matinee performance at 2 p.m. March 20. Tickets are $20/adults, $18/ theater members and $5/youth 18 and under.

As many of these concerts in the past have been completely sold-out, we encourage you to get your tickets early! Tickets are available by calling the box office at 207-563-3424 or visiting the theater office at 2 Theater Street in Damariscotta. Office hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.