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The DeKalb Choral Guild, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Much Ado About Mayday

A Renaissance Madrigal Comedy
based on an original script by Kristen McDermott

Toni Jove, Director
Leanne Elmer Herrmann, Accompanist
Charles Shapiro, Recorder

Presented by The Chamber Singers

Saturday, April 29, 2000
Avondale Community Club
Avondale Estates, Georgia

Dramatis Personae:

Master William Plunkett, our Host
Mistress Lucy Plunkett, our Hostess, a sober woman
Bess, a serving wench
Olivia Throckmorton, leader of the players
Robert Shakespeare, the troupe's playwright, never mistaken for his very distant cousin
Mary Allright, a player in a delicate condition
Eustace, a lustful player
Harry Swashbuckle, a young man

The Setting:
The Pig 'N' Thistle Tavern, situated in a remote hamlet, somewhere between London and the estate of the Countess of Southhampton.  It is dinner time at the locals' favorite inn when guests are announced to Master and Mistress Plunkett.

Musical Selections:

Come Hither, Tom by Cranford, c. 1620

When a Woman That's Buxom by John Jackson, 1688

I Lay with an Old Man from Melismata, 1611, by Thomas Ravenscroft (1592?-1633)

Now Kiss the Cup, Cousin from Pammelia, 1609, by Thomas Ravenscroft (1592?-1633)

Adieu, Sweet Amaryllis by Wilbye, 1598

Hey, Ho to the Greenwood by William Byrd, 1623

What Hap Had I to Marry a Shrew from Pammelia, 1609

Nellie is a Nice Girl by P.D.Q. Bach (1807-1742)

John, Come Kiss Me from Pammelia, 1609

Come Follow Me by John Hilton, 1627

'Tis Woman by John Blow, 1695

Hey, Ho! What Shall I Say from Pammelia, 1609

Whenever I Marry, I'll Marry a Maid by William Lawes, 1645

He That Will an Alehouse Keep from Melismata, 1611

Past Time with Good Company by King Henry VIII, ca 1509-1520,
arranged by Catherine Bennett