Of Glory, Of Praise

              Day hops enjoy lunch (c. 1948). Volleyball was popular among coeds oj the '40s.
progress, and it was a time of maturing under the trying circumstances of world war, a re-established peace and the onset of a cold war. Admittedly, these young women were wrapped up in personal issues, such as socks vs. stockings, but they were also involved in pondering the great questions of the day as well. As for challenges facing the College, the campus community recognized that Saint Rose was emerging into a fully grown institution. The student body looked to traditions as a foundation, but it also looked to the future which meant meeting the changes that lay ahead, forcefully and with confidence.
Once the war was over, at Saint Rose it was cfearly impossible to return to all the well established pre-war ways of doing things, ways which had worked so well in their own time, but which now, in some ways, were out of sync with the times. The formula for change was to find a way to mix the old with the new. One such instance emerged in the Music Department. Under the leadership of Sr. Rita Agnes Casey, CSJ, the department had traditionally presented operettas annually, but women music majors sang all the roles, both femafe and male. For three evenings in November 1948, however, the auditorium in St. Joseph Hall reverberated with the hearty musical tones of baritones and tenors blending with magnificent soprano voices in yet another Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Iolanthe.
Wesley Boynton, a celebrated tenor and drama coach, directed the production in which he played the role of Lord Chancellor. Others in the cast included lyric soprano, Rosemary Cunningham as Iolanthe; Marie Gutta, mezzo soprano, as the shepherdess Phyllis; and the lyric soprano Grace Schumann in the role of the Queen. Guest artists were baritone John Hession as Strephon; tenor Gene Miller in the role of Tolleller; and Joseph Franke, baritone, as Private Willis. Tenor Leo Miller portrayed Lord Mountararet. A sizeable student supporting cast included Josephine Bellantoni, Barbara Campbell, Nina Melita and Claire Fitzpatrick.
Musical productions took on a new dimension with the addition of male vocalists. The legitimacy of the melodies was validated, and the genuineness of character development also benefited. Audiences delighted not just in the professionalism of the performances but also the harmonious blending of the male and female vocalists. The experiment was such a rousing success, the practice of inviting men to participate in Saint Rose productions continued as fong as musicals of this type were presented by the Music Department at the College.