The bride is so determined to be married she comes to the court house for the breach-of-promise case dressed in her wedding gown with her bridesmaids in tow.
Trial by Jury is a one act comic operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan and is presented by the Prince George Symphony Orchestra at Vanier Hall on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Beverly Smith a local saprano will play Angelina the jilted bride who comes to get her man, the defendant, Edwin who is played by Kevin Zakresky, who was born and raised in Prince George and now lives in Vancouver.
"Angelina doesn't really care who it is she marries as long as he has money and she can be respectable again," said Smith.
The opera is only 45 minutes long so a lot happens very quickly.
"I know this is just going to be hilarious," said Zakresky. "The character I play is quite a rake and a ladies' man. He's exactly the opposite of what every sensible woman would want and yet everyone falls in love with him. I don't think I've ever played such a cad before. I am actually looking forward to it."
There are some awful things that come out of Edwin's mouth to justify moving on to one woman so quickly after having been engaged to another, Zakresky said.
"I think one of the lines is 'one cannot eat breakfast all day' and 'it's not in the realm of belief to look upon him as a sinner, when breakfast is taken away turns his attention to dinner,' - what a jerk," laughed Zakresky. "And then the solution of course that he comes up with is that he will marry one today and the other tomorrow. And everyone says - in true Gilbert and Sullivan fashion - what a marvelous idea! And then everyone sings a happy song about it and then somebody stands up and says wait a minute - you can't do that!"
The Judge, who finds the jilted bride-to-be quite attractive himself is played by Alex Murray, who Zakresky says is the local Gilbert and Sullivan expert.
The Judge gained his success and wealth when he struck a bargain with an influential attorney when he was a lowly barrister. He promised to court the attorney's homely daughter then ignored her when he he became affluent himself.
"So he gets richer and richer and then he says I'm not having this old bag anymore and says I will throw her over - so he's as bad as the defendant," Murray explained. "Then the old man says he's tired of all of it and he will marry her himself."
The whole story is a little over the top, said Smith.
"So at the end of the day I have a husband and it's all good," she added. "And it's all just a little outrageous."
The evening at the symphony will also feature selections from Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado and HMS Pinafore. Tickets are at Studio 2880 and are $29 for adults, $25 for seniors, and people under 25 are $15. For more information call 250-562-0800.
