A visit to Henry VIII’s court

Every holiday season, King Henry VIII reclaims the throne at UC Irvine to lord over his subjects -- local gentry from campus and community making merry at UCI’s annual Madrigal Dinner.

This year’s festivities, an evening of fanfare and feasting set in 16th century Tudor England, takes place Dec. 9 to 18 at the Claire Trevor Theatre. Beloved by history buffs and music enthusiasts, the dinner will celebrate its 25th anniversary by changing the calendar back to Dec. 24, 1534 -- King Henry’s 25th year on the throne, when he was married to wife No. 2, Anne Boleyn.

“We’re planning a surprise party for Henry, and everyone in the audience is in on it,” said Joseph Huszti, founding director and producer of the production. “We’ll surprise him with a big processional and gifts, and we’ll read a list of his innovations -- a tie-in to UCI’s anniversary theme, 40 years of innovation.”

Henry’s accomplishments include the establishment of Trinity College and the Church of England (the result of a break in relations with the pope over his matrimonial woes). He also launched England’s long-term love affair with tennis -- one of the athletic king’s favorite sports.

“Henry brought England kicking and screaming into the Renaissance. He had the most musicians of any court in Europe,” Huszti said. “He was a true Renaissance king.”

Dinner guests will enjoy a personal audience with the king and queen, played by Mike Giamboni, a recent UCI graduate, and Megan Tuohy, a senior English major. Armando Lucero, the royal jester since the first Madrigal Dinner who now performs in magic shows around the world, will reprise his role as the king’s fool.

Almost 100 students in UCI’s choral groups sport Tudor-style costumes and engage the audience in spirited banter. All have researched the court and their characters; they sing, dance and serve a seven-course feast that would have satisfied Henry himself.

While the dinner strives for historical accuracy, sticklers for details and dates will find a lot of interesting anachronisms, Huszti said. “Some characters, like Jane Seymour, were older or younger in 1534 than we portray them. We’re trying to capture the flavor of the court -- what a banquet might be like this time of year -- not an actual historic recreation of the date. People know it’s in jest.”

In a concession to modern comfort and sensibilities, the audience won’t have to eat with their hands. They’ll dine on Renaissance delicacies such as beef with marshberry glaze, but the food will be prepared according to today’s sanitary kitchen standards.

“The recipe for pease potage was actually used at the time of King Henry,” Huszti said.

Music students will use the same types of instruments played by King Henry’s own court musicians, including harpsichords, recorders and sackbuts, which despite their unappealing name are simply medieval cousins of the modern trombone. Huszti, a UCI music professor since 1977, has studied music of the Tudor period in detail.

“A lot of the music we perform was written by Henry VIII. He was quite a musician, in addition to his other activities,” he Huszti. “I started the Madrigal Dinner to show students the place music had in everyday Renaissance life. Everyone danced, and most people played several musical instruments.”

Huszti got the idea for the dinner after seeing similar period reconstructions performed around the world.

“Ours is unique because we focus on Henry,” he said.

Huszti and his wife Melinda work year-round on the production, researching Henry’s life to write a new script and fine-tune the reenactment. They’ve made frequent trips to London, visiting Hampton Court Palace and other places Henry lived, as well as museums such as the Victoria and Albert.

“We do research to make the era interesting to the modern person,” Joseph Huszti said.

Melinda Huszti designed the sets and made about 150 costumes based on portraits by 16th century artist Hans Holbein, who painted members of the royal household during Henry’s reign. She’s even replicated jewelry from the era.

Tudor attire isn’t required of the audience, but some spirited guests wear “quasi-Renaissance” costumes or accessories.

“A lot of them return year after year,” Joseph Huszti said.

The Madrigal Dinner will be held at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9 and 10; 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11; 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, Dec. 14 to 17; and 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18. Tickets are $35 to $49. For information, call (949) 824-2787.

About 80% of ticket sales cover the cost of the show, with remaining proceeds funding choral scholarships.

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Crystal Cove, a playground for filmmakers, landscape painters, campers and families who built and lived in its rustic cottages, will be the topic of the next UCI Libraries Speaker Series event at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Langson Library.

“Crystal Cove Historic District: Past, Present and Future” will focus on the community’s colorful history and future as a state park, and feature a book-signing for “Crystal Cove Cottages: Islands in Time on the California Coast.” Speakers include Joan Irvine Smith, cove supporter, on “The Importance of Preserving Crystal Cove”; Laura Davick, co-author of “Crystal Cove Cottages” and president and founder of the Crystal Cove Alliance, on “Life at the Cove, Past, Present and Future”; and Jackie Dooley, head of special collections and archives for the UCI Libraries, on “Building a Crystal Cove Archive.”

The program is free and open to the public. For reservations and information, call (949) 824-5300 or e-mail [email protected]. Parking is available at the student center parking structure for $7.

* SUSAN MENNING is assistant vice chancellor of communications at UC Irvine. She can be reached at [email protected].