'The Phoenix and the Turtle' is an allegorical poem about the death of ideal love by William Shakespeare. It is widely considered to be one of his most obscure works and has led to many conflicting interpretations. The poem describes a funeral arranged for the deceased Phoenix and Turtledove, respectively emblems of perfection and of devoted love. Some birds are invited, but others excluded. It goes on to state that the love of the birds created a perfect unity which transcended all logic and material fact. It concludes with a prayer for the dead lovers.

Four years gone Olivia Brown is suddenly startled out of her comfortable complacency to find that she has to explain to her son, almost eighteen, unexpectedly returned from Canada after an absence of four years, that she is living with a man that she loves but one to whom she is not married. The son, though a liberal in politics, is not a liberal in some things. As a matter of fact, he is pretty much a nasty little prig, and anyway, he doesn't like the man. Because of this antagonism, she leaves her lavish surroundings and goes to a drab little flat and does the drab little things women are supposed to do in drab little flats. Meanwhile, the son falls for a girl who is not above going to the Savory; the boy is willing to forget that he is not supposed to like going to the Savoy, if that will win the girl, and the Cabinet Minister returns with a solution to the boy's problems and a proposal of marriage for the mother. -- from page 3.

O mistress mine was arranged by William Byrd for Queen Elizabeth's Virginal Book, 1611. This arrangement is for clarinet quartet.

"'Take off my boots.' I kneel up, take one of Rachel's boots in my hands, and begin to unlace with my fingers. Rachel chuckles even as she slaps me. "Naughty," she winks, as if it is all a game. It is a game. She pushes my head in the direction of her boots.I slide down, take one loop of the laces between my teeth, and tug."When Alex offers himself to Rachel, she isn't sure he has what it takes to please her. Yet he's so sincere that she gives him a chance, overlooking his lack of experience. Rachel guides Alex on an intense journey into submission. And despite the rigors of his new mistress's training, Alex hopes their journey will end in love.

Date of performance not included on program, performances started on 20 September 1948 (source: "Advertiser" newspaper, Saturday, 18 September 1948, page 4), program includes short biograpical information on some cast and crew members plus portraits on two cast members.