Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Company Presents “H.M.S. Pinafore”

May 3, 2019 by Susan Rosenbluth

The Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company is proud to lead off its 82nd season with “H.M.S. Pinafore,” one of the most popular collaborations of the Victorian-era British theatrical partnership of the dramatist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan.  

The Ridgewood-based troupe will be performing the rollicking, satirical social farce at the Fair Lawn Community Center (10-10 20th Street) on Sunday, May 12, at 3pm, and, on Sunday, May 19, at the Cedar Crest Retirement Community in Pompton Plains, NJ, at 1pm.

These performances will be full-length productions, and the one in Fair Lawn will include a full orchestra.

On Thursday, May 16, at 8pm, the troupe will present a concert version of “H.M.S. Pinafore” at the Five Star Premier Residences in Teaneck.

“H.M.S. Pinafore,” with its nautically-tinged story of star-crossed lovers, has been charming audiences since its premier in 1878. A spirited lampoon with endearing characters, memorable tunes, and a hilariously happy ending, the opera is a classic time-tested enchantment for all ages.

Directed by Reegan McKenzie and musically supervised by Georgianna Pappas, the Ridgewood Company’s production is geared for both seasoned G&S aficionados as well as those for whom this will be an introduction to the fanciful, satirical, exquisitely musical art form that directly influenced the development of musical theatre in Britain and the United States.

The cast includes Emily Agresta, Bob Bromberg, John Burke, Ronald Fraioli, Eva Giorgi, John Holmboe, Stephen Kiss, Eileen Mager, Scott Mankowitz, Joseph Mayon, Bill Miele, Avery Peterman, Robert Prowse, Susie Rosenbluth, Destino Rubiani, John Ryle, Lou Ann Salkin, Pamela Schopp, Veronica Shea, Frank Skokan, Philip Sternenberg, and Wynne Webster.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit ridgewoodgands.org. After the “H.M.S. Pinafore” premier in 1848, British critic Herman Klein wrote, “We secretly marveled at the naturalness and ease with which Gilbert’s quips and absurdities melded with Sullivan’s musical genius. For until then, no living soul had seen upon the stage such weird, eccentric, yet intensely human beings. They conjured into existence a hitherto unknown comic world of sheer delight.”