In November 2022, when Gamut Theatre put on a sampling of Gilbert & Sullivan’s 14 operettas, (“Innocent Merriment; Or, an Evening with Gilbert & Sullivan”), it was one of Gamut’s many lighthearted experiments.
At the time, Executive Director Melissa Nicholson said, “We’re dipping our toes for a full-length Gilbert & Sullivan show, seeing how well-received it would be, seeing if people would like it.”
We – the royal “we” – might be just a white mouse in Gamut’s cheese maze, but we are chuffed and amused by playwright/composer team’s “Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore,” a musical/comedy/opera/romance mishmash that epitomizes British humor, chock-a-block with silly dialogue, quirky characters, over-the-top slapstick, comically irresponsible use of props, and enough 16th and 32nd notes to make any musician go at sixes and sevens.
But even with the longest song titles and busiest musical score, this cast expresses nothing but foolish mirth. At the helm of the swelling seas of “Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore” are Director/Choreographer/Tenor Benjamin Krumreig (Ralph Rackstraw) and Conductor/Music Director Nicholas Werner. And a brava zulu to Costume Designer Charlene Gross for stunningly bedecking the ladies and sailors in the opulent finery of the day.
For those wary of embarking on an operetta, fear not. Unlike traditional opera, the lyrics are in English, so you won’t need subtitles to follow along. The songs are beautifully sung, with satisfying harmonies lilting easily on the ears. Fast-paced and ridiculously silly, lyric themes bow to a social class system that even Americans, with our ignobly born stations such as they are in comparison, can surely understand. And if you miss some of the tongue-twisters the first time around, they will likely be repeated, usually two lines later, if not right away.
Numbers that are especially shipshape and Bristol fashion:
The sailors (Tony Barber, Kwyn Caldwell, Daniel Hutchins), Bill Bobstay (Joe Regan), Dick Deadeye (Preston Schreffler) and Krumreig impressively blend their vocal ranges to deliver, “We Sail the Ocean Blue,” “A Maiden Fair to See,” and “A British Tar.” The harmonies resonate well with Captain Corcoran (Eric Mansilla) and his strong tenor in “I Am the Captain of the Pinafore.”
Mansilla shows his range in his solo, “Fair Moon, to Thee I Sing,” in sweet duets with Buttercup (Latreshia Lilly) in “Sir, You are Sad” and “Things are Seldom What They Seem,” and his vocally complementary duet with Schreffler (bass), “Kind Captain, I’ve Important Information.”
As the nobly born Josephine, Sarah Anne Hughes resembles a delicate porcelain figurine. Her lovely soprano touches the ceiling and keeps rising with standout aria, “Sorry Her Lot,” the complex, “The Hours Creep on Apace,” and her nearly romantic duet with Krumreig, “Refrain, Audacious Tar.”
As the highbrow and haughty Sir Joseph Porter, Thomas Hostetter makes me laugh with almost everything he sings and says and does and dances onstage. He really shows his character in the revealing, “When I Was a Lad,” all about how he failed up through the naval ranks. Hostetter’s contribution plays a key role to my favorite song of the play, the hilarious “Never Mind the Why and Wherefore,” also with Hughes and Mansilla.
None of my blathering is intended to diminish the remainder of the ensemble cast (Larissa Curcio, Madison Eppley, Rachel Rochet Gerber, Jonneke Van Olden and Sarah Pugh), whose collective chorale rings out over any number of bells with the resounding and lively, “Sir Joseph’s Barge is Seen,” “Now Give Three Cheers,” “Carefully on Tiptoe Stealing,” “Farewell to My Own,” and “A Many Years Ago,” amongst others.
The rich and robust score sheet is enhanced with some of the goofiest dance steps one has seen in over a year and a fortnight. With as complicated and majestic a performance delivered by all the vocalists and musicians, (including keyboardist Nick Werner, violinists Margan Hackett, Kierra Heinly, and Joseph McAnulty, and cellist Sarah Topping), the dancing is, well, erm, laughably achievable – intentionally so.
I’ve often heard it said that to perform opera is the artistic equivalent of an Olympic athlete. So, I give three cheers to all hands (that’s the entire cast) for their enthusiastic vigor in bringing this jolly good show aboard Gamut’s stage.
“Gilbert & Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore” runs Nov. 18-Dec. 3 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4th Street, Harrisburg. Find more information at https://www.gamuttheatre.org/.
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