his operetta gave Gilbert and Sullivan their fi rst mega hit in 1878. As the action begins, rollicking sailors sing as they swab the deck of their saucy ship H.M.S. Pinafore in preparation for the arrival of Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B., Britain’s First Lord of the Admiralty. Buttercup, comes aboard to sell her “snuff and tobaccy” to the sailors. Ralph, a sailor, confesses to his mates that he has fallen in love with the captain’s daughter, Josephine. The Captain arrives to inspect his crew, and we learn that Buttercup has a romantic interest in the Captain. Josephine is sought in marriage by Sir Joseph, a cabinet minister, but she is secrely in love with a lowly sailor--Ralph Rackstraw! The music and ation whirl to an ending with “joy and rapture unforseen,” for “he is an Englishman!”

T T T

playbill illustrations by: djt freeland

H.M.S. PinaforeOr The Lass That Loved A Sailor

Book by W. S. GilbertMusic by Arthur Sullivan

CAST

Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B., First Lord of the AdmiraltyPep Speed

Captain Corcoran, Commander of H.M.S. PinaforeGreg Flaherty

Ralph Rackstraw, An Able SeamanClay Terry

Dick Deadeye, An Odious SeamanKevin Webb

Bill Bobstay, BoatswainNeill Kelly

Josephine, the Captain’s DaughterAllison Stanford

Hebe, Sir Joseph’s CousinTiffany Gammell

Buttercup, A Portsmouth Bumboat WomanBriana Fae Logan

Sailors on the H.M.S. Pinafore:Jason Bouldin, Christopher Clark, Sam Jacobs,

Jay Jurden, Pete Raif

Sir Joseph’s Sisters, Cousins, and Aunts:Jane Bunting, Dana Clark, Dana Colagiovani, Anna Donnell, Mary Lane

Haskell*, Brittany Helmes, Anne Klingen, Diana Marino, Claire Taylor, Alexis White, and Elizabeth Williamson

Scene: Quarterdeck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth

Act I - NoonAct II - Night

H.M.S. PinaforeOr The Lass That Loved A Sailor

Book by W. S. GilbertMusic by Arthur Sullivan

STAFF

Director Julia AubreyScenic Designer/Painter Matthew ZerangueCostume Designer Jenn PolkowskiLighting Designer Dewey DouglasConductor Robert AubreyChoreographer René PulliamRehearsal Pianist Paul BrownTechnical Director Blake McLemoreStage Manager Cassie DanielCostume Shop Manager Lee MartinProp Master Danielle WheelerMaster Electrician Angela GolightlySound/Music Designer Brian TichnellAssistant Stage Manager Jill PughCostume Shop Staff Pamela BullockCostume Staff/Wigs and Makeup Greg Flaherty Kallie RolisonScene Shop Staff Christopher Raines Zach MurphyWardrobe Master Pamela BullockHouse Manager Amanda Malloy

H.M.S. PinaforeOr The Lass That Loved A Sailor

Music by Arthur Sullivan

Musical Numbers

OvertureAct I

No. 1 We sail the ocean blue No. 2 I’m called Little Buttercup No. 3 The nightingale No. 3a A maiden fair to see No. 4 My gallant crew No. 5 Sorry her lot No. 6 Over the bright blue sea No. 7 Sir Joseph’s barge is seen No. 8 Now give three cheers No. 9 When I was a lad No. 10 A British tar No. 11 Refrain, audacious tar No. 12 Can I survive this overbearing?

Entr’acteAct II

No. 13 Fair moon, to thee I sing No. 14 Things are seldom what they seem No. 15 The hours creep on apace No. 16 Never mind the why and wherefore No. 17 Kind Captain, I’ve important information No. 18 Carefully on tiptoe stealing No. 19 Farewell, my own! No. 20 A many years ago No. 21 Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen!

SailorsButtercupRalph and SailorsRalph and SailorCaptain and SailorsJosephineSisters, Cousins, AuntsSailors and RelativesCaptain and ChorusSir Joseph and ChorusRalph, Boatswain, Deadeye, SailorsJosephine and RalphEnsemble

There will be one 12-minute intermission.

Captain CorcoranButtercup and CaptainJosephineJosephine, Captain, Sir JosephCaptain and Dick DeadeyeEnsembleEnsembleButtercup and ChorusEnsemble

H.M.S. PinaforeOr The Lass That Loved A Sailor

Music by Arthur Sullivan

OrchestraConductor, Dr. Robert H. Aubrey**

Pianist, Paul Brown

FlutesAndrew Gordon and Angie Wells

ClarinetsDeanna Nicholson, Amanda Ashmore and Michael Aubrey

OboeJessica Crociata

BassoonsBryan Gaston and Jeff Tilghman

CelloSusan Gaston*

CornetsJennifer Dickerson and Justin Wallace

TromboneJonathan Evans

HornJeremy SmithPercussionPaige Turner

*Courtesy of Actors’ Equity Union

**Department of Music Faculty

DIRECTOR’S NOTESH.M.S. PINAFORE

Oxford Shakespeare Festival

Fifth Anniversary Season Summer 2008

H.M.S. Pinafore was Gilbert and Sullivan’s fi rst commercial success. When it opened in Soho on May 25 in 1878, it ran for 571 performances. Its popularity abroad, albeit through illegal productions, led D’Oyly Carte to stage the fi rst authorized perfor-mance in the United States on December 1, 1879. Perhaps the attraction of a nauti-cal theme and these acts of “piracy” gave Gilbert the idea for their next opera, The Pirates of Penzance.

Certainly the operetta with the most whistle-able tunes, H.M.S. Pinafore continues to enjoy the popularity begun over a hundred years ago. But why? In my opinion, the story of a lass whose sorry lot is to “love too well” and a sailor who “alas, loves a lass above his station” transcends time and place. All lovers can relate to a situation wherein their love is unrequited or societal expectations restrict romance. The drama is the struggle each pair of lovers experience, as they love above or below their class standing. The music appeals to the music afi cionado as well as a general public. Ian Bradley tells us “Savoy Operas broke new ground in using the chorus to represent real people with a meaningful role in the action rather than just as a passive vehicle for stetting a scene or telling a story.” Sullivan also parodies Italian opera, writes traditional British hymn tunes, and provides his famous patter songs. The longev-ity of this operetta can be attributed not only to the historical musical importance, but also the fact that an audience just wants to sing along with these tunes. Gilbert names characters for parts of a ship such as Deadeye (a wooden block used for tight-ening the shrouds of a ship) or Bobstay (the loop of rope used for holding spars) and writes many, many jokes meant to poke fun at arch snobbery, solecisms, and archetypal characters. Again, we don’t have to know these details to understand the humor; we only have to observe,- “Things are seldom what they seem.”

Julia Aubrey