The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company Appearance at the Minnesota State Fair 2026

August 29 and 30, 2026

The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company performed for a fifth time at the Minnesota State Fair, in its Arts A’Fair series.  As in the previous four years, company members performed eight short sets, four sets each of the two days. With shops, food, and drink stands all around, appreciative fairgoers stopped by to watch the company members perform.  The weather was warm, sunny, and in the mid-80s.  In addition to singing and dancing in a new performance venue at Grand Stand Plaza, the performers added some witty dialogue to connect each musical number to the next.

Accompanied by Jean Orbison van Heel, the fourteen performers rotated between two different 15-minute sets throughout the day.  The first set showcased some of Gibert & Sullivan’s “greatest hits” from various shows including, “Here’s a Howdy-Do” and “Three Little Maids” from The Mikado, “You Understand? I Think I Do” from Ruddigore, “When the Foeman Bares His Steel” from The Pirates of Penzance, and “Then One of Us Will Be a Queen” from The Gondoliers. The second set showcased a revised portion of The Pirates of Penzance.  Opening with the swashbuckling “Oh Better Far to Live and Die,” our audiences followed Frederic on his journey through the iconic musical numbers of Act I, including “Poor Wandering One.”  Concluding the set with “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General,” the performers left their audiences on a cliff hanger in promotion of the company’s upcoming fall rendition of the legendary operetta, relocated to the American Old West for a fresh twist.

Waldyn Benbenek passed the event coordination torch to Maggie Benham and Seth Steidl, who wrote, directed, and choreographed both sets, including promotion of the company’s upcoming productions of The Pirates of Penzance, or Love & Duty in the Old West, in the fall and The Grand Duke, or The Statutory Duel, in the spring.

As in 2024 and 2025, the performers ended each set with “Now to the Banquet We Press,” from The Sorcerer, with the lyrics revised by Maureen and Tom Berg to be a tribute to State-Fair food:

Now to the food at the fair
Now for the beer batter brats
Now for the lobster eclair
Now for the dill pickle tots

Now to whatever you pick
Now for the sweet cookie jar
The corn or the cheese on a stick
And now for the fried candy bar
The corn or the cheese on a stick
And now for the fried candy bar!

The beer batter brats and the dill pickle tots
The sweet cookie jar and the fried candy bar
The beer batter brats and the dill pickle tots
The sweet cookie jar and the fried candy bar

The beer batter brats and the dill pickle tots and the fried candy bar!
The fried candy bar and the sweet cookie jar and the dill pickle tots!
Tots! (Bar!) Tots! (Bar!)
Oh the dill pickle, dill pickle tots!
Bar! (Tots!) Bar! (Tots!)
Oh the fried candy, fried candy bar!

Participants

Waldyn Benbenek, Maggie Benham, Tom Berg, Kelly Danger, Alexander Gerchak, Scott A. Gorman, Mary Gregory, Lisa Hartshorn, Mary Kettlewell, Anna Maher, John Orbison, Andrew Peterson, Seth Steidl, Sam Vinitsky

Writing and Direction

Maggie Benham, Seth Steidl

Event Coordination

Waldyn Benbenek, Maggie Benham, Seth Steidl

Audio Coordination

Maureen Kane Berg

Logistical Assistance

Mary Mescher Benbenek