The Pirates of Penzance 2011
July 16, 17, 2011
The summer’s hottest weather arrived on the Saturday of the concert. The temperatures were in the mid-nineties, with high humidity taking the heat index to over a hundred degrees! Friends who came to see the concert said that it was so hot that they could see steam rising off of their ice cream cones!
Photo Gallery
Yet, the intrepid members of The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company and the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, as well as the hardy audience members persevered through it all … including a downpour of warm rain during the performance on Sunday! … and in the end, all enjoyed a pair of delightful concerts, acknowledged by cheers and a standing ovation!
The cast for this concert production of The Pirates of Penzance included:
| Major-General Stanley | Jim Ahrens |
| The Pirate King | Waldyn Benbenek |
| Samuel | Jonathan Flory |
| Frederic | Eric Mellum |
| Sergeant of Police | Christopher Michela |
| Mabel | Carmelita Guse |
| Edith | Lauren Drasler |
| Kate | Mary Gregory |
| Ruth | Lara Trujillo |
Women’s Chorus
Mary Mescher Benbenek, Willow Bousou, Marlene Doll, Karen Erickson, Helen Hassinger, Shawn Holt, Carrie Irwin, Ashley Larson, Holly MacDonald, Carol Paulson, Lisa Rawlins, Sue Ann Rawlins, Brianna Sullivan, Rhea Sullivan, Cary Van Heel, Jean Van Heel, Sarah Wind
Men’s Chorus
Joseph Andrews, Scott Benson, Thomas Berg, Michael Chappo, Mather Dolph, L. Peter Erickson, Stephen Hage, Benjamin Hill, Dean Lawrance, John Orbison, Wendell Peck, Jonathan Proctor, Steve Rawlins, Logan Sawtelle
Production Coordinator
Waldyn Benbenek
Casting
Waldyn Benbenek, Lesley Hendrickson, Marina Liadova
Rehearsal Accompanist
Jean Van Heel
Audition Accompanist
Lara Bolton