“Let the air with joy be laden, rend with songs the air above, for the union of a maiden with the man who owns her love!”
H.M.S. Pinafore
Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseen, the clouded sky is now serene, the god of day, the orb of love, has hung his ensign high above, the sky is all ablaze.
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass Who Loved a Sailor
October 27, 2023 - November 19, 2023
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company’s 50th Mainstage Production!
The GSVLOC COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan for our Audience
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is pleased to announce that it will present H.M.S. Pinafore, for four weekends, from October 27th through November 19th of 2023.
This production will be directed by Gary Briggle, with music direction by Dr. Randal Buikema.
H.M.S. Pinafore is Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic tale of love and duty and takes place aboard the British warship H.M.S. Pinafore. Captain Corcoran’s daughter, Josephine, is in love with a lower-class sailor, Ralph Rackstraw, although her father intends for her to marry Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty. She abides by her father’s wishes at first, but Sir Joseph’s advocacy of the equality of humankind encourages Ralph and Josephine to overturn conventional social order. They declare their love for each other and eventually plan to elope. The captain discovers this plan, but a surprise disclosure changes things dramatically to bring a happy ending to the story.
H.M.S. Pinafore’s humor focuses on love between members of different social classes and lampoons the British class system in general. The operetta also pokes good-natured fun at patriotism, party politics, the Royal Navy, and the rise of unqualified people to positions of authority. H.M.S. Pinafore was and remains one of the most successful and popular of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works and is the work that firmly established Gilbert and Sullivan’s place in history.
The performances will be at the Conn Theater, at Plymouth Congregational Church, located at 1900 Nicollet Avenue South, in Minneapolis.
Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. The Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 p.m. For a more detailed performance calendar, visit our Tickets page.
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Two excellent internet resources for information about H.M.S. Pinafore