73rd Avenue Theatre Company's HMS PINAFORE

The 73rd Avenue Theatre Presents

HMS Pinafore

By Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert
Directed by Ellen Farnsworth; Music Direction by Art Ortega

The 73rd. Avenue Theatre Company presents HMS Pinafore now through August 14.  Gilbert & Sullivan's first blockbuster hit, HMS Pinafore (or The Lass THMS Pinafore or The Lass that Loved a Sailor) is among the most popular Gilbert and Sullivan operas, imbued with mirth and silliness to spare. The opera's gentle satire reprises and builds upon a theme from Gilbert and Sullivan's previous work, The Sorcerer: Love between members of different social classes. The story takes place aboard the British ship H.M.S. Pinafore. The captain's daughter, Josephine, is in love with a lower-class sailor, Ralph Rackstraw, although her father intends 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, as in many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, a surprise disclosure changes things dramatically near the end of the story.

The cast includes Matt Kok (Ralph Rickstraw), Ashley Brown (Josephine), Reece Livingstone (Captain Corcoran), Seth Spitler (Sir Joseph), Cathy Heine (Buttercup), Jennifer O'Hara (Cousin Hebe), Gary Crow-Willard (Dick Dead-Eye), Jason Escalera (Boatswain) and Nicholas Villarreal (Carpenter's mate). Rounding out the cast are ensemble members Victor Branstetter, Sheri McCaskill, Sarah O'Connor, Katie Swisher and Enrique Vega.
 
The 73rd. Ave. Theatre Company presents HMS Pinafore July 8 to August 14 with shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. For tickets or more information, call the box office at 720-276-6936 or visit them online at www.the73rdavenuetheatrecompany.com.  The 73rd. Avenue Theater Company is located at 7287 Lowell Blvd. in Westminster, CO.

 Photo Credit: Ellen Farnsworth