H.M.S. Pinafore at The Brunish Theatre

This October Light Opera of Portland will bring H.M.S. Pinafore, one of the best known and most beloved of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas to the stage at Portland5’s Brunish Theatre. This sparkling comedy and social satire tells the story of Ralph Rackstraw, a common sailor, who is in love with his Captain’s daughter Josephine. While she secretly loves him as well, they both worry that their discrepancy in social rank would doom their relationship. Meanwhile, Josephine is being courted by Sir Joseph Porter K.C.B., a pompous political appointee who has been made the head of the Royal Navy despite never having been to sea in his life, her father Captain Corcoran harbours a secret affection of his own for someone outside of his social class, and Sir Joseph encourages the crew to think that a British sailor is any man’s equal - excepting his, leading to the entire social order on the ship to be turned upside down!

Gilbert takes aim at the social norms of Victorian society with a script that displays the absurdities of the rigid class structure, while Sullivan takes full advantage of the nautical setting to compose a series of rousing sailor songs, moving ballads, spectacular arias, and a mocking parody of the sort of tub thumping patriotic anthems that were so popular at the height of empire.

The production will run from October 9th to the 25th, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays beginning at 7:30pm, and performances on Sundays beginning at 2pm. For more information on ticket pricing, please visit our website at www.lightoperaofportland.org/tickets.

Director Laurence Cox says, “H.M.S. Pinafore remains one of the most popular G&S operas for good reason! Its lively music, engaging characters, and sparkling wit have caused it to be loved by audiences for nearly 150 years, and it appears in everything from The Simpsons to Star Trek!”

The production team consists of Director Laurence Cox, Music Director Josh Pounders, Producer Sara Rivara, and Assistant Director Lindsey Lefler, working together again after their highly successful production of The Gondoliers earlier this year.

About Light Opera of Portland

Light Opera of Portland seeks to spread joy and artistic excellence throughout the Portland metro area and beyond. Using our philosophy of “Absurdity Done In Complete Sincerity,” we present high quality comic opera and musical theatre productions, specialising in the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. We are committed to making these works as accessible as possible to our Portland community, believing in the power of the arts to bring people together from a wide variety of communities, and we provide opportunities for local performers to grow and develop their own skills in a collaborative and supportive environment.

We aim to amuse, engage, and uplift our membership and our community with collaborative creativity that shines a light on our shared human experience through laughter and song. We believe that the Gilbert and Sullivan operas are just as relevant, funny, and musically engaging today as they were when they were first performed, and we commit to preserving the enduring performance history of these operas, while at the same time looking forward to their next 150 years.