NEW YORK—I spent New Year’s Eve, as I often do, at the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players. From the melodic overture, the audience knew it was in good hands. Albert Bergeret was conductor and director, and while I have a few qualms about his stagecraft, his way with the music was magisterial.
The troupe was founded by Albert Bergeret in 1974 and is still going strong. The operetta performed was the perennial favorite “H.M.S. Pinafore” (one of the G&S big three, along with “The Mikado” and “The Pirates of Penzance”).
“H.M.S. Pinafore or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor,” like other G&S Players’ productions, has a full orchestra, first-rate scenery (by Albère), costumes (by Gail J. Wofford), lively choreography (by Bill Fabris), and a large cast.
The plot involves several romances that must overcome certain hurdles before the inevitable happy ending. Ralph Rackstraw, an able seaman on the Pinafore, is in love with Josephine (Captain Corcoran’s daughter). The problem is that she has been promised to the elderly Sir Joseph Porter (First Lord of the Admiralty). She arouses the ire of her father when she reveals her preference for a crewman on the Pinafore.
Little Buttercup (a peddler of odds and ends) is smitten with the captain. Again, class distinctions interfere with true love.
