These operettas were the forerunners of our modern musicals, and in many ways resemble them more than they do the grand operas. Their songs and choruses -- mostly light and comic in nature -- are interspersed with spoken dialogue rather than recitative. In fact, few if any of the performers in Gilbert and Sullivan's original productions were professional opera singers; some of the chorus members were even outright amateurs.

Though over a century old, the works of Gilbert and Sullivan are as fresh and sparkling today as the day they were written. Gilbert may have chosen specific aspects of Victorian society for his satire, but his wit is as relevant now as it ever was: "I always voted at my party's call / And I never thought of thinking for myself at all," sings Sir Joseph Porter in Pinafore, but the lines could as easily belong to most modern politicians.

Gilbert and Sullivan songs continue to turn up in places as diverse as episodes of "The Muppet Show" (Tit-Willow), "Animaniacs" (Three Little Maids from School, as well as much of The Pirates of Penzance), "The Simpsons" (selections from The Mikado and H.M.S. Pinafore ) and "Rumpole of the Bailey" (The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring, among others). As recently as 1982, Joseph Papp mounted a successful production of The Pirates of Penzance on Broadway, with Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline in two of the leading roles.

This fall, we performed one of Gilbert and Sullivan's biggest hits, H.M.S. Pinafore! Set on a British naval ship, it tells the story of the romance between the captain's daughter and a humble sailor... although "things are seldom what they seem"! Along the way, it makes some witty commentary on the British navy and Parliamentary government.

Our spring production is Patience, or Bunthorne's Bride, a hilarious satire on the Aesthetic Movement that features love-sick maidens sighing over aesthetic poets (much as they do today over modern rock stars). Come see the show now!