The Third Annual Hidden Treasures - A Proven Delight!

On Sunday, May 22, friends and supporters of The Lamplighters gathered at the Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club to be indulged and entertained at Hidden Treasures – a special event that showcased the amazing diversity of our performers and raised funds for pressing artistic needs.

The afternoon began with a jolly “Tea-Cup Brindisi” from The Sorcerer. Among the 17 musical numbers was a generous sampling from Broadway and the great American songbook as well as arias and lieder. Gourmet dishes, served by company members, included petit sandwiches, savories, tartlets, scones and cookies. Tea and wine flowed freely.

Bidders at the auction eagerly competed for enticing adventures! 33 generous donors came forward to underwrite costumes and millinery for this summer’s H.M.S. Pinafore. They were richly rewarded with applause from the audience and even kisses from some of the performers!

In addition to raising spirits, Hidden Treasures raised nearly $16,000 for artist’s fees and the costume fund.The monies will be well spent. Thank you to all who participated!

Is Your Name Gilbert?

On May 29, 1911, William Schwenck Gilbert was giving swimming lessons to two young women in his lake at Grim’s Dyke, when one of the women thought she was getting out of her depth and called out for help. 74-year-old Gilbert dived in to help her, but died of heart failure in the middle of the lake.

To mark the centennial of this sad year, The Lamplighters are offering one complimentary ticket to any performance in 2011* to anyone named Gilbert. This can be your first name, your last name or your maiden name (sorry, no middle names). Just send us proof (copy of your photo ID, birth certificate, etc.) to P.O. Box 77367, San Francisco, CA 94107, specifying your preferred attendance date, and we will present you with one complimentary ticket to any 2011 Lamplighters performance*. If your name is Schwenck we will present you with TWO complimentary tickets!

* If your name is William - sorry, you will need to purchase your tickets!!
* This offer is subject to availability and not valid for any Sunday matinee performances.

Another Buxton Award for The Lamplighters

Logistics and finances have not permitted The Lamplighters to participate in the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England, since we swept away with top awards in almost every category for our 1995 production of Princess Ida. This year, however, the Festival presented new “Ko-Ko Awards” for groups unable to attend in person, and we are delighted to announce that Lamplighters Music Theatre’s 2010 production of Patience, directed by Jane Erwin Hammett, was the winner of the Ko-Ko Awards Most Entertaining Production category!

Gilbert & Sullivan themed ties, designed by The Lamplighters

Sadly, something you don't come by very often in this world is a Gilbert & Sullivan tie. For that reason alone it makes a unique gift for your favorite Savoyard but imagine having a whole collection! The Lamplighters are in the process of creating a full collection of fun ties depicting all 13 Savoy Operas, from Trial by Jury to The Grand Duke, and have 6 choices available now. Exclusive to and designed by The Lamplighters, these ties are 100% silk and cost only $25 each plus shipping. Choose between Patience, The Mikado, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore or Iolanthe for now. We'll have Trial by Jury and The Gondoliers designs available very soon. Email us at info@lamplighters.org or call us at 415-227-4797 to place an order while supplies last.

Lamplighters Opening the 2010 International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Gettysburg

The world-famous International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival sails into historic Gettysburg, PA this summer. Performers from across the USA will join artists from the United Kingdom for a week-long celebration of the comic operas and music of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan in Gettysburg’s historic Majestic Theater. Tickets are now on sale for our June 20th performance of Gilbert & Sullivan: Straight Up With a Twist!, renamed The Gilbert & Sullivan Story for Festival purposes. Click here for more details and to buy tickets.

Winner of the 1998 Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award for Best Original Musical, The Gilbert & Sullivan Story tells the fascinating story behind one of the greatest partnerships in theater history, told in their own words, with musical highlights from all 13 of their comic operas. You'll meet Sir Arthur Sullivan (Jonathan Spencer) and W.S. Gilbert (Bruce Hoard), overhear their creative infighting, and enjoy a large selection of their songs and choruses sung by principal Lamplighters performers - beauties from less-frequently staged productions as well as familiar hits. Longtime fans will learn something new, and it's a great way to introduce new friends to the world of Gilbert & Sullivan!

download a Lamplighters patron booking form (10% discount)

download a complete program of G&S performances and events

As some day it may happen that a winner must be found

Our competition to rewrite the little list was so popular, and had so many great entries, that we decided to take some of the best lines from five different submissions and meld them together. This daunting task was done with great success (and typical flair) by our Artistic Director, Barbara Heroux. We think you'll agree that she did an amazing job. Congratulations to the competition winners: Steven Ginzburg, Carolyn Meek, Edward Proffitt, Emily Gladstone Cole, and Curt Gowan. Their submissions are coded by color, scroll down for the color key.

SONG: AS SOME DAY IT MAY HAPPEN

KO-KO with CHORUS OF MEN

As some day it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list--I've got a little list
Of modern-day monstrosities on whom I've fiercely frowned,
And who never would be missed--who never would be missed!
There's the pestilential nuisances who wait for autographs
From idiot "celebrities" with self-important staffs—
Then health insurance comp'nies, that keep jacking up their fees,
And all the bailed-out bankers, who make sky-high salaries,
And every swine-flu-hyping epidemiologist,
They'd none of 'em be missed – they’d none of ‘em be missed!

CHORUS.
He's got 'em on the list--he's got 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed—
they'll none of'em be missed.

There's the kids who dress in baggy pants with butt-cracks full in view; 
And the fundamentalist  -- I’ve got him on the list --
And rappers who just mix up words into a tasteless stew;
They never would be missed--they never would be missed!
Then the politician venal who proclaims his moral pride--
While all of us are sure he's getting plenty on the side!
And the athlete who sets records while he's juiced up to his ears,
And when he's caught he 'fesses up behind a veil of tears--
"My pharmacist betrayed me!" most sincerely he'll insist--
I don't think he'll be missed--I'm sure he'll not be missed!

CHORUS.
He's got 'em on the list--he's got 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed—
they'll none of'em be missed.

Then the senators who’ve barely skimmed the bills they voted for, 
"Enough to get the gist!"  I've got them on the list. 
Toyota said the accidents were flukes and nothing more,
"No real faults exist!"  I parked them on the list.
Then the Savoyard enthusiast, whose purity's well known,
Who hears all "lesser" artists' songs and gives a mournful moan;
And linguistic mutilators who abuse their mother tongue--
For iterating "nucular" they really should be hung!
And the Championship golfing pro, who can't turn down a tryst,
Yes, Tiger's on the list, I'm sure he won't be missed!

CHORUS.
You may put 'em on the list—
you may put 'em on the list
And they'll none of 'em be missed— they'll none of 'em be missed!

ENCORE VERSE:
There’s Olympic commentators, who know nothing much of sports,
I’ve got ‘em on the list, I’ve got ‘em on the list,
And passengers on airlines who set fire to their shorts,
They never would be missed, they never would be missed.  
Then the despot from Iran, who claims that nukes are not his aim,
"I'm just enriching isotopes for science" is his claim,
And gub'natorial hopefuls, with obnoxious TV ads,
All fans of Smart Cars, bio-fuels, and other eco-fads,
And that singular anomaly, the vapid twitterist--
I don't think she'd be missed--I'm sure she'd not he missed!

CHORUS.   You may put 'em on the list—
you may put 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed—
they'll none of 'em be missed!

• Black = W.S. Gilbert
• Orange = Carolyn Meek
• Purple = Emily Gladstone Cole
• Blue = Steven Ginzburg, with help from Christl Denecke and Allen & Shirley Ginzburg
• Green = Edward Proffitt
• Burgundy = Curt Gowan