H.M.S. PINAFORE
Lesher Center for the Arts, Hofmann Theater, Walnut Creek
August 2 (2 pm) & (8 pm) I August 3 (2 pm)*
*Simulcast on August 3
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts
August 9 (2 pm) I August 10 (2 pm)
Blue Shield Theatre, YBCA, San Francisco
August 16 (2 pm) & (8 pm) I August 17 (2 pm)
All aboard the H.M.S. PINAFORE—setting sail on August 2nd!
Premiering in 1878, HMS PINAFORE was Gilbert & Sullivan’s first smash hit and became the gold standard for light opera for generations to come. While Gilbert takes aim at class divisions and assumptions of authoritative competence, Sullivan delivers some of the pair’s most famous hummable tunes, including the iconic and much parodied, “When I was a lad.” Sir Joseph Porter’s hymn to himself, this song to this day begs the question, “Is it possible that high offices of state are occupied by clueless idiots?” Queen Victoria may not have been amused by the satire of those in authority, but in nearly 150 years millions of audience members certainly have been!