Mary Baldwin University is building a ship as the 2017–18 theatre season continues with Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. MBU has a tradition of every-other-year Gilbert & Sullivan dating back to the 1980s, and this is the 20th anniversary of their first and only previous production of Pinafore. Directed by MBU Theatre Professor Terry Southerington with musical direction by Brian Holsopple and accompaniment by Marie Masincup, this musical sets sail on November 10–12 and 15–19, 2017, with Wednesday through Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the Fletcher Collins Theatre in Deming Hall.
Love among members of different social classes moves along the plot aboard this “saucy” ship, the HMS Pinafore. Audiences will wonder at Little Buttercup’s huge secret and Ralph Rackstraw’s rejected love. Will Buttercup reveal her secret? Will Ralph’s love ever be returned? Will the Lord High Admiral stoop to marry a mere captain’s daughter? This comic operetta will have the audiences moved and laughing with the typical G&S blend of beautiful music and silly plots.
Local theatre favorites and original cast members of the 1997 production of HMS Pinafore Sam Koogler and Michael Lafferty join a cast of old and new MBU Theatre performers. Unique casting occurs as Dr. Anne Wick plays Buttercup, the “bumboat woman,” and set designer Sam Koogler joins the men’s chorus with Michael Lafferty as Sir Joseph Porter, KCB. They are accompanied by Jackie Cottingham as Josephine, Daniel Kirkland as Captain Corcoran, and Giovanni Beatty as Ralph. The chorus of sailors is lead by Logan Davenport as Deadeye Dick, Emil Ljubovic as the Boatswain, and Richard Coleman as the Carpenter’s Mate. The cast is completed by Isabelle McCloone as Cousin Hebe, leading the chorus of Sir Joseph’s Sisters and Cousins and Aunts.
Please join us for what promises to be a truly fun evening. Tickets are $7 for seniors and students and $12 for others and are available by calling 540-887-7189 Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by going online to www.marybaldwin.edu/arts/theatre. Seating is limited, so get your tickets now!