It’s Smooth Sailing with the Savoyards’ H.M.S. Pinafore

 

Even before we hear “We Sail the Ocean Blue,” the first of 21 songs in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, we get a first taste of the quality of the orchestra in a well-performed overture.

All sections under the baton of music director, Guy Russo, play with pizzazz and polish the brief mash up of the comic opera’s tunes, which promises an entertaining and harmonious evening of sound.

The auditorium of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall in Carnegie has a reputation for good acoustics, and the Pittsburgh Savoyards and its large cast of 36 take advantage of the amenity. Make that 37 if you count in Marmalade the Cat, a rather contented feline judging by its docile nature.

The Large cast assembled aboard the H.M.S. Pinafore Credit: Lara Rogers for all Photos

The comic opera is set abord the H.M.S., a Royal battleship docked in Portsmouth, England. Scenic designer, Robert Hockenberry, creates a solid representation of the quarterdeck of the ship, giving it an added three-dimensional look with the addition of two platforms on both sides of the stage.

Even before the musical begins, the audience is made aware of G&S’s off-kilter sense of humor by the title’s ill-fitted choice (after all a pinafore is a woman’s apron-like garment) that contrasts sharply with the name expected for a ferocious British battleship.

Omar Tolentino as Ralph Rickstraw

G&S takes delight in many of their works that lampoon British society and its norms. In Pinafore, they humorously satirize the British class system. The narrative follows the meandering relationships of Josephine (Leah Huber), the ship’s captain’s daughter, with Ralph Rackstraw (Omar Tolentino), a lowly tar. Note: Several of the characters are played by alternate actors at different performances, so check to see who’s on the program for the night you intend to catch the show to make sure your favorite is going to be on stage.

Corey Nile Wingard as The Admira (L) and Leah Huber as Josephine (R), 

Further complicating affairs of the heart is the captain’s desire (Logan Newman) that his daughter marry Sir Joseph Porter, 1^st Lord of the Admiralty (Corey Nile Wingard), a definite move upward on the class ladder.

Enjoy even more G&S’ lampoonery when Porter later describes his elevation to his exalted rank with no naval qualifications, a barbed nod to the practice of securing position through connection and status rather than competence in “When I Was a Lad.”

More in the way of class distinctions come from Little Buttercup’s (Sally Denmead) fancy for the captain, a romantic attraction way off from her social position as a humble bumboat woman.

As the disgruntled shipman, Dick Deadeye (Robert Hockenberry is the fly-in-the-ointment character, going against the grain of his fellow seamen with his contrary ways. Immune from the romantic entanglements he sees before him, he takes solace by giving affection to the ship’s cat, Marmalade.

All of the leads have good to adequate voices. Huber, in particular has an operatic quality to her strong and expressive soprano and shines in “Sorry Her Lot” and “The Hours Creep On Apace.” She also shares the spotlight in a duet with Tolentino in “Audacious Tart.”

Newman is outstanding as Captain Corcoran. He’s bold, a tad eccentric and comes with a sack full of facial expressions that add color and detailed characterization to his portrayal of the beleaguered father of the bride to be.

As Buttercup, Denmead seems to have been lifted from the streets of late 19^th Century Portsmouth and planted on the stage of the Carnegie Music Hall. There’s both authenticity and comedic skill in her performance.

As the 1^st Lord of the Admiralty, Wingard demonstrates the self-absorption of one enamored of his rank and masterfully carries off the tricky ditty “When I Was a Lad.”        As his cousin, Hebe, Savannah Simeone is a proper English lady with an insouciant talent for comedy.

Sailors onboard the ship in Close Fromation

This is not to downplay the talent of the chorus, which is a joy to hear in such songs as “Now Give Three Cheers” and the rousingly patriot “For He Is an Englishman.”

English supertitles are projected above the stage for the vocals, but not for the spoken narrative, which sometimes gets lost when uttered by weaker voices.

Costumer Casey Ciocco-Thompson fills the stage with splashes of hues that come from the elaborate dresses of the 1st Admiral's “sisters, cousins and aunts” and the deep blue uniforms of the seamen.

The final production of the Pittsburgh Savoyards 2024-25 season tackles G&S’ fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation. H.M.S. Pinafore, or the Lass That Loved a Sailor opened at the Opera Comique in London on May 25, 1878 and ran for 571 performances. This was the second-longest run of any musical theatre piece up to that time.

In Pittsburgh, the show will run at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Ave. in Carnegie through March 23. Melissa Hill Grande directs.

See what made the comic opera so popular and successful in the latest Savoyards’ musical iteration. Both in-person and live stream tickets are available at www.pittsburghsavoyards.org.