H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan

The HMS PINAFORE sails into Teaneck for 1 weekend only May 21 and May 22, 2011.

The RIDGEWOOD Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, a nonprofit, theatrical group, has presented full productions of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan on a regular schedule since its founding in 1937. For nearly 75 years they have delighted audiences with the timeless jollity of shows such as The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado and HMS Pinafore. Their “home shows” have traditionally been presented in Ridgewood, NJ but the company has found it necessary to seek a better-equipped facility and believes they have found a new home at the Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Teaneck, NJ.

One of the oldest continuing musical theater groups in the country, they also perform those G&S works that are seldom seen elsewhere: Iolanthe, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Gondoliers and others. In the summer of 2010, the company was invited to participate in the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Gettysburg, Pa with their production of The Grand Duke. It is here that they garnered two awards for  Best Musical Director, James Biddlecome and Best Female Performance, Kerstin  Stewart.

 James Biddlecome, Music Director of Teaneck and David Claypoole, Stage Director of Summit, Michal Efron, Choreographer of  Summit and Wynne Webster, Producer of Hackettstown, pilot the “ship” into town.

 Principal roles will be sung by Fred Bernardi of Wyckoff,  Samantha Dango of Cranford, John Holmboe of Pearl River, Danielle Marchand of Tuxedo Park,  Peter O’Malley of Oakland, Clinton Scott of Hawthorne, Kerstin Stewart of Succasunna, Jack Strangfeld of Chatham and Heath Weisberg of Short Hills. They will be joined by a chorus of “sisters, cousins, aunts” and sailors.

 Funding has been made possible in part by the NJ State Council on the Arts through grant funds administered by the Bergen Co. Dept of Parks, Div of Cultural & Historical Affairs.