"Patience" by The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at the Conn Theater

Just when I think I've seen every Gilbert and Sullivan show, The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company (GSVLOC) introduces me to another silly delight. No, the number of comic operas that this pair created is not infinite, it's 14, but when GSVLOC only does one or two shows a year, it takes a while to cycle through the repertoire. In my ten years of attending GSVLOC shows (they've been around for over 40), I've seen nine different operas and only one repeat (although last fall's The McAdo was such a delightfully unique reworking of The Mikado as to almost feel like a different show). This spring's offering is the ridiculous and delicious Patience, which skewers the aesthetic movement of the late 19th Century. If you don't know what that is, no worries (think Oscar Wilde); the show is basically about the way we mere mortals worship artists and celebrities, to ridiculous extremes. Patience continues weekends through April 6, with a talented onstage cast and offstage orchestra, both too large to count.

"The McAdo" by The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at the Conn Theater

If you can't wait for new episodes of Outlander to begin on November 22, maybe you should go see The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company's Scottish take on The Mikado. Granted, there aren't a whole lot of similarities between G&S and our favorite time-traveling romance, but there are plenty of kilts and questionable Scottish accents! There is also a bit of romance and danger and fighting, although in a much less dramatic way. Using an adaptation form Gilbert & Sullivan Austin, this McAdo (which is an actual Scottish name) very cleverly changes the setting from Japan to Scotland, with some modern references as well (additional "tinkering" by stage director Joe Andrews). And as always with GSVLOC, the huge cast and orchestra sound amazing bringing to life another G&S classic in a fun and fresh way. The McAdo continues through November 24 at The Conn Theater in Plymouth Congregational Church in South Minneapolis.

"Pirates of Penzance" by Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at Howard Conn Fine Arts Center

In their first fall production, Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company, the only local company dedicated to the silly, witty, and delightful creations of late 19th Century British librettist and composer W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, respectively, bring us my personal favorite, The Pirates of Penzance! GSVLOC have typically just been doing one show a year, in the spring, but as their dedicated audience would agree, once is just not enough. Directed by Gary Briggle (who played the Major General in the Ordway's 2015 production), the huge cast and off-stage orchestra bring out all of the delicious silliness and gorgeous musicality of the piece. If you're looking for a traditional production of this G&S masterpiece (with an interesting note in the program about the history of the piece - the first to premiere in the U.S.), this is it. See it at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center in Plymouth Congregational Church in South Minneapolis through November 20.

"Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse" by the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center

Another 2020 "ghost show" has returned! (And this one is a "ghost show" in more ways than one.) The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company had just opened their production of Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse in March of 2020 when the pandemic shut down all live performance. Finally, two years later, they've re-opened the show for a (hopefully) full run, and it's delightful! A huge and talented cast, a gorgeously full opera, and a clever concept that pays homage to classic movies makes this show a thoroughly enjoyable evening, and worth the wait.

"The Mikado" by The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center

This long winter is beginning to transition into a very wet spring, which means it must be time for The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company's annual production of a Gilbert and Sullivan classic comic opera. GSVLOC has been around for 40 years, but this is just my 5th year attending their spring show. I love G&S's fast, witty, joyful operas, and GSVLOC does them well with a huge cast and orchestra. This year they've partnered with Rick Shiomi, directing his adaptation of The Mikado which removes the Japanese stereotypes and modernizes some of the songs. G&S were famous for their biting social commentary, so I'm all for updating their shows to include more relevant social commentary, remove the offensive bits that no longer play to today's audience, but keep the things we love about the original (see also Park Square Theatre's Pirates of Penzance). This Mikado welcomes in the spring "with laughing song and merry dance."

"Princess Ida" by Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at Howard Conn Fine Arts Center

This is the fourth year in a row I've attended Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company's spring production of, you guessed it, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Before becoming familiar with this company (that's been around for more than 30 years), I had no idea G&S wrote so many shows! I was only familiar with the more popular ones (e.g., Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore, both of which I love), and it's been fun to discover the lesser known and performed works of this unique composing team. This year they're performing Princess Ida in a steampunk style (which just makes everything more fun). And similar to Park Square Theatre's ingenious adaptation of Pirates of Penzance (now playing through March 24), GSVLOC has made some minor adjustments that make this 130 year old play a little more palatable to modern ears. The result is quite a feminist story of a university by and for women, who live without men. It's Gilbert and Sullivan, so of course it ends with a happy ending to a love story, but at least these female characters are a little more smart and independent than the usual. And as always, it's such a treat to the ears to hear an operetta performed with cast and orchestra too large to count (but north of 30). Traditional, yet modern, this Princess Ida strikes just the right tone.

"The Gondoliers" by Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center

If you like your opera very light, and very silly, and very enthusiastically and traditionally performed by a large cast and orchestra, Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is for you. I only "discovered" this 30+ year old company a few years ago, but since then I've learned that Gilbert and Sullivan, everyone's favorite 19th Century musical-comedy-operetta composing team, wrote many more shows that just the frequently produced H.M.S. Pinafore and Pirates of Penzance. GSVLOC's annual spring show (is it spring?) this year is The Gondoliers, or The King of Barataria. Director Lesley Hendrickson notes in the playbill that it's "probably the most joyous of the G&S operettas" and that it was "the very first theatrical performance requested by Queen Victoria at Windsor castle after the death of her beloved Prince Albert" (fans of Victoria on Masterpiece, take note). I think the queen would be pleased with this production as well.

"Iolanthe" by Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at Howard Conn Fine Arts Center

Did you know there's a company in town entirely dedicated to the works of music-comedy geniuses Gilbert and Sullivan? Neither did I, until last year about this time, when I "discovered" the 30-year-old Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company through their marvelous production of H.M.S. Pinafore. They followed that up last year with the one-act Trial by Jury at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, where it was one of the top-selling shows. While they may be new to me, they obviously have a very loyal audience, and deservedly so. If you're among that audience, you don't need me to tell you what a wonderful job they do. If you're not, and you're a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan's particular brand of witty, clever, rhythmic comic opera, you might want to check out their latest production. This year they're presenting the lesser known (to me anyway) Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri. And it is, once again, a delightful production of a very funny farce/fantasy/ political satire, beautifully performed by a cast of over 40 and a backstage orchestra nearly as large. GSVLOC fills a unique and specific niche in our rich Twin Cities theater community, one that I'm delighted to have "discovered."

Fringe Festival 2015: "Trial by Jury"

Day: 3

Show: 11

Title: Trial by Jury

Category: Musical Theater

By: The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company

Directed by: Lesley Hendrickson

Location: U of M Rarig Center Proscenium

Summary: Comedy operetta geniuses Gilbert and Sullivan's one-act operetta about a farce of a jury trial, performed by a company that specializes in G&S.

Highlights: A huge singing cast and 10+ piece orchestra on stage doing opera at the Fringe? Yes, please! Trial by Jury may be short (about 40 minutes), but it's a tasty treat. If you're a fan of G&S (see also the Ordway's upcoming production of Pirates of Penzance), you'll love this little ditty about a man on trial for "breach of contract," i.e., leaving his fiance for other women. A jury of eight men, a crowd of people watching and commenting, the defendants and lawyers, and a drunken judge all come together to sing songs that are very G&S - fast, clever, tongue twisting lyrics with repeated phrases. The fantastic cast includes the hilarious Steve Hendrickson as the judge in the overly powdered wig (so happy to see him on stage again after missing him in Sherlock Holmes), Felix Aguilar Tomlinson as the defendant, Grace Lowe as his would-be bride, and Jim Ahrens as her lawyer. It's a joyous celebration!

"H.M.S. Pinafore" by Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company at Plymouth Congregational Church

Such is the breadth and depth of the Twin Cities theater community that a company such as Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company has existed for over 30 years and I, an avid theater-goer who prides herself on knowing just about every company in town, have never heard of it. True, it skews a little more towards the opera end of the music-theater spectrum than I usually venture, but that's no excuse. I've seen several G&S operas and am enamored of their fast, witty, tongue-tying, clever lyrics and intricate rhythms. I attended my first production by this company yesterday, and while it might have helped that this year they're doing H.M.S. Pinafore, a show I'm familiar with from the Guthrie's boisterous production a few summers ago, I found it to be absolutely marvelous! A cast of over 30 and orchestra of over 30 performing a classic piece of music-theater in a straight-forward and energetic manner? Oh joy, oh rapture!

H.M.S. Pinafore, or, The Lass That Loved A Sailor, takes place on ship somewhere off the coast of England. While the piece was written in the late 19th Century, the costumes and the presence of a radio places it in the 1940s. A Captain reigns over a crew of sailors, one of whom, the bright and earnest Ralph, has fallen in love with the Captain's daughter Josephine. She has also fallen in love with him, but is betrothed to Sir Joseph, "the ruler of the Queen's navy." Ralph and Josephine decide to marry despite the difference in their stations and her father's disapproval, when a long-held secret is revealed that turns the situation on its head. It's a whole lot of silliness that allows for many great songs with Gilbert and Sullivan's trademark repetitive pitter-patter lyrics. As director Lesley Hendrickson notes in the playbill, "Don't ask how old Little Buttercup is supposed to be. Don't even think it." Just go with it and enjoy the fun and frivolity.

the young lovers Josephine and Ralph
(Victoria Valencour and Kai Brewster)

Many of the cast members seem to have been members of the company for many years, which is obvious in how well they sing and play together. One such long-time member is Waldyn Benbenek who beautifully sings the role of the Captain. He's joined by Tom Berg as the stuffy and very funny Sir Joseph. Kai Brewster and Victoria Valencour sound lovely and are very convincing as the young star-crossed lovers. Ryan Johnson is quite funny and a bit scary as the villain Dick Deadeye, remarkably his first acting role as an adult. Caitlin Wilkey is the charming Little Buttercup, she of the mysterious age and holder of the secret. Stephen Zehr and Amanada Weis ably lead the wonderful chorus of sailors and sisters/cousins/aunts, respectively. The entire cast is really impressive in singing these songs with precision. When 30+ voices are joined together in harmony, it's really quite thrilling.

Also thrilling is this huge orchestra, perhaps the largest orchestra I've ever had the pleasure of listening to at a music-theater production. Way too big for a pit, they're crammed backstage out of sight, but I knew were there because Music Director and Conductor Randal A. Buikema was introduced before the show and shook hands with the first violin, like a real orchestra. As a former member of the pit orchestra, I'm quite happy to see the orchestra so prominently featured and sound so wonderful.

If you like your opera very light and beautifully sung and played by cast and orchestra, this company should definitely be on your radar, as they are now on mine. They typically only perform one full opera per year, in the spring, but they also present a summer concert at the Lake Harriet Bandshell (a wonderful place to listen to music in the great outdoors) and this year are planning to participate in the Fringe Festival.

While it's my first time seeing this company, they obviously have a loyal audience as performances frequently sell out. Order your tickets now if you're interested in seeing this wonderfully performed and entertaining classic.