by Kevin T McEneaney
Last Friday in Gardiner Theater at Trinity School in Pawling, the Gilbert and Sullivan Players performed a slightly abbreviated version of H.M.S. Pinafore; or The Lass That Loved a Sailor with Elizabeth Rogers (who never missed a note) at the piano. The authors have been acclaimed as the inventors of modern musicals.
This comic opera from 1878 enjoyed the second-longest run of any musical theatre work up to that time. To thoroughly enjoy this marvelous satire, one must dispense with logic to enjoy the rollicking waves of irony and confusion with silliness triumphant! While the plot enjoys raucous satire on proper English class structure, the conclusion restores class propriety without any logic.
As the Admiral, Comic Baritone James Mills (Artistic Director) brimmed with facial comedy and adroit song. David Wannen as Deadeye Dick (Executive Director) excelled with his booming low voice. Contralto Angela Christine Smith ascended and held the secret twist of the plot with aplomb. Baritone David Auxier, as the ship captain, was impressive with intonation and sweeping gestures. Soprano Michelle Seipel (who has been with the company since 2012) soared with emotional finesse. Navy Tenor Cameron Smith projected with navigational subtlety.
After many decades, the satiric panache of Gilbert and Sullivan still resonates with absurd humor. This production was masterful, and the second part of the concert followed the intermission, which consisted of various song selections from the Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire, which offered a series of solos, duets, trios, quartets, and full ensemble pieces. Emcee David Wannen asked the audience to suggest the singing of noted Gilbert and Sullivan numbers from their eighteen comic operas. Six random suggestions were then sung to delight the audience. This concert was two delightful hours and forty minutes in length! What perhaps made this concert possible is that Executive Director Davind Wannen lives in Pawling!
The next concert of the Trinity Pawling music series will be on May 1, a Friday at 8 pm, with Pascuala Ilabaca and her band Fauna: a singer/songwriter/ accordionist who is renowned for their fusion approach to varied genres, such as cumbia, salsa, jazz, pop, and rock.
