It’s time for sentimental pirates, crazy cops, gleeful maidens, an incompetent Major General, and a spirited chorus to tread the boards, as Lamplighters Music Theater opens its 2010-2011 season July 29 with the comedic Gilbert and Sullivan favorite The Pirates of Penzance. Its jokes, which have tickled funny bones for over 130 years, are still funny. That is, thanks to the impeccable timing and expertise of actors/singers in a company that remains one of the foremost Gilbert and Sullivan repertory troupes in the U.S.
Lamplighters was founded in 1952 to present the operettas of librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan (which they wrote between 1875 and 1896); the well-known H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado are examples. Their repertoire also includes light opera and musicals by composers like Jacques Offenbach and Stephen Sondheim. The Lamplighters have earned honors for Best Production and Best Director at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England, as well as local awards in nearly every performance, direction, and design category. “When I first became acquainted with the company in the early 1990s, I was impressed with their production and musical value,” says director Phil Lowery. “I knew right away I wanted to work with them.”
And work with them he does. Lowery has been involved with the organization in an extraordinary range of capacities: onstage as a performer, and as a director, part-time administrator, stage manager, and production manager. Lowery was educated in both music and theater, cofounded and served as artistic director of the Berkeley Contemporary Opera from 1991 to 1994, and has worked with the Berkeley Opera, Pocket Opera, North Bay Opera, Altarena Playhouse, Dreamweavers, and the Drama Mamas. His first stint as director with the Lamplighters came in 1994, in Offenbach’s La Périchole. Since then he has directed A Little Night Music, Candide, and The Mikado. Although he has also sung in the chorus of Pirates, this is his first time in the director’s seat. Lowery’s experience has provided him with various insights on the productions. “Performing the material, you understand it from the inside out. If you are a director and don’t know the music, you’re coming from the outside in,” he says.
Making shows new and exciting to returning audiences is a challenge that all repertory companies face: After all, the Lamplighters has performed this show steadily over their 58-year history. Says Lowery: “The potential trap is to wink at the audience and say, ‘We all know this material so well, we can make comments on it rather than just doing it.’ My job as director is to make sure performers don’t step outside the play and comment on it, but find the truth of the lines, without the added layers of self-conscious humor.” In this and other aspects, the company is somewhat purist. Their hallmark is to respect the original material and sing it in an engaging manner without modern embellishment. The 22-piece orchestra, to be conducted by Monroe Kanouse, provides musical support, while opulent costumes and scenery create a stunning visual effect.
Audiences who have never seen The Pirates of Penzance will simply have fun. There’s nothing wackier than its crazy plot and zany characters. For those who have heard the show, Lowery hopes to surprise us with “something new, something funnier, and some interplay between music and text that hasn’t been obvious before.” Sure to be delightful is the strong vocal talent, including debut performances from several of the Bay Area’s promising young singers. For example, Katy Daniel and Sara Couden, double cast as Ruth, and Michael Desnoyers, as Frederic, are all recent San Francisco Conservatory of Music graduates who have begun to spread their wings in roles with local productions. Look forward to the return of Joshua La Force, the “other” Frederic, who resides in Texas and sang the same role with Lamplighters in 1998.
The rest of the Lamplighter’s 58th season includes an annual champagne gala and auction, The Yeomen of the Guard, and two one-acts, Trial by Jury and Engaged.