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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2019)
8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM TAKE A BOW By PATRICK WEBB FOR COAST WEEKEND T he sturdily built British war- ship is laden with cannon and shot, packed with husky sailors ready to repel enemy board- ers, all willing to die to protect their beloved Union Jack fluttering high in the rigging. So who named their ship after a piece of women’s clothing? Theatergoers will have to attend to learn whether “H.M.S. Pinafore” answers that question. W.S. Gil- bert & Sullivan’s comedy sets sail at the River City Playhouse in Ilwaco, Wash., on Friday, March 29, and runs for three weekends with Friday and Saturday evening performances and Sunday matinees. The stage has been converted into a 19th-century sailing vessel by Andy Tauber, set designer and stage manager, complete with an authen- tic ship’s wheel, bell and a bowsprit that pokes out from the stage into the audience. There’s even a loaned cannon from a 1903 shipwreck near Cape Disappointment. The operetta made its debut in London in 1878, the first interna- tional hit of the duo’s 14 collab- orations that paved the way for “Pirates of Penzance” and “The Mikado.” All three feature charac- ters appointed to high office without a shred of skill or experience. Gilbert & Sullivan’s ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ undresses conventional rigging of society IF YOU GO Peninsula Players present Gilbert & Sullivan’s “H.M.S. Pinafore” When: Friday, March 29, through Sunday, April 14. Perfor- mances are 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays Where: River City Playhouse, 127 Lake St., Ilwaco, Wash. Musical melodrama Tickets: $15, in advance from Okie’s Thriftway Market in Ocean Park, Wash., Stormin’ Norman’s in Long Beach, Wash., and the Old Towne Cafe in Ilwaco, Wash., by calling 360-244-3517 for will-call reservations, or at the door. As Freemasons, W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan held a core belief in Produced by arrangement with the Dramatic Publishing Co. Patrick Webb The cast of Peninsula Players’ latest production of ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ credits the costume crew of Darlene Montgomery and Peggy Immel with creating an authentic nautical look to the production. Pictured, back row left to right, are Andrea Patten, Rita Smith, Kevin Perry, David Immel, Robert Scherrer, Gretchen Goodson, Rose Power and Melissa Goldberg. In front, left to right, are sailors Patrick Buckley, Jim Tweedie, Aarin Hoygaard, Bob Goldberg, Bill Clark and Natasha Beals. Not pictured is Bette Lu Krause.
