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.