THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2019 // 9
the equality of man. They employed their
comic libretto to lampoon Britain’s rigid
social structures epitomized by the stifling
hierarchy of the military.
The Peninsula Players’ version is a
musical melodrama, a shorter adapta-
tion, which has the subtitle “The Lass That
Loved a Sailor.”
Its best-known ditty, “He Is An English-
man,” mocks that nation’s superiority and
blind patriotism. It may be familiar to audi-
ence members who recall the ferryboat
scene in the 1981 movie “Chariots of Fire”
or the fifth-season “Simpsons” episode in
which Sideshow Bob (voiced by Kelsey
Grammer) kidnaps Bart.
It is the 12th musical directed by Rita
Smith, who also appears as the female
lead, Josephine, and assists choreographer
Annika Kay. Smith hadn’t planned to cast
herself, but two other singers dropped out.
“I think the songs themselves are very
catchy,” Smith said. “I think the people are
going to come out humming them.”
Robert Scherrer, the first-time assis-
tant director, plays the ship’s captain who
wants his daughter to make a prestigious
marriage to the First Lord of the Admiralty
(David Immel). He heads the Royal Navy,
despite having no nautical ability. But Jose-
phine is in love with a lower-class sailor,
played by Bob Goldberg. Should she obey
her father or flout social conventions?
Compounding the action is Kevin Perry
as a conniving crew member, Dick Dead-
eye, one of G&S’s most memorable sup-
porting characters. Scherrer calls him “one
step short of a pirate.”
There is also Little Buttercup, a socially
low woman played by Andrea Patten, who
has her heart set on the captain.
Featured roles include Bette Lu Krause
as the Admiralty officer’s cousin, and
Jim Tweedie and Aarin Hoygaard, who
appear as the Bosun and his mate. Hoy-
gaard played Chip in the Chinook, Wash.,
production of “Beauty and the Beast” last
summer.
Sailors and other roles are played by
Bill Clark (the show’s producer), and Nata-
sha Beals, Patrick Buckley, Gretchen
Goodson, Rose Power and Melissa
Goldberg.
Scherrer and Immel will not con-
sciously employ British accents, though
they acknowledge their commitment to
clear diction suits Gilbert’s precise word
choices.
“I don’t have an accent; it’s unfortunate
that we all can’t embrace that,” Scherrer
said. “It’s either all or none, and we felt it
would be a struggle for some.”
True community theater
Both Scherrer and Immel appreciate the
Players’ stalwart musical director, Barbara
Disapproval registers on the face of the ship’s
captain, played by Robert Scherrer, at the
prospect of his daughter Josephine (Rita
Smith) falling in love with a common sailor (Bob
Goldberg). Will cupid triumph or will the strict
social conventions of the Royal Navy prevail?
Patrick Webb photos
Barbara Bate plays to accompany members of Peninsula Players as they gear up to open the
Gilbert & Sullivan musical melodrama. Cast members, left to right, are Melissa Goldberg,
Robert Scherrer, Natasha Beals, Jim Tweedie, Kevin Perry, Rose Power, Gretchen Goodson and
Bob Goldberg.
Kevin Perry as Deadeye Dick, a scheming
sailor, features in Peninsula Players’
production of ‘H.M.S. Pinafore,’ which opens
in Ilwaco, Wash., Friday, March 29, and runs
three weekends. Disapproving sailors are
Natasha Beals, left, Patrick Buckley and
Aarin Hoygaard, front.
David Immel plays the First Lord of the Admiralty, who is head of the British Royal Navy, and
the most eligible bachelor in the nation. Clustered around him are Rita Smith, left, whose
character Josephine doesn’t want to marry him, and his adoring admirers and family, played
by Gretchen Goodson, Rose Power and Melissa Goldberg.
Bate, who will play the keyboard during
performances.
“There’s something really nice about
having nice live accompaniment,” Scher-
rer said. “She follows us.”
Immel, a retired professional per-
former, likes the flexibility that cannot
exist with a taped soundtrack playing. If
a singer falters, Bate can play another bar
and help them back on track. “She’s like
musical magic in many ways,” Immel
said.
The matching striped shirts and necker-
chiefs of the sailors, plus the officers’ dis-
tinctive bicorn hats, uniforms and medals
have been created by Darlene Montgom-
ery, assisted by Peggy Immel, who adds
her professional costuming experience
backstage.
The director encourages people to savor
the cast and crew’s handiwork, and see some
familiar faces. “This is true community the-
ater. Our cast ranges in age from 11 to 80,”
Smith said. “There’s not a lot of places
where you can see your friends — whether
they are 11 or 80 — up on stage.” CW