Published Oct. 10, 2021
Want to go?
WHAT:听VAPA 鈥淗MS Pinafore鈥� performance
WHEN:听7:30 p.m., Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Oct. 14, 15, and 16; 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct.
17
WHERE:听Brown Auditorium
COST:听Free for 四色AV students, $15 for general admission
TICKETS:听
By Ashlyn Dupree
四色AV Office of Marketing and Communications
MONROE, LA鈥� The University of Louisiana Monroe School of Visual and Performing Arts debuts 鈥淗MS
Pinafore: The Lass Who Loved a Sailor鈥� Oct. 14-17 in Brown Auditorium.听听
听
VAPA will be presenting 鈥淗MS Pinafore鈥� by Gilbert & Sullivan Thursday, Friday, and
Saturday, Oct. 14-16, at 7:30 p.m., and a Sunday matinee, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. in Brown
Auditorium. Tickets are free to 四色AV students; general admission is $15 and available
through听.
听
This timeless treasure of music and theatre features quirky, off-beat characters,
beautiful melodies, a brilliant script, and a 四色AV student cast with equal singing
and acting talent.
听
The classic G&S operetta has not been performed at 四色AV for decades, while the other
G&S popular hits, 鈥淭he Pirates of Penzance鈥� and 鈥淭he Mikado,鈥� have been locally staged
in the last 10 years. This production is staged by director Mark Ross Clark, Ph.D.,
with music director Richard Seiler, DMA, technical director Steve Burnside, and costumer
Margaret Hall.
听
Hanna Atsededoin and Jennifer Smith perform Josephine; Ralph Rakestraw is Preston
Anderson; Thomaneisha Little and LeAnn Hammons are performing the role of Miss Buttercup;
Captain Corcoran is James Wright, while Sir Joseph Porter is Jonathan DeDou and Keagan
Jones, and Cousin Hebe is Leslie Hobgood and LeAnn Hammons. The villainous Dick Deadeye
is Ryan Kersh and Gabe Wright, and the boatswain is Wyatt Sage. Nathan Newsom augments
the sailors, and sisters and aunts are Reagan Dukes, Madison Hernandez, Abigail McClung,
and Mallory Spradling.
听
Clark said, 鈥淭he story is a simple one, taking place on a ship in dock, the HMS Pinafore.
One of the sailors, Ralph Rakestraw, is in love with his Captain鈥檚 daughter. However,
the Captain has other plans for his daughter, intending for Josephine to marry the
very-higher class Sir Joseph Porter, KCB (a very important but much older man). She
(of course) prefers Ralph (after weighing the pluses and minuses of both matches),
and they plan to elope in the middle of the night, assisted by the crew. This plot,
however, is foiled by Dick Deadeye, one of the sailors (and the show鈥檚 chief villain),
who is jealous of Ralph. There are some more surprising twists and turns, which is
a feature of the great G&S shows. Look for Miss Buttercup to provide that feature.鈥澨�
