The 59th season of the Lamplighters Music Theatre, what I continue to enjoy calling “our own Gilbert and Sullivan,” has been announced and is available for viewing on the Lamplighters Web site. Because 2012 is a leap year, the season will conclude with their “always anticipated” Singalong of The Pirates of Penzance. That means that there will be only two productions in the more traditional vein, the first of which will be H. M. S. Pinafore.
Composed in 1878, Pinafore was the first major success for Gilbert and Sullivan; and that success was on an international scale. The London engagement ran for 571 performances, the second longest run of any musical theater work up to that time. It was equally successful in the United States, although, in the absence of a mature copyright system, it was the victim of many copycat productions. The Lamplighters production, of course, will be true to the original. It will be staged by Jane Erwin Hammett with Brett Strader conducting the pit orchestra.
The San Francisco performances of H. M. S. Pinafore will take place on August 5 and 6 at 8 PM with 2 PM matinees on August 6 and 7. The venue is the Novellus Theater at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts at 700 Howard Street. General admission prices are $49 and $44. Prices for seniors 65 and older and students with valid identification are $44 and $39, and the rates for students (25 and under) and those aged 17 and under are $20 and $15. Students with identification may also obtain $15 rush tickets one hour prior to curtain. In addition Lamplighters has set up a Web site for those interested in subscribing to the entire season. Further information may be obtained by calling 415-227-4797 or by visiting the Lamplighters home page.
The second full production of the season with be The Gondoliers, and further information will be available prior to its presentation in January.
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