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Sparkling 'Pinafore' Sails Into Town

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By KURT LOFT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 7, 2007

TAMPA - Great teams are part of musical history: Lennon and McCartney, Rodgers and Hammerstein, the brothers Gershwin.

And who can resist the best of William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, whose 14 operettas include such sparkling classics as "The Mikado," "The Pirates of Penzance" and "H.M.S. Pinafore"?

Many of these witty parodies are just as refreshing, and relevant, today as when they first appeared in London's Savoy Theatre, and audiences haven't tired of their sharp dialogue and music. This weekend, the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players offer another of their patented productions when they bring "Pinafore" to the Mahaffey Theater.

"Pinafore" is a spoof of authority wrapped around a tale of love between social classes, and its simple language and effervescent score have kept it alive for 130 years, says baritone Keith Jurosko, who portrays Capt. Corcoran.

"It has total relevance today because they wrote about things that really don't change," he says. "Gilbert had studied law, and he loved poking fun at society and the people in charge."

Many of Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas are topical spoofs on convention or style, make fun of people in power and even borrow - quite blatantly - snippets from classical composers.

In doing so, "Pinafore" takes shots over the bow at the vaunted British Navy and a rigid Victorian class. But its creators wanted to entertain, not spur controversy, and the marriage of words and music has remained a classic of the musical theater.

"It's absolutely wonderful and put Gilbert and Sullivan on the map," Jurosko says.

"The music is burned into our English speaking mentality. I've done this role more than 400 times and I've never been bored."

ON STAGE

H.M.S. Pinafore

WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg

TICKETS: $35 to $55; (727) 892-5767

Reporter Kurt Loft can be reached at (813) 259-7570 or kloft@tampatrib.com.

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