HMS Pinafore & Trial By Jury: February 2014
by Gilbert & Sullivan
H.M.S. PINAFORE, or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical theatre piece up to that time. H.M.S. PINAFORE was Gilbert and Sullivan’s fourth operatic collaboration and their first international sensation
Can you sue someone for breaking off an engagement? In Gilbert and Sullivan’s courtroom farce TRIAL BY JURY, it’s a very serious crime! The story concerns a ‘breach of promise of marriage’ lawsuit in which the judge and legal system are the objects of lighthearted satire. Gilbert based the libretto of TRIAL BY JURY on an operetta parody that he had written in 1868.
Director & Choreographer: Steve Foster
Musical Director: David Blackwell