The duo of Gilbert and Sullivan are famous for their ridiculous twists and turns of the plot. Virtually all of their works are spoofs and satires of the British legal and social class system. Their wit and sense of irony go beyond musical theater to comedy in general. The popular…
Valley Light Opera‘s Iolanthe11/3-11/5 , 11/10-11/12Academy of Music, Northampton Valley Light Opera Presents Gilbert & Sullivan’s, Iolanthe Nov 3 -12 at the Academy of Music in Northampton. What happens when a Troupe of proud and pugnacious Fairies encounter a party of patronizing Parliamentary Peers? The answer—complete chaos! This is the…
Come and join the Valley Light Opera for their November 2021 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic Pirates of Penzance; or, the Slave of Duty at The Academy of Music in Northampton. Pirates tells the story of Frederic, apprenticed at an early age to a band of pirates, who is torn between his duty…
It’s time to audition for Valley Light Opera‘s fall production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance! Auditions will be at the Wesley Methodist Church, 98 North Maple Street in Hadley, MA Thursday July 29 4:00 PM – 9:30 PM Friday July 30 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM Saturday…
by Gail M. Burns, October, 2006 A lot of attention has been paid recently to the blossoming professional theatre scene in Berkshire County and its environs. We are indeed blessed with a great deal of excellent theatre, but we mustn’t become so star struck that we ignore the existence of…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, August 2006 In true Gilbertian fashion I will give this review two titles: Don’t Mess With My Mikado or Wha’ Happened?? I went to see The Mikado at the Weston Playhouse for fun, not as a theatre critic, but since it turned out to be one of the worst Mikados I’ve…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, November 2004 This was my first trip over the mountains to the Pioneer Valley to see a Valley Light Opera production, which begs the question “Where the heck have you been for the past 25 years??” I have no idea how I could have lived…
Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, June 2004 You must excuse me because I know way too much about The Pirates of Penzance. I have known every note of the score since I was eleven years old and appeared in the policeman’s chorus as a pathetically adolescent member of the constabulary. Tarantara.…
