"H.M.S. PINAFORE"

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 673, 27 October 1933, Page 4

"H.M.S. PINAFORE"

HIGH SCHOOL SUCCa GILBERT AND SULLIVAN J DONE BY YOUTHFUL I COMPANY I FIRST NIGHT PERFORMAlyl The performance of "H.M.S, ■ fore" whieh was staged last evl by the pupils of the Rotorua! | School is an ambitious objectiv! I any amateur company and muchl I so for youthful performers u! I going their first ordeal by limel The suceess seored by the ! School co.nipany, theref ore, was ! thing more than a success — it ~w! achievement. From curtain to! tain and from principals to the! diminutive member of the ua! chorns, the crew of H.M.S. Pin! comported themselves admirab! "Pinafore" is one of the most! tertaining produetions of the ha able Gilbert and Sullivan coiJ tion; it has the melody whicffl made S'ir Arthur Sullivan's musi! of the treasures of English spe! peoples, it has the piqnant huj which only Gilbert eould conve! above all, it has an ironical sigfl ance which only a nation 'yM sense of humour could appreciat! It shows the English nation ! best light — laughing at its! idiosyncrasies. The parody of tH titude that has been built up bl • consciousness that Britannia rul! ' waves, is shown in melodies that! become part of the heritage of! lish music, the pious thankfi! that "he is an Englishman, aifl greatly to his credit" and the! dious humour of the Lord of tb! miralty whose only ship was a! nership and so became "the rul! the Qneen's navee." ! All the delightful humour t! Gilbert and all the melody t]fl Sullivan was brought out -with! ly excellent effect by this yoi! company. The production of a ! opera of the seope of "Pinafo! a task to test any producer, b! do it and do it successfully « school company is probably the! est test that any producer, ! undergo. The fact that it was! so well is a remarkable tribute! joint producers, Mr. N. P. Pitc! and Miss I. Street and to the ma! with which they had to work. ! That fatuous and parodied ! Lord, Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.b! admirably taken by J. D. Coc! The part itself was written b! bert as a parody upon gentlera! even less nautical attainment! actually rose to this exalted pcfl and he gave to ifc humour thafl live as some of the most delifl pillorying of official pomposit* has ever been perpetrated. Cocfl showed a genuine appreciation fl part and brought out its hunioufl excellent effect. P. S. Munro afl splendid Captain Corcoran and fl the part. He wore his uniforin iH distinctly nautical air and toi^H numbers really well. Ralph Raclfl the humble tar who aspired the captain's daughter was well by H. A. Steele who had tb^! pathy of his audienee in his s^| the charming Josephine. L. H. wick gave a very realistic po^! of the unprepossessing Dick — a difficnlt part but one whi^f done well. J. S. Alexander and^J Simpson as the bo'sun's and ter's mates respectively were of tars who certainly did credit to the "Queen's Navee.'^| There can be no question |^! great deal of the success of fl^! formance was due to the portrayal of Josephine given •Kathleen Goudie. The part dei^^H considerable' vocal range, Goudie did not fail in any r^H She played with delightful ness throughout. Valmai Mu^H who had the second feminin^M made a very charming Little cup, rather more youthful tl^H usual representation of the pa^H even more appealing because fact. Hebe, who led the fori^| chorus of Sir Joseph's sisters,-^| and aunts was well taken Venus Cunningham, and the^^H cousins and aunts themselves^H ed by a splendid nautical made the massed numbers re^H cellent. The frocking reflected pafl| credit upon Miss E. Simmers ai^D E. Campbell who were in ch^H the wardrobe, while one of tures of the performance ballets arranged by Mrs. S. Mc^H A delightful solo sailor's was given by Barbara Holla^B burlesque relief by John The scenery and stage setting^H were carried out by" Mr. were appropriately nautical keeping with the excellent stan^H the production. ,!^ Possibly the most outstandi^H ture of the performance, was the musical understandi^H ability shown by the whole c^Hj and for this a very great credit must go to the musical Mr. J. J. Buchan. It is a charge against New Zealap^B general and New Zealand scho|^H ren in particular, that they ar^H ally self-conscious. So far as^H torua School at least is co^H the charge was refnted by las^H performance. The whole performance wa^H which ajny school and any 'company could feel proud anj^H given well deserved apprecij^M a packed house. The final ance will be given in the night.