Review: H.M.S. PINAFORE at Hillcrest Theater For The Arts

Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta, "H.M.S. Pinafore," made its debut last weekend at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts, and for all intents and purposes, it was just another in a long line of highly entertaining shows staged by the venerable Ventura County Gilbert & Sullivan Repertoire Company. But for one of its performers, this "Pinafore" was not just another production. It marked the satisfying of a lifelong dream for 68-year-old David Gilchrist, who plays the part of Sir Joseph Porter.

"It all started with Gilbert and Sullivan," Gilchrist told us prior to a recent rehearsal. "My very first show was H.M.S. Pinafore in 1960. I played the little mid-shipmate, the cabin boy. And here I am, fifty-five years later, playing the role of my lifetime, Sir Joseph. I've been waiting all my life to get this role!"

The Australian-born Gilchrist has spent most of his career on one stage or another, performing in England's West End, South African theaters, cruise ships, and Las Vegas lounges. Nine years ago, his voice all but ruined by the dry heat of the Las Vegas desert, he retired to the Conejo Valley. After seeing Cabrillo Music Theatre's production of "Jekyll & Hyde," however, the theater bug bit him, and before long, he was acting and singing again, playing "old man character roles" in shows such as "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "1776."

In "Pinafore," Gilchrist is the sartorially uniformed Porter, the pompous ruler of the Queen's Navy who achieved his lofty status by "sticking to my desk and never going to sea," as he announces in the signature patter song, "When I Was a Lad." With his bushy eyebrows, monocle, and comic physicality, Gilchrist ideal for the part, and on Saturday night, he was clearly having the time of his life.

Gilchrist has been surrounded by a stellar cast of players, which includes such VCGSRC stalwarts as Jeff Berg, as lowly seaman Ralph Rackstraw, Marc Goldstein, as the stolid Captain Corcoran, and Emma-Grace Dunbar, as Corcoran's winsome daughter Josephine, who Ralph adores but is forbidden to marry due to their unequal class status, a hallmark of many of G&S's operas.

In the end, "love levels all ranks," as Ralph and Josephine are brought together by an obtusely ridiculous revelation, which results in a ludicrous but tidy happy ending for all. With his Dudley Do-Right tenor, Berg is remarkably well suited for his part as Ralph, able to convey comic irony as well as believable passion for Josephine, played with grace and beauty by Dunbar. The two are magical in their duet "Refrain, audacious tar."

Marc Goldstein evokes the late English actor Robert Morley as the authoritarian Captain Corcoran, but makes a startling transformation at the end when he and Ralph's status positions are reversed. The talented character actor William Carmichael turns in another solid performance, as the crusty, odious Dick Deadeye, while the everpresent John Pillsbury plays a key role as the Boatswain's mate. The ageless Sydney Solomon Bowling, playing the "round and rosy" Buttercup, is delightful in her signature song, "I'm called little Buttercup." Look for the comical highlight of the show, the trio "Never mind the why and wherefore," with its scripted "encores," during which Gilchrist's Sir Joseph gets progressively and uproariously winded.

The effective five-piece orchestra is led, as always, by Zach Spencer. Before Act II, there was an added bonus, as members of the cast, along with guest soprano Vivian Gibson, offered coming attractions, performing selected songs from upcoming productions of "Yeomen of the Guard" and "The Gondoliers."

"H.M.S. Pinafore" plays through October 25 at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts. For tickets, visit www.vcgsrc.org.

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