The cast rehearsing during their dress rehearsal in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Director Colclough said students auditioned for the show in September and rehearsed the music in the fall semester. Photos by Lucian Himes
Smothers Theatre is opening its door for the “H.M.S. Pinafore,” or “The Lass That Loved a Sailor,” opera Feb. 23 and 25. It is a story about forbidden love as a sailor falls in love with the captain’s daughter, said Josh Nash, who plays Ralph Rackstraw — the sailor and lead tenor.
The opera first premiered in 1878, according to the Pepperdine Arts website. Composer Arthur Sullivan and playwright William Schwenck Gilbert’s first international success was “H.M.S. Pinafore,” according to the Pepperdine Arts website.
“The main message of the story is that ‘love levels all ranks,’ meaning it doesn’t matter who you love or how more important they may seem to a public eye,” Nash said. “I think that’s the main message, and I think that’s something that I hope the audience can take away.”
This performance is an operetta — a short, comic opera with spoken dialogue — but the technique singers use is an operatic technique, a singing style with music and singing. Colclough said the opera is in English.
Ralph Rackstraw, played by Josh Nash, stands in the center of the British Royal Navy vessel as the rest of the cast looks at him in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Colclough said the cast started staging for the production in the spring semester.
Keith Colclough, associate professor of Voice and director of opera, said his goal is for students to have fun and curate a love for the opera and operetta. Colclough is the vocal, music and stage director.
“In terms of the artistic vision of the show, my hope is that we bring Gilbert and Sullivan to life,” Colclough said.
Colclough said over 100 faculty, students and staff are involved in the production and an additional group of students who are in play production build the sets.
David Wilkinson, principal coach of the opera and professor; Pierre Tang, conductor of the opera, assistant professor of Music and director of Instrumental Ensembles; and Choreographer and Professor Kelly Todd were all crucial to the team, Colclough said.
This is the first production of “H.M.S. Pinafore” Colclough said he has seen — he has listened to recordings and watched recordings of the opera on YouTube. He said the most time consuming part is picking the production piece itself — which he starts before the last production is done.
“The reason for that is that we’re an all undergraduate opera program,” Colclough said. “And opera is very demanding physically and technically in terms of vocal technique.”
Ralph Rackstraw dances with cast members on the ship in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Colclough said he hopes students will have fun and learn new things throughout this experience.
Nash’s passion for classical music first started when his voice teacher came to his high school, heard him sing and told him to come to Pepperdine. Nash said this opera has allowed him to focus on the classical side of his music.
“It’s kind of like a full circle moment,” Nash said. “I didn’t think I really liked doing this style of music, and then I realized that I can do it and I realized that I do love it.”
Ralph Rackstraw sings in operatic technique with other cast members in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Nash said this production has allowed him to appreciate the value of classical singing and classical technique.
This opera is different from past ones, Nash said, because it is shorter in length, has a musical theater component and utilizes the talent of the ensemble. Tang will lead the Pepperdine Orchestra, according to the Pepperdine Arts website.
“This year we are using a sort of a special orchestration for this piece,” Tang said. “Because it is a pretty small cast we are actually using an arrangement of a smaller reduced orchestration.”
They are using 12 musicians in the pit for this production, Tang said.
Tang said the orchestra rehearsed separately from the cast, and Tang observed the cast’s rehearsals to learn from the music. The cast and orchestra met to rehearse together for the first time Feb. 19.
Tang said this is called the wandelprobe, where the orchestra and cast, not in costume, come together and the cast learns to be comfortable with hearing the music.
Two members on stage rehearse in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Tang said the operetta is comedic.
Due to COVID-19 exposures, Tang said their original plan to rehearse Feb. 13, was canceled. Covid was a challenge, Tang said, especially for students who play wind instruments and had to wear a mask if they were exposed to Covid.
This hindered the preparation for these students as they could not rehearse or take a lesson with their teacher. Tang said the cast and crew have been taking precautions to ensure safety.
Nash said he is grateful for the understudies in the cast throughout the whole process, who filled in when some cast members needed to step down.
Another challenge, Tang said, was overcoming the poor print of the sheet music, which added extra time to their rehearsal to make sure the print matched what the singer was singing.
Tang said his favorite part of the opera is the comedic aspect. The audience will enjoy seeing that the musicians have a deep understanding of the characters including knowledge of the style of dialect, singing and movements.
The cast of “H.M.S. Pinafore” rehearses in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Cast members said this operetta includes singing, dancing and acting.
“These students work so hard that in my observation their understanding, with deep understanding of the character, surpasses any regular undergraduate level opera that I’ve seen,” Tang said.
He said he encourages the Pepperdine community to attend.
“It’s gonna be a really good laugh, and I think the set design is going to impress everyone,” Tang said. “The set design wowed me, I mean the first time when I walked into the pit, it’s just impeccable.
The British navy vessel design on stage in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Tang said the moving parts, lighting and sound are effortlessly flow together during the show.
Brittany Weinstock, who plays Josephine and is the lead soprano, said her character is different from ones she has played in the past.
“It’s definitely a challenge, but it’s really fun — I’m having just so much fun with it,” Weinstock said. “She’s [Josephine] just so so hopeful and there’s a lot of hope within her and a lot of that youthful energy.
Ralph Rackstraw and Josephine, played by Brittany Weinstock, sing on stage with the cast in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Colclough and students Nash, Weinstock and Hays said they will miss the cast and crew after the production is over.
She said playing Josephine is more of a challenge, because she has played characters with a tragic background in the past. Josephine, Weinstock said, is more of an ingenue, innocent but hopeful character. Weinstock also said the arias for her character are tough, but this experience allowed her to overcome this challenge.
“It’s helped me, kind of almost forced me, to solidify those high notes and to really get a good grip on them so I could really do this role justice,” Weinstock said.
Weinstock sings on stage in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Weinstock said since this operetta has dialogue in it, the cast and her have to focus more on their speaking-acting then singing-acting.
Gannon Hays, who plays Sir Joseph, said this experience has challenged his acting skills and has contributed to the growth in his work ethic.
“I have to have good energy for every single thing we practice and help bring the energy and help everyone bring the energy up and I feel like that’s made going to rehearsal just a lot more fun,” Hays said.
Sir Joseph, played by Gannon Hays, is on stage in Smothers Theatre on Feb. 22. Hays said his character is for comedic relief.
Weinstock said over the years the faculty of the Fine Arts Division have supported her, and after this production she is going to miss her voice teachers, Louise Lofquist, Keith Colclough and David Wilkinson. Students, Nash, Weinstock and Hays, said they are going to miss the cast and crew they worked with.
“You’re with people every night for three hours for two months, three months, and then all of a sudden it’s like you don’t see them at all,” Nash said. “And so I’ll probably miss those experiences, the little jokes, laughs that we have in the rehearsal room.”
Nash said he hopes viewers can see the talent portrayed throughout the two shows and Hays is looking forward to seeing everyone’s hard work and seeing his friends on stage. Weinstock said the audience should expect to have fun and be entertained, especially because the opera is not long — only an hour and a half.
“I think the audience is just really going to have a lot of fun and I really just want to make them smile and laugh and bring a little joy to their nights,” Weinstock said.
“H.M.S. Pinafore” will play in Smothers Theatre Feb. 23 and 25 at 7:30 p.m. Students and the Pepperdine community can get their tickets on the Pepperdine Arts website.
Emily Chase contributed to this reporting.
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