The Orchestra Pit

September 2000 — Your orchestra pit reporter Deb Walz

Here's a "pit view" of The Pirates of Penzance:

Technically, this column cannot be said to have originated from the pit. A 26-piece orchestra would never fit in the undersized Keefe auditorium pit, so we were on the stage -- the first time I've ever seen a production from the stage itself.

Before I give the pit view for Pirates, I have a confession to make: I'm not a Gilbert & Sullivan fan. I find their musicals tolerable and mildly entertaining, but nothing I'd go out of my way to attend. (At this point, I always envision the entire membership of Actorsingers rising to their feet with a collective gasp of indignation.) That said, I have to admit that I found our Pirates more entertaining than I had anticipated.

Now for the impressions and miscellany of the production. We began orchestra rehearsals quite early -- a full 3 months before the show. And I was so pleased with the result. There were many really beautiful musical moments (special thanks to the woodwinds!) and it was a real luxury to have a full string section. As for the brass, well... I feel bad enough bragging about an orchestra in which I'm a member without bragging about my own section too. Sorry guys, but you know you're great!

It was neat that the hero & heroine, Pat & Jay Lawrence, are married in real life. And it was a delight to see new-to-Actorsingers talent cast in principal roles with Alfa Bishop as Ruth and Laurence Weisbrot as the Pirate King. At our first rehearsal, I was impressed with Alfa's voice and energy. I knew the makeup people had a real challenge on their hands since Ruth is supposed to be old and homely. But they rose admirably to the task since several orchestra members failed to recognize Alfa at the cast party. At odd moments, I occasionally found myself wondering if she has any siblings and what their names might be: Beta? Gamma?

During the performances, it was great fun to watch Jed Holland conduct. You could tell he was having so much fun -- particularly with cues. And I particularly liked our Sunday performance when Jed strode out on stage, gave a demure little smile to the audience, then turned to the orchestra with a wide grin sporting one blacked-out tooth. I do believe we had a few wind players who only just managed to compose themselves in time to play their entrances.

Some favorite scenes:

* Frederick (Jay Lawrence) whirling around and whipping out his sword after the daughters exclaim "A man!"

* Frederick's rotating hips whilst singing his '50s style (and that's 1950's) "I'll loooooooooovvvvve you"

* the Policemen's Keystone Cops entrance

* Ed Wall as Queen Victoria

* Wim Prest (Pirate) rubbing his eyes in drunken disbelief at the sight of a full orchestra, then offering his flagon of sherry to us

* Major General Stanley's (Greg Tarsa) lacy white parasol

Favorite scenes from the juvenile members of the audience:

* the seargeant's (Glen Grimard) struggles to rise off his knees

* the Policeman who kept peeking out from behind the curtain

Other notes of interest:

* Watching in amazement as Martha Daniels Holland blithely bounced off the trampoline onto the stage in heels while pregnant

* Wincing in sympathetic pain as Elizabeth Perrin got unceremoniously dropped when the Pirate King learned of Major General Stanley's orphan status

And then there's my favorite line of the show when Mabel (Pat Lawrence) sings "It seems so long".

All in all, it was a blast. But should you never see another column from me, you'll know I was banished from the group for failing to be a loyal and devout Gilbert & Sullivan fan :-)

Stay tuned for the view from Fiddler...