HMS Pinafore
By William Schwenk Gilbert (libretto), music by Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan
A typically ridiculous G and S operetta.
The Cast
Benjamin Bakernovich (Sailor Mite) is seven years old. His mother is Liz Rathke, who is on the technical staff for the show. He likes Pokemon, Godzilla and his cat, Winslow.
Gail Bennett (Chorus) is very excited to be making her Savoyards' debut. She has been in over 25 productions in the Madison area with such groups as SPCT, MATC, CTM, and Madison Opera. Favorite roles include Meg (Brigadoon), Anita (West Side Story) and the Cat (Brundibar). She spent last summer touring as a principal singer/dancer with the Kids of Wisconsin. She will attend the University of Miami Musical Theatre Conservatory this fall to pursue a BFA in musical theatre.
Katie Branflick (Chorus) is eleven years old; she appeared in last year's production of Princess Ida. Katie plays piano and violin and sings in the Madison Children's Choir.
Brandon Brieske (Sailor) completed fifth grade at Northside School in Middleton. Eleven years old, he has enjoyed music since he was very young and has participated in musicals in church and school. He has been a member of Madison Boychoir for two years and toured Ireland to perform last month. Brandon also plays cornet in the school band.
Paul Bushland (Dick Deadeye) appears in his 11th Savoyard production. First seen in the chorus as a tenor in Ruddigore, Paul was last seen as Scynthius in Princess Ida. In addition to performing onstage, Paul's been active backstage, serving on the Savoyards' Board of Directors from 1990 to 1996. Paul has recently performed with the Madison Opera, the Madison Symphony Chorus, the UW Choral Union and the Cleveland Signstage Theater.
Sarah Cain (Chorus) grew up in Sun Prairie and has lived there her entire life. She has been involved with Sun Prairie Civic Theatre since she was nine years old. Her favorite roles are Bertha in Pippin and Rosa in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She thanks her family, Julie, and her voice teacher, Wendy Rowe, for all their love and support.
Angelina Calderon (Chorus) is very excited to make her debut with Madison Savoyards. An avid musician, Angelina has been in Carmen with Madison Opera, the Wisconsin Honors Choir, Middleton Players Theatre's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and various productions with the East High School drama club. She plans on attending Oberlin College and continuing her studies in vocal music and the humanities.
Nick Conrad (Sailor) is onstage for the Savoyards for the first time although he has been onstage at Madison East High School. Backstage, he has worked on the crew and on the lighting board for both the Savoyards and for Madison East High School.
Cathy Daly Bond (Buttercup), most often found "behind the scenes," is making her Savoyards' onstage debut with HMS Pinafore. She has worked in the wings for local companies including Millenium Theater, Middleton Players Theatre, Strollers, CTM, Madison Theatre Guild and Lake Mills High School. Cathy lives in Lake Mills, and is married to Stan, with whom she has two daughters, Silvia and Margaret. Thank you to all who support this production and the arts everywhere!
Deborah Davidson (Hebe) was most recently seen as Sister Berthe in CTM's The Sound of Music and as Alice Fisher in Billy. Prior to her three-year hiatus to attend law school, she appeared in numerous CTM productions. Her favorite roles include: Aunt Margaret in The Good Times are Killing Me, the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Marge in Annie Warbucks, Miss Maudie in To Kill a Mockingbird and Mrs. Potiphar in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Debbie thanks her family and friends for their eternal support.
Anna Katarina Farkas (Buttercup Urchin/Chorus) has been singing along to Gilbert and Sullivan since she was two. This is her third stage experience, building on her role as a lamb in a Boston Children's Museum production and as "surfer girl" in Surfin' USA on the MS Statendam. She will be starting kindergarten at Thoreau Elementary School, wants to be a ballerina and loves the "HMS Club".
Jenni Fluckiger (Chorus) is making her acting debut with the Savoyards. She currently lives in Madison and works at WPS. She would like to thank Jeff for helping her get up enough nerve to do this.
Fern Freedlander (Josephine) graduated this past May with a B.M. in Vocal Performance from Butler University. This is her second show with the Savoyards. Her other roles include Laurie in The Tender Land and Mabel in Pirates of Penzance at Butler University. She also played Papagena in The Magic Flute for Opera in the Ozarks. She offers huge thanks to her family for their love and support.
Yolanda Gamazon (Chorus) makes her Madison Savoyards' debut in HMS Pinafore. However, this is her second Gilbert and Sullivan production, having been in Pirates of Penzance with the West Allis Players in 1993. She plans to graduate this December with a double major in English and Vocal Performance from UW-Madison. She studies voice with Professor Ilona Kombrink. Yolanda dedicates this performance to all those who have helped her develop musically throughout the years.
Dianne Graham (Chorus) is delighted to be performing in her 4th Savoyard production, having previously appeared in The Mikado, Princess Ida and A Dickens of a Christmas. She has also performed with several other local theater groups as well as performing professionally in Milwaukee. Favorite productions include Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar and Amadeus. Dianne studied voice at the UW-Madison as a Music Ed major and has several years of private piano and flute lessons to her credit.
Ben Graupner (Chorus) performs in his first Savoyards' production and is thrilled to be a part of it. Ben recently appeared in CTM's The Crucible and The Matchmaker. Ben would like to thank his great-aunt Gladeya for helping him through all the trials and desperation of the last few months.
Dan Graupner (Carpenter) is pleased to make his Savoyards debut aboard the HMS Pinafore. His favorite roles include Rolf in The Sound of Music and Peter in Narnia. Dan would like to thank J. Patrick and Nancy of CTM Productions and Scott Hurlbert and the staff of the Madison Savoyards.
Neil Graupner (Sailor Mite) is 9 years old and is making his debut with Madison Savoyards. He is interested in HMS Pinafore because of its music and dancing. He is entering 3rd grade and a member of the Madison Boy Choir.
Brian Griffeath-Loeb (Chorus) makes his Savoyards and G&S debut. Brian will be attending Dartmouth College this fall where he plans to major in Music Composition.
Robin Griffeath-Loeb (Bill Bobstay) is a vocal performance major at Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music and makes his second appearance with the Madison Savoyards. Recent shows he has been involved with are: scenes from Candide as Candide, scenes from The Three Penny Opera as Mack the Knife, Pippin and the Savoyards' production of The Mikado. He would like to thank his two teachers&emdash;Lynn Najem and Ms. Bozeman for their support and all-world training. He would also like to thank his parents, brother and all his friends for their unwavering support when things were rough. He has had a blast with the show and hopes everyone watching falls in love with Gilbert and Sullivan as much as he has.
Ken Hammel (Sir Joseph Porter) performs his first solo role aboard the HMS Pinafore. Most recently, he sang in the chorus of the Madison Opera production of Carmen. Previously, he sang in the choruses for Madison Savoyards and UW Opera. Ken studies voice with Wendy Rowe in Madison. A biochemist by trade, Ken lives on the near west side with his wife, daughter and son, who see to it that he does not take himself too seriously.
Brian Hatfield (Captain) is a senior studying music education at the UW-Madison School of Music. He has been performing in theatre since high school, with such memorable performances as Tony in West Side Story, Audrey II (the Plant) in Little Shop of Horrors. Most recently, he performed in the University Opera's production of The Spanish Hour and The Breasts of Tiresias where he played the roles of Torquemada and the Journalist respectively. Brian has also appeared with Footlights Productions of Janesville as Nick Bottom in A Midsummer's Night Dream and as Jeffery in the U-Rock Players production of Godspell. Brian wishes to thank Professor James Doing, his voice instructor.
Jennifer Klinkhammer (Chorus) is a sophomore studying vocal performance at UW-Madison. This is her first year with the Madison Savoyards although she was in numerous high school productions. She is excited to be involved with theater again.
Abby Kneebone (Chorus) has appeared in several productions with MadCap and also in Millenium Theatre's production of Nine. This is her 2nd production with the Savoyards.
Kristine Larimore (Buttercup's Urchin and Chorus) goes to Blessed Sacrament School. This eight-year old has already played The Angel of Death and the Tourist Girl in Carmen. Kristine has three pets (a cat, a hamster and a puppy) and two parents (Karen and Billy).
Tom Lawrence (Sailor) appears in his 10th consecutive Savoyard production. Besides being on the Savoyards' Board of Directors, Tom has appeared as Old Joe in A Dickens of a Christmas and Guron in Princess Ida. Tom has also performed with the Madison Symphony Chorus and the Festival Choir of Madison. He played Captain Hayes in Executions, a Mazomanie R&R production.
Johanna Oosterwyk (Chorus) tells this story: A many years ago, well, more like four, Johanna joined Savoyards for Pirates of Penzance and her life has not been her own since. Johanna was taken from the alto section and later raised to the exalted rank of Lord High Vice-President on the Board of Directors. This performance is for the Savoyards of the past 38 years who kept the G&S tradition alive and to her mother whose love of the Savoy operas infected her at an early age.
Steven Powell (Chorus) returns for his sixth Savoyards production. Over the last 12 years, he has been one of the "boys in the chorus" with Madison Symphony Chorus and Madison Opera. Steven occasionally cantors at St. Benedict's Center. He has served on the Savoyards' Board of Directors for the last two years. As a fan of G&S since he was five years old, he is grateful for allowing him to put on strange clothing and dance around on stage, signing G&S songs. I dedicate my performance to my father, who taught me the power of music.
Catherine Schweitzer (Chorus) was in Camelot earlier this summer and will be Estella later this summer. Catherine enjoys being in her fifth Savoyard show, her first one being Yeoman of the Guard. She enjoys having so many people her age in the show this year.
Amanda Smith (Buttercup Urchin/Chorus) has been performing for about a year now, but this is her first time with the Savoyards. Previously, she has been in The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan. She is a 13-year old student at Sherman Middle School in Madison.
Dan Smith (Sailor) has been a percussionist for the Savoyards for six years. He will perform onstage in this show. His son and daughter are also involved with this show, and his wife is helping out with the costuming.
Marshall Smith (Sailor) is a 15-year old Madison East High School student who likes to play with cards and computers. This is his third production with the Savoyards, having been seen previously in Grand Duke and Princess Ida.
Sean Sweeney (Chorus) is a newcomer to the Savoyards. A senior at McFarland High School, Sean recently appeared as Seymour in the school's production of Little Shop of Horrors. Sean has also appeared several times with McFarland's Academy D dinner theater. Sean's hobbies include playing the drums, writing about himself in the third person and making up funny little bits for his bios. Sean wishes to thank his family, friends and all directors, present and past.
Drew Thomas (Sailor) has performed in CTM shows including Christmas Carol, Cinderella and Snow White. Recently, he has had lead roles at West High School, playing Wykowski in Biloxi Blues and Walton in I Wanna Be a Cowboy for West High School. He will also be the varsity quarterback for his school next year and is a guitar player and aspiring songwriter.
Peter C. Voigt (Ralph Rackstraw) is happy to be back with the Madison Savoyards this summer, having previously appeared as Nanki-Poo in The Mikado and Prince Hilarion in Princess Ida. Other stage roles include Padre in Man of La Mancha, Lt. Cable in South Pacific, Otto Kringelein in Grand Hotel, and Max in Lend Me a Tenor. He also has sung in the choruses of the Madison Symphony and Madison Opera. He has been studying voice in Madison for the past two years with Kitt Reuter-Foss and will be entering the graduate voice program at Northwestern University in the fall.
Marissa Wacker (Chorus) is pleased to be making her 5th appearance in a Savoyards production. She was last seen as young Guido in Millenium Theater's production of Nine The Musical. Her favorite role was Annie in Stage Struck with Westside Performing Arts. Marissa will be a 5th grader at High Point Christian School.
Gabriel Williams (Sailor Mite), a 6th grader at Madison Country Day School, is excited to be back performing his fifth show with the Madison Savoyards. He wants to send a special "OO-RAAH!" to his sister Kylie.
Produced by Madison Savoyards, Ltd. at U.W. Wisconsin Union Theater, Memorial Union, 800 Langdon Street,Madison
Performances: July 21 - August 6, 2000
Performance Times: July 21 7 pm
July 22 7 pm
July 28 7 pm
July 29 7 pm
July 30 2:30 pmAlso presented on Sunday, August 6, at 2:30 pm at UW-Whitewater's Irvin L. Young Auditorium.
Ticket Prices: $25 Adults, $23 Seniors, $15 Students, $10 Children (under 13)
Call 608-231-9005 for reservations or more information.
