Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic operetta, The Gondoliers, is this summer’s presentation by Mock’s Crest Productions, a summer professional theater company supported by the University of Portland.
The operetta is the 12th comedic opera between Gilbert and Sullivan. It first premiered at the Savoy Theatre where it ran for 554 performances.
The Gondoliers
will be presented June 1-24 in Mago Hunt Center Theater on campus, 5000 North Willamette Blvd, with Thursday and Friday performances at 7:30 p.m., Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday performances at 2 p.m. On Saturday, June 9, there will be an additional performance at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for seniors, students, or groups of 10 or more. All seats are reserved and must be ordered through the Mago Hunt Box Office by calling 503-943-7287.
Pre-theater dinner or brunch is available for $14.50 and $13.50 per person. Local beer and wines can be purchased, as well. Meal service begins 60 minutes before the show.
The Gondoliers
revolves around two recently married gondoliers in Venice – one of whom, it has just been discovered, is actually the King of Bartaria. And the only person who can identify which one is King is the foster mother, who is temporarily missing. In the midst of this turmoil, it also appears that the King is an unintentional bigamist, having been wed in infancy to the daughter of a Spanish Duke. This hilarious operetta, with audience favorite music and dancing, leaves you with a happy ending.
This year’s show is being dedicated to the late Roger O. Doyle, who died on April 30 of complications from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – ALS, “Lou Gehrig’s disease.” A beloved legend at the University of Portland, Doyle devoted 40 years to the University’s performing and fine arts faculty, and for more than 20 years brought comic opera to the campus and local community.
The show features both outstanding newcomers and audience favorites, including Alexis Hamilton, John Vergin, Sammuel Hawkins, and Debbie Hunter. Tom Graff returns to Mock’s Crest Productions as guest director after directing the 2007 production of HMS Pinafore. And for the second year, Larry Larsen, chair of the Performing and Fine Arts Department, is producer, set designer and technical director.
The theater company was created in 1990 to produce high quality comic opera, employing some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest actors, singers, directors, and designers. It was founded to enhance the cultural fabric of the North Portland community and to perpetuate the University’s long tradition of support for the arts.