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USS Pinafore
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USS Pinafore
By Judi Uthus

Even if the playwrights Gilbert and Sullivan were not Trekkies, they would get a kick out of The Crown Theater Company's outer space adaptation of their most famous operetta HMS Pinafore or "The Lass That Loved a Sailor." Opening in May of 1878, Pinafore was G&S's first blockbuster hit with its catchy tunes and well-constructed libretto. The Pirates of

Penzance and The Mikado are also among their best known comic operas.
Crown Theatre's May 2010 opening of USS Pinafore adapted by Jon Mullich was a time warp of the same success. This version of the light-hearted tale of pining love between social classes takes lords and lasses to a galactic setting. Mullich and a cast of 14 wonderfully animated performers launched their modern version of the G&S team's well-constructed librettos on a futuristic voyage. On this journey the 28 musical numbers are influenced with the rhyming antics of Weird Al Yankovic with such lyrics as "Love is like John & Oko, which makes me go quite loco and I really just want to croako".

The outer space musical is set on a stage melding the United Starship Pinafore with the USS Enterprise. Its space fleet crew emulates the social pecking order of the original play as they orbit the planet Penzance 12 in deep space. Buttercup (Mona King) is now an alien who delivers a timeless sentiment as strong in space as it was in Victorian times that "human hearts sing for what they can't have", love that crosses social barriers. On this ship that love centers on the captain's daughter Josephine (Ashley Cuellar) who falls for the transporter repairmen Ralph Rackstraw (Aidian Park). They are not alone, however, in their torn romance as others on this ship discover that love in space knows no boundaries of social or alien status.

While some musicals can become tedious, the USS Pinafore is an operetta that moves at break neck speed in its ability to sing the story along. The bit of dialogue is fun as well, a clever contrast of eloquent Victorian talk to the code speak of the Vulcans. Other silly touches in the G&S style were Josephine receiving calls from Princess Leia and insider Trekkie jokes.

The musical numbers in USS Pinafore are some of G&S's most popular such as I'm Called Little Buttercup. The numbers range from silly shanties to melodies that could even melt the heart of a Vulcan. To have a group of talent (Paton Ashbrook, Dave Berges, Misha Bouvin, Vicotria Cuellar, Victor Gonzalez, James Jaeger, Michael Levin, Jess Merlin, Aidan Park, Tim Polzin and Ron Schneider) perform them in such an intimate setting is a rare treat. A 3-dimensional use of the space pulled the audience into the action with actors entering and exiting around the theater.

The USS Pinafore was directed by Gary Lamb and William Reilly. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm through June 27. The Crown City Theater is in the NoHo District located at 11031 Camarillo Street, North Hollywood. Visit www.crowncitytheatre.com (818) 605-5685.

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