BACKSTAGE WEST
March 21, 2002
Random Sightings by Polly Warfield

Celebration Celebrates
Mark Savage accepted a Garland for adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan's Pinafore!, noting that the show had run seven months with the same cast-a rarity here where movies and TV beckon. Extended yet again, Pinafore! runs through Apr. 28. Celebration Theatre celebrated its 100th performance with an anniversary party's explosion of exuberance. Unabashed bragging was artfully expressed with childlike delight. Bedizened drag queens Chadwick K.T. Adams, Antonio Martinez, and Scott Scarboro paraded through scenes flashing placards with news of the show's many awards: Garlands for production, adaptation, and choreography; LADCC and L.A. Weekly nominations. As cross-dressing Joseph/Josephina, R. Christofer Sands consistently boosted the show to classical levels with his remarkable countertenor and slyly produced a nudging sign: "For Your Consideration." Michael DeVries (replacing Michael Gregory) as Captain Corkinit, David Gilliam Fuller as Sen. Barney Crank, and Debra Lane as Bitter Butterball filled the bill bountifully-Butterball's bodice could hardly contain such bounty. Wilson Raiser, lurking as seaman Harry Heavyset, was impossible to ignore, not just because he towers a 6 feet 7 or 8 inches but also because the actor is good. I noted that in 1982 when he played Tony Plana's dog in Nosotros' Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone? The celebration of Celebration ended with a flurry of glittery confetti, arrival of the entire cast from Insurrection: Holding History (another Celebration production playing to acclaim at the nearby McCadden Theatre), and with cake and champagne all 'round.

LA Times
Gilbert & Sullivan Sendup Asks and Tells With Glee
By F. KATHLEEN FOLEY
A Gilbert & Sullivan parody about gay sailors serving in their own separate Navy? On paper, the concept sounds fluffy at best, more like a glorified comedy sketch than a full-blown show. Put aside your initial reservations, however, and you're likely to find "Pinafore!" at the Celebration Theatre a double-edged treat. Not only is the show a giddy comic romp, it also is a wickedly incisive sendup of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The belly laughs keep coming, informed by a rueful subtext more often than not. One of the first theatrical directors (before the late Victorian era, the discipline of "directing" was largely unknown), W.S. Gilbert was an exacting taskmaster who wrested order from the egalitarian stew that typified theater of the day. Gilbert was famous for tailoring his productions to his performers' strengths while downplaying their weaknesses. Director and adapter Mark Savage is a fitting descendant of that tradition.

Not only is Savage's staging a triumph of compressed energy--it has to be on this postage-stamp stage--but it is surprisingly faithful to its source material and sharply professional in almost every particular. The sailing on this "Pinafore!" would not have been as smooth without musical director Ron Snyder. He ensures a smooth mix of the actors' voices, which vary from the obviously operatic to the contemporary. Ken Roht's necessarily minimalist choreography is ideally suited to the space. Pink is dominant in Robert Prior's vivid set, which is as simple and functional as it is eye-catching. Mia Gyzander's comically extravagant costumes are a hoot, while small-theater lighting expert Kathi O'Donahue's lighting is characteristically excellent.

The production has its limitations--a slow set change here, a voice that's only fair to middling there--but Savage has skillfully managed to gloss over existing limitations and capitalize on his actors' talents, which, taken in the aggregate, are considerable.

Among this exceptional cast, the most considerable performance of the evening is given by R. Christofer Sands as Joseph-Josephine, the captain's transvestite son. Josephine has fallen in love with Dick Dockstrap (Christopher Andrew Hall), a common sailor who is--gasp!--ostensibly straight.

In a sly skewing of the original plot, Josephine and Dick's warring sexual orientations pose a far greater problem to their union than mere class differences. But, dressed in frilly female attire though Sands is, his is no mere drag routine. (Not that there aren't some typically outrageous drag performers spliced into the chorus.)

A classically trained countertenor with comic timing as pitch-perfect as his voice, Sands redefines the very notion of drag with his rigorous, hilarious, star-making turn.

BackStage West
...especially delicious. This is top-drawer.
Reviewed By Wenzel Jones
This is the first show from Mark Savage's "Queering the Classics" reading series to receive a full production, and the result is so perfectly realized it could almost stand alone as an original work. Rather than merely doing a gay parody of Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore, Savage, who also directs, has retained the form and music and wrought an adaptation that combines silliness with incisive commentary on military policy, sexual fluidity, and intra-community prejudices.

This sparkling reworking has the Commander of the Pinafore, Capt. Corkinit (a richly voiced Michael Gregory) keeping his son, Joseph (Christofer Sands), in crinolines pending sexual reassignment in order that he might marry the Rt. Hon. Sen. Barney Crank (David Gilliam Fuller), Chief of the Gay Navy, who is responding to his constituency's current fondness for transsexuals. Sen. Crank arrives with a flotilla of nautically themed drag queens (the truly fabulous trio of Chadwick T. Adams, Antonio Martinez, Scott Scarboro), which he intends to billet on the Pinafore, much to the consternation of the crew (Neal Allen Hyde, John Brantley Cole Jr., Jason Beogh, Steven Janji, Wilson Raiser). Romantic complications arise when Joseph loses his heart to the toothsome new deckhand, the ostensibly straight Dick Dockstrap (Christopher Hall), a lad so untroubled by brain waves that he is unable to make the Joseph-Josephine connection. God-given cleavage and surprises are added by the local peddler woman, Bitter Butterball (Debra Lane), who ekes out a living selling toys at circuit parties in the port city of Palm Springs.

In a cast of superb performers, Sands stands out as the tender maiden manquee. Those who saw him as the Memphis murderess in Miss Desmond Behind Bars will recall his almost other-worldly counter-tenor; to this he adds impeccable comic timing and a tatty grandeur that comes into play every time he stops the show to take a deep, gratified bow. Hall is beguilingly dense and quite adept at conveying comically tortured romantic ache. Under Ron Snyder's musical direction the Pinafore's crew, who look to have been recruited on the basis of tummies so firm and smooth you could dine off them, form a vocally seamless chorus. As sole female in the cast, Lane gives plaintive and ribald voice to the plight of the woman whose universe consists solely of gay men. Space precludes further well-deserved cast accolades.

Robert Prior has brought forth another of his budget-brilliant sets, a pastel confection that is nicely complemented by Kathi O'Donahue's spirited lighting design. The first sight of the crew, decked out in Mia Gyzander's button-front hot pants and crop tops, is unforgettable, especially when combined with Ken Roht's skippy-hoppy choreography. Savage must have workshopped this thing to death in his head, because it certainly doesn't look like a first outing. The performances and design elements combine to form a creation of finely tuned camp, which never deflates into sloppiness or self-indulgence. The juxtaposition of contemporary sensibilities with Victorian conventions is especially delicious. This is top-drawer topsy-turvy.

Frontiers Magazine
Pinafore!
It's smooth sailing all the way as prodigiously creative writer/director Mark Savage ("The Ballad of Little Mikey") sinks his teeth into Gilbert and Sullivan's archaic but durable "H.M.S. Pinafore" (1878), turning the seafaring operetta on its homophobic Victorian ear. Like John Fisher's brilliant "Medea: The Musical" (1998), this is that rare example of a camp comedy that has more on its mind than innocuous fluff. Savage's ingenious creation is a razor-sharp, satirical view of Bill Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and an incisive commentary on gender-role reversal, an inspired spin on the original show's jokes about British class structure. At the same time, it's a dazzling confection, polished to a fine sheen and blessed with a splendidly harmoniouscast.

Employing the sharpest knack for song parody this side of Gerard Alessandrini, Savage rewrites the public-domain Gilbert and Sullivan song lyrics to uproarious effect. He transfers the story from the 19th-century British Navy to a contemporary separate-but-equal gay Navy unit in Palm Springs, sponsored by an opportunistic senator (David Gilliam Fuller) in the wake of a failed "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Spicing up the mix are the purportedly straight sailor Dick Dockstrap (Christopher Hall), the Captain's dress-wearing son Joseph (Christopher Sands), and three new cross-dressing recruits (Chadwick T. Adams, Antonio Martinez and Scott Scarboro, all superb). When both the self-serving senator and the naive Dick set their sights on Joseph/Josephina (with Dick unaware that she's a he), the zany complications ensue. Heading the tight ensemble, the wide-eyed, lanky Hall (heir apparent to Tommy Tune), is a charming and hilarious hero with star-caliber charisma. Same goes for the divine Sands, whose histrionic diva antics and booming falsetto provide sheer comic bliss. As the self-serving politician, Fuller is a song-and-dance man extraordinaire; ditto for Michael Gregory as the sexually ambiguous Capt. Corkinit. Debra Lane delights as the buxom "Bitter Butterball" (demure Miss Buttercup in the Gilbert and Sullivan original).

Also deserving applause are Jason Boegh, John Brantley Cole Jr., Neal Allen Hyde and Stephen Janji as the nimble-footed, oh-so-dainty ship crew and Wilson Raiser as the more mature "bear daddy" sailor, Harry Heavyset. Robert Prior's lovely pastel cartoon set is super-slick; Kathi O'Donahue's lighting is spectacular; and Mia Gyzander's costumes are deliciously witty. Ron Snyder provides crackerjack musical direction, and Ken Roht's campy choreography is a hoot. In recent years, the Celebration has been scrambling to achieve a genuine mega-hit. Thanks to Capt. Savage and his hearty crew, that scramble is over.
--Les Spindle

LA Weekly - PINAFORE! - Pick of the Week 9-14-01
10/12/2001 4:55:44 PM
Transmogrified to Palm Springs and a fantastical present, writer-director Mark Savage's priceless parody of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic operetta melds delightful nonsense with mordant wit. Embroidered with gender-bending twists, it unfurls against the backdrop of a specially created all-gay Navy, commandeered by an unusual admiral, Maryland's Senator Barney Crank (David Gillam Fuller). R. Christofer Sands towers above all as Josephine, whose comic vivacity comes filtered through the serenity of a command performance. Though the piece gibes at hypocrites on both sides of the sexual and political spectrum, its reprised finale lingers memorably as an anthem for progressives' defiance in the face of right-wing ascendancy. Celebration Theater, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; thru Nov. 21. (310) 289-2999. (DK)

www.westhollywood.com
...deliciously entertaining gay reinvention

Theater Review: by Stan Wu

Those uptight, burly and very properly English Gilbert and Sullivan heroes of yore are favorites of true musical theater fans (read: gay men) everywhere. Through countless productions of "The Pirates of Penzance" or "The Mikado,", we've all escaped into this semi-fantasy world of derring do, witty lyrics, and lush music. But what if-there was something more to all these idealized male figures? Finally, someone (Mark Savage) has adapted a G&S musical to play off all of this long-simmering gay male consciousness, all the male bonding, averted glances and camp, to create this brilliant, deliciously entertaining gay reinvention.

Everything you know and love from the original "H.M.S. Pinafore" is turned on its head. The dutiful sailors are now a bunch of randy queen in the first all-gay Navy. The lovestruck Josephine has morphed into Joseph/Josephine, the captain's transvestite son, and has fallen in love with Dick Dockstrap (an ebullient and sly Christopher Andrew Hall), a common sailor who "happens to be straight." Every scene, every moment is delightfully inverted, and a group of flamboyant (surprise!) drag queen sailors add to merriment of living in a parallel gay universe. What remains from the original, however, are the timeless songs, and the talented cast (especially the fabulous countertenor R. Christopher Sands as Joseph/Josephine), sings them with energy and full commitment. The now male-to-male love songs are imbued with extra poignancy.

The production values overall are excellent, especially the colorful set and vibrant lighting. The occasional "winks" to the audience, witty remarks and updated dialogue with references to Palm Springs, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, etc. let the audience in on the joke that they're twisting a classic to serve a greater comic purpose. And the audience loved every minute of it.

 Saturday, October 13, 2001

'Pinafore' loaded with gaity and humor

By John Farrell
Special to the Press-Telegram

The question everyone asks is "Would Gilbert and Sullivan approve?" Fair enough."Pinafore!" Mark Savage's bitingly satirical gay version of the 1878 classic, now in an extended run at the Celebration Theatre in West Hollywood, takes Gilbert's story of naval nonsense and moves it from the parliamentary politics of Queen Victoria's era to the sexual politics of our own, and everyone wonders how the original authors would have reacted. Badly, to be sure.

William Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan were the perfect embodiment of Victorian propriety, and sex was not a topic for polite conversation, or for the theater. But if they had lived in the last 50 years, years filled with sexual liberation and sexual excess, it is hard to see how Gilbert, one of the world's great puncturers of all kinds of egotistical excess, could have brought himself to avoid the inherent comedy of our current gender wars.

Since he wasn't available, Savage did the honors. He has an ear for the rhythms of Gilbert's lyrics, and a sense of humor that is acid, witty, brilliant but ultimately, like Gilbert, life-affirming and gentle. And a respect for his material that makes all the difference.

Others might have had the idea of taking H.M.S. Pinafore into the "don't ask, don't tell" navy of the new century, but only Savage could have handled the task with such gentle skill. Every song from the original, well-loved classic, save a couple, survive in this production, words altered, to be sure, but never without both Gilbert's spirited comedy or Sullivan's elegant and enchanting musical wit.

The story, of course, is just a little different. In this, the all-gay navy, Pinafore docks in gay-friendly Palm Springs, and the Pinafore's Captain Corkinit, played with serious demeanor by Michael Gregory, wants his son, Joseph, (Christofer Sands) to become, through surgery, Josephine, so he can marry the Commander in Chief of the gay navy, Senator Barney Crank of Maryland. (in Thursday's production Richard Fox temporarily took over the role, usually played by David Gillam Fuller.) Dick Dockstrap, the best seaman on board Pinafore, even though he is both straight and a staunch (gasp!) Republican, loves Joseph/Josephine and only at the play's end is it revealed that Poor Little Bitter Buttercup (Debra Lane) switched two babies when she was a nurse, and the Captain is actually straight, and Dick comes from gay parents.

This typically Gilbertian outcome works as well as it does in large part because of the performers, and the production. Even in the more-than-intimate confines of the small Celebration Theater there is plenty of movement. Ken Roht's choreography uses ever bit of the small stage to perfection. The single piano at the back of the stage hardly rivals a pit orchestra, but the cast sings with real skill and sincerity, and ever word is understandable, an important part of Gilbertian satire.

Christofer Sands is the center of this "Pinafore!" playing Josephine for every ounce of humor and pathos. Sands is a classically trained countertenor, which means that when he sings Josephine's music the soprano voice he uses is really his. But he is also a remarkable actor, always funny with perfect timing and a sense of how to keep all the nonsense real, which is essential if the piece is to work. Hall is wonderfully innocent as Dick Dockstrap and sings his duet with Josephine with real musical strength.

Michael Gregory's Captain Corkinit is a wonderful comic turn. Wilson Raiser, as Harry Heavyset, the 12-step-recovering embodiment of the original Dick Deadeye, is equally engaging, gruff and misunderstood in his all-leather uniform.

Debra Lane makes Bitter Butterball a larger-than-life character, always ready with a witty aside. Even with book in hand, Fox made an impressive Barney Crank. Who is ready to use the all-gay navy for his political purposes. One of those is to introduce to his masculine gay navy transvestites, and the three drag queens who are his "sisters, cousins and aunts," Chadwick T. Adams, Antonio Martinez and Scott Scarsboro, huge hairdos (complete with nautical decorations) and high-heels.

With all this wonderful excess, this is still a musical to be appreciated for its tunes. Sullivan's music is treated with the attention it deserves, sung with its intricacies and difficulties intact. Except for Savage's brilliant changes, this could be a first-rate production of "H.M.S. Pinafore."

Certainly, Savage knows how to direct comedy and punctuates every joke with sharp-eyed skill. But, be warned, this is no show for young children, as the original is. The sexual material is gentle, never brutally frank (well, hardly ever!) but still adult fair. But for adults, and Gilbert and Sullivan fans, this show is a treat, one of those theater pieces in which everything works to perfection, in which the cast works as a team, and in which every laugh is richly deserved.

http://www.kcrw.org/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=th&air_date=10/11/01&tmplt_type=show

KCRW Theatre Talk 10-11-01 Transcribed:
10/30/2001 3:25:11 AM
"This is Jennie Webb with Theatre Talk for KCRW. In 'times that try our souls,' when we're surrounded by images of an almost unbelievable reality, to get away-can be a really good thing. …(reviews of Chay Yew's "Red", Blue Palm "Childhood") … Be sure to leave the youngsters at home, though for Pinafore!, Mark Savage's cross-dressing version of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. Presented by Savage's Queering the Classics, which layers gay interpretations on top of everything from Shakespeare to Strindberg, the outrageously funny and very very clever Pinafore is - an out of the closet hoot! The operetta is set in a future where president Al Gore has had enough of "don't ask, don't tell." He's created a separate but equal gay navy fleet. And the boys are all happy, eager to salute their commander in chief. ..uh-huh…Gives the term "queen's navy" a bit more punch Savage has twisted the familiar plot to include political barbs, West Hollywood in-jokes and of course plenty of costume changes. Every character has a secret and there are nasty surprises stowed beneath the deck. It's all very silly, but Ken Roht throws in snappy choreography and Savage's direction is tight, sexy, and smart. The cast is one-hundred percent committed to the cause and headed by some real knockouts, particularly countertenor Christofer Sands as Joseph, … or Josephine, the captain's… offspring. It'll make you look at the armed services in a whole new light - which isn't bad at all in a time like this. Pinafore runs through November 25th the Celebration Theatre. This is Jennie Webb for Theatre talk, KCRW

iN Los Angeles
Vol 4, Issue 17 * Oct 9-22, 2001

Pinafore ****
by David Nichols

History has upped the ante on Pinafore, currently extended at the Celebration Theatre, as if the stakes weren't already thigh-high at the September 7 opening, the performance under review. For this lifelong Savoyard, personal objectivity is virtually impossible, the eyebrows automatically raised at revisionist tactics.

Revisionist scarcely describes the strategic maneuvers hoisted upon William Shwenck Gilbert, Sir Arthur Sullivan, and their 1878 vessel reimagined by writer/director Mark Savage and his demented task force. Queen Victoria's good ship Pinafore is transformed into a Palm Spring-docked cruiser packed with good ship lollipop boys and victorious queens.

Obviously (unless one has spent September in outer space), the global paradigm has since experienced a catastrophic shift, changing perceptive and reasoning with it. What initially seemed wishful thinking in the premise--an alternative outcome to last November's presidential election, results in a separate-but equal gay Navy, transferring Giblet's topsy-turvydom to sexual identity and American political inequity--now plays another topical hornpipe altogether.

The free-range barrage of audacious riffs is thus re-fractured, beyond the previously established camp directives. Savage's winking libretto and lyrics, with redrawn dilemma of reluctantly cross-dressing juvenile torn between opportunistic Congressman and self-identified "heterosexual gay sailor," signify a heightened queer and present danger of hysterical laughter.

As Joseph-alias Josephine, the extraordinary R. Christofer Sands commands unconditional surrender. Words cannot convey the knee-slapping intoxication of his guileless deadpan, or the Beatrice Lillie-meets Maria Callas impact of his classically trained larynx. Opposite this sublime turn, Christopher Andrew Hall's Dick Dockstrap provides pricelessly self-effacing counter to Sands' tenor, and heavenly to look upon.

Michael Gregory's Captain Corkinit, Chadwick T. Adams' Aunt Hebe, Wilson Raiser's Harry Heavyset, and the sole genetic female on board, Debra Lane's Bitter Butterball, are staunchly hilarious. So is the service of Jason Boegh, John Brantley Cole, Jr., Neal Allen Hyde, Steven Janji, Antonio Martinez, and Scott Scarboro. This toothsome crew achieves taut vocal cohesion under Ron Snyder's superb musical stewardship, and closes the gaps in Ken Roht's intermittently witty choreographic drillwork.

For though the corps spirit is on-target throughout, occasionally the executive branch veers off course. The comic effectiveness of David Gilliam Fuller's Senator Barney Crank resides in visual resemblance to certain politicians and/or televangelists; little equivalency to the original's sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B. is detectable in text or portrayal. The rushed second act is bereft of the irreplaceable "Things are seldom what they seem" and "Never mind the why and wherefore," and "Lady Marmalade" isn't adequate compensation.

Robert Prior's abstract set is solid, if conservative for him, and resourcefully lighted by Kathi O'Donohue. Mia Gyzander's respectable costume scheme suffers two isolated misfires in the Josephine and Butterball outfits, the former as Edwardian Karen Carpenter with Loretta Lynn hair, the latter as all-purpose opera chorister. These reservations remain irrelevant in the face of such vital, delicious irreverence, and readers are advised to secure reservations while they still can. As for this writer, he remains a lib-er-al.

Pinafore! Floats
from showmag.com by Rob Stevens
10/30/2001 3:30:56 AM
Writer/director Mark Savage's The Ballad of Little Mikey was one of Celebration Theatre's biggest hits. He has returned now with an even more assured outing Pinafore!, his delightful re-tinkering of Gilbert & Sullivan's operetta H.M.S. Pinafore. Savage has cleverly adapted Gilbert's libretto, setting the action in the near future when America's military policy of "don't ask, don't tell" has proven to be a total failure. The opportunistic Senator Barney Crank (David Gilliam Fuller) has created a gay navy that sails alongside the regular. The action takes place aboard the H.M.S. Pinafore which is docked off Palm Springs. (Suspend disbelief and really enjoy yourself.) Captain Corkinit (Michael Gregory) commands the gay crew which includes the strapping straight sailor, Dick Dockstrap (Christopher Hall). They are preparing for a visit from Sen. Crank, who wants to marry the captain's son Joseph (Christopher Sands), but only if he promises to dress as a woman. Transvestites are more 'in' than regular gays now, and the Senator has also brought along a contingent of drag queens, led by Auntie Hebe (Chadwick T. Adams) to serve in the navy. But Joseph pines for Dick, and Dick is so dense he doesn't realize Joe is Josephine, the girl he pines for. Confused yet? Wait. The Captain, although enjoying his playful crewmen, also gets hot when Bitter Butterball (Debra Lane), a peddler woman who sells condoms and handcuffs to the sailors, is around. In good operetta fashion, everyone ends up happily with the people they want and all sing their way to a happy ending. Getting there is all the fun in this production. Savage's direction is tight and well-paced, never a slack moment as the laughter continues to build. Musical Director Ron Snyder lends great accompaniment on piano, and the cast is in good voice. Everyone seems to be having fun and their joy is infectious. Hall is appropriately blond and vacant as Dick, while Sands, a countertenor, hits all the high notes with ease. Sands' performance is one of the best of the year, amazing in its subtlety as in its slapstick. After each aria, he appropriately takes his/her bows as a true diva should. Brava, diva! May you and Pinafore! sail out theatrical seas for a long time to come. Pinafore!, produced by Derek Charles Livingston and Dennis R. Nollette at Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood. (310) 289-2999. $22-25. Thur-Sat, 8; Sun, 7. Closes Nov. 25.

Orange County Blade October 2001
10/30/2001 3:34:56 AM
Orange County Blade October 2001 Gilbert & Sullivan with a gay theme A Theatre Review by Joseph S Amster and Vincent B. Croome Whether you have to drive, take a bus, take a train, or crawl, get to the Celebration Theater in Los Angeles to see their production of "Pinafore" before it closes on October 14. This update of Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore" is a retelling of the tale, but with a campy twist. Realizing that "Don't Ask - Don't Tell" is an utter failure, the president has established a separate all-gay Navy. With that as its premise, "Pinafore" takes all the usual twists and turns typical of Gilbert and Sullivan, but with a gay theme throughout. Gilbert and Sullivan are either turning in their graves, or looking down and laughing out loud, as we did during this excellent production. Mark Savage has done a superior job adapting and directing this classic operetta; the wit and turns of phrase to a hilarious gay theme are done seamlessly - and with results that will leave you rolling in the aisles. Standouts in the cast include Christopher Sands as Joseph/Josephine, Christopher Hall as Dick Dockstrap, and Debra Lane as Bitter Butterball. Everyone in the cast turns in superior performances, and the sailors seem to have been chosen for their flat stomachs and small navels, happily displayed by revealing tank tops. One of the sailors is a local boy: Steve Janji (Sailor 3) a graduate of Cal State Fullerton. Throw into the mix drag queens, endless circuit party jokes, a couple of token straights, Senator Barney Crank, and a ship docked off Palm Springs and you get the picture. We hope the limited run at the Celebration Theater will not be the end for this production. We could easily see it running for months in Los Angeles, and, dare we say, Off-Broadway. We certainly hope so. 'Pinafore' runs Thursdays through Sundays until October 14.

Valley Scene Talking Theatre with Don Grigware
10/30/2001 3:36:02 AM
Mark Savage has returned to the Celebration Theatre and has directed his new version of Gilbert & Sullivan's Pinafore, and it's an unqualified smash hit! With such heavenly singing and fluid pacing, the masters would relish the camp and condone any naughty transgressions in the lyrics! R. Christofer Sands as Joseph/Josephine brings his brilliant countertenor to the LA stage once again, after his tremendous success in Miss Desmond Behind Bars. Debra Lane as Bitter Butterball, the only woman in the show, sings like a bird and is hilarious to watch as the starving wench. First-class production

ENTERTAINMENT TODAY, 11/2/01
TICKETHOLDERS
by Travis Michael Holder

Pinafore!
Celebration Theatre

In these times when we all so desperately need a good laugh, what a
wonderfully silly way to spend an evening. Mark Savage, who honed his
satirical chops with the original musical The Ballad of Little Mikey -- which
filled this same theatre to capacity for months both in 1994 and 1996 -- has
taken that famous old warhorse operetta HMS Pinafore and cleverly updated it
into a refreshingly ridiculous modern version, now simply called Pinafore!
And if any old Gilbert & Sullivan classic isn't suspicious enough, this
time out Pinafore! is openly, unswervingly, unrepentingly, outrageously,
hilariously…well…gay, okay? Responding to the obvious failure of the U.S.
military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, the premise is that the President,
in a haze of political correctness, has created a separate-but-equal navy
populated only by boys who favor boys. Stuffed into teeny-weeny wife beaters
and bulging britches, the swabbies and swabettes of Mark Savage's
light-footed navy sing cheerfully as they scrub the quarter-deck to
perfection and polish the brass rails til they gleam, surely making poor
misters G & S spin wildly in their graves with lyrics such as: "We sail the
ocean blue / And our saucy ship's a doozy / We've a sexy sailor crew / So our
cruiser's plenty cruisy / 'Tis our duty to pursue / Love and peace, goodwill
and booty."
Docked in the friendly port of Palm Springs, a neat trick to be sure, the
Prez has further tested the dangerous waters of approval ratings by
appointing liberal Senator Barney Crank (the spectacularly voiced David
Gilliam Fuller) to oversee the Boys in Blue and Sequins. But when he arrives
for inspection, he brings along three new recruits he feels would be just the
thing to beef up his image in his district: three full-on drag queens
(Chadwick T. Adams, Antonio Martinez and Scott Scarboro), each with huge
glittery life preservers, ship's wheels, anchors and other seagoing
paraphernalia wound expertly in their massive beehive hairdos. As the new
inductees prance about wildly and warble loudly in their shrillest falsettos:
"Gaily tripping / Lightly skipping / Flock the maidens to the ship-ping," the
sailors are not pleased with the intrusion. "Do they need special bathrooms
or bigger mirrors with lights?" asks the Captain (Michael Gregory) as the
sailors grumble in song: "Barney Crank has lost a screw / Can he do this to
us? / Must a sexy sailor crew / Be a messmate to a trannie?"
God, to say Mark Savage, who also directs with the same signature humor,
pulls out all the stops here is a most definite understatement. To further
the thin but convoluted plotline, Sen. Crank is also engaged to the Captain's
offspring, the crossdressing Joseph (R. Christofer Sands), but the lad/lass
is instead in love with lowly sailor Dick Dockstrap (Christopher Andrew
Hall), the only closet heterosexual -- and worse yet, Republican -- in the
crew. But as Joseph dreams of their future together, including a double-wide
trailer in Riverside County, there is one more major problem. Although Dick
returns his sentiments, he has no idea Joseph isn't a Josephine.
There are no dead spots in Pinafore!, just continuous goofiness and
rapidfire jokes, all set to the original score of the 120-year-old original.
Joseph's first number, sung simply as he broods alone in his stateroom, is a
sad little ballad performed by Sands in fine voice. But as it ends, he steps
behind a screen to get ready for the visit from his intended Senator,
suddenly emerging in full female regalia -- but that's not what's so
astounding. Out of his mouth comes the most amazing, obviously highly-trained
operatic countertenor that you'll ever hear. No wonder Sands has appeared six
times as Mary Sunshine in the musical Chicago. His talent is more than simply
unique; his Josephine voice is sure to make your jaw drop immediately right
down to there.
Hall is a total scream as the dumb and squeaky-clean Dick Dockstrap,
fearlessly game and exceptionally brave in all his choices for the
over-the-top character. Fuller is a hoot as the Senator, several times
lifting his ever-present walking stick right up to the lights to shuffle or
tap offstage as trippingly as Cagney himself. Gregory is also a major asset
as the Captain who discovers along the way -- horror of horrors -- that he is
heterosexual and Debra Lane is hilarious as resident fag-hag Bitter
Butterball, whose massive bouncing boobies help convince the Captain to
change his ways. The chorus, consisting of boatswain Neal Allen Hyde
(possessed of a voice ready for "Ol' Man River" packed into his diminutive
frame), John Brantley Cole, Jason Bough, and Sean Snow, couldn't possibly be
better cast or more fun to watch singing through their daily rounds posing
with perfect Circuit Party pretense. And it's hard to keep one's eyes off the
huge, Karloff-ian Wilson Raiser, who plays Harry Heavyset, the ship's
leather-loving and most disliked swabbie, who eventually finds true love with
the Senator.
Oh, Mark, you silly Savage you. Simply, Mr. Savage's Pinafore! is the
kind of show that is guaranteed, no matter what your own sexual orientation
or disdain for drag humor may be, to make the tears roll down your cheeks-no,
not those cheeks! What, did you already see this show? For tickets, call
(310) 289-2999.

TRAVIS MICHAEL HOLDER, Theatre Editor for E.T. since 1990, has been an actor
since the age of three and is veteran of five Broadway shows and numerous
national and international tours. He has been honored with the LA Drama
Critics' Circle (LADCC) Award for Lead Performance, a Drama-Logue Award, an
unprecedented four Maddy Awards, an Inland Theatre League Award, two LA
Weekly Best Actor nominations, an Ovation nomination, five Garland Award
honorable mentions, as a finalist for the GLAAD Media Award, and he received
three regional awards for his direction and performance as Dr. Martin Dysart
in Equus. As a playwright, five of his plays have been produced in L.A. since
1994.

The Pink Sheet October 2001
By Ted Flagg
10/30/2001 3:36:59 AM
If you're looking for an all-out good-time show to lift your spirits after the September I I disaster, Pinalfore! may be just what the doctor ordered. This "queered" version of Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore, inventively adapted and directed by Mark Savage, is a delight from start to finish. The score has been left pretty much intact, but Savage strikes a clever and contemporary satiric note to the book and lyrics. In this rendition, set in a slightly improbable present, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has failed entirely, and a separate gay branch of the navy has been created, commanded by Senator Barney Crank, Democrat of Maryland (David Gillam Fuller). And the good ship Pinafore is anchored off Palm Springs-presumably quite far off. The ship is commanded - by Captain Corkinit (Michael Gregory), whose transvestite son Joseph/Josephine (Christopher Sands) is being courted by Senator Crank. But naive, bright-eyed young sailor Dick Dockstrap (Christopher Hall), who's laboring under the delusion that he is straight, thinks that Josephine is a real girl, and has fallen madly in love with him. Dear Little Buttercup is here transformed into buxom fag-hag Bitter Butterball (Debra Lane). The plot is nonsense, of course, as it always was, but it's delicious nonsense (the commander's "sisters, and his cousins and his aunts" are now played by a flamboyant trio of drag queens). Savage's direction is as slick and witty as his lyrics, and musical director Ron Snyder leads the singers with precision and style. Robert Prior's sherbet colored sets are a feast for the eyes, and Mia Gyzander's costumes artfully blend Victorian fripperies with more modern fashions. (The fey but jolly tars on the Pinafore wear fetching short pants and bare-midriff T-shirts.) Ken Roht's choreography is gloriously silly, and Kathi O'Donohue's lights bathe everything in a golden glow. But the individual performances are the evening's triumph. Christopher Sands (Joseph/Josephine) is a trained counter-tenor, with comic expertise to match his vocal skills. With unerring aim, he skewers all the mannerisms and affectations of diva-dom, from Callas to Florence Foster Jenkins. As Dick Dockstrap, Christopher Hall is so wide-eyed one fears his eyeballs may fall out, and he knows how to burlesque the idiocies of Victorian idealism/romanticism. Debra Lane's Butterball provides wry running commentary, with a raunchy wit that constantly threatens to scuttle the Victorian proprieties, and David Fuller and Michael Gregory provide yeoman service as the Senator and the Captain. The crew (Wilson Raiser, Neal Allen Hyde, John Brantley Cole, Jr., Jason Boegh and Steven Janii) and the drag queens (Chadwick P. Adams, Antonio Martinez, and Scott Scarboro) provide their own brand of zest and charm, and help to make the production as memorable as it is hilarious

Out.com
Jeffrey Epstein

If you're going to rework a classic, you had better do it right. Luckily, in his attempt to "queer" up the Gilbert and Sullivan classic H.M.S. Pinafore adaptor-director Mark Savage is terrifically successful. Forget what you know about Pinafore. It's best to start from scratch. The ship is now part of the gay Navy, a creation of President Al Gore, which has set its anchor down in the port of...Palm Springs, Calif. Among all the gay, gay, gay sailors on board, one of them is a heterosexual, Dick Dockstrap (Christopher Hall, pictured center, with the other sailors), who is in love with the captain's "daughter," Josephine (R. Christofer Sands), who is actually Joseph, the captain's son, who is dressing in drag, having been betrothed to the liberal senator Barney Crank, who wants to be married to a transgendered person. While the dialogue, lyrics, and hysterically overstylized direction all work well, the gag does begin to wear a little thin. Thankfully, Savage keeps throwing new things (a gaggle of drag queens, for one) at you. The cast is mostly terrific, with the slight exception of Hall who, while physically perfect for Dick, lacks the vocal chops the role requires; his acting, though, is dead on. Sands is delightful as Josephine. It's been extended into the New Year, so hop on board.

No, it's not exactly the "H.M.S. Pinafore" that Grandma remembered, the show that had her humming "They call me their Buttercup, dear little Buttercup," for 20 years. This crew is a gay one, and a talented and funny assemblage they are, unless you're a purist when it comes to Gilbert and Sullivan.

Mark Savage has adapted the old parties famous music hall piece with some extravagant gay camp and merriment, which is something that The Celebration Theatre has done well for several years now. Some of the new song titles, which include "A Gay Male Tar" and "The Drag Lesson," essentially tell you everything you need to know about these sailors who have just come into "port" in, of all places, Palm Springs.

Most of the old comic cliches, like mistaken identity, are left in and there is some well-intentioned poking of fun at the straight world. Unfortunately, all discipline goes by the boards when a group of drag queens are unexpectedly brought on deck to the amusement and eventual corruption of the crew. But at the end, cooler heads prevail.

The singing, dancing, and choreography are first rate in all respects, as are the comedy moments. If the camp is piled on a little heavily sometimes, the overall comic effect is sustained.

Under Savage's direction, the entire crew of Christopher Hall, Wilson Raiser, John Brantley Cole, Jason Boegh, and Sean Snow are brightly engaging. R. Christopher Sands at the effete son of the captain and David Gilliam Fuller as Senator Barney Crank in a thinly disguised caricature of our most famous gay legislator take the top honors, however. But Michael Gregory, as the ship's captain, and Debra Lane as Mrs. Cripps (Butterball), are also engaging.

Like many another parody presented at the Celebration over the years (one thinks of Naked Boys Singing and Two Old for The Chorus as two examples) there is nothing here to offend even Grandma, who might welcome a little variation on the old score.

Pinafore is a pure musical delight. And when was the last time you were able to say that about a show?