Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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20 THE ASHBURIAN DRAMA H.M.S. PINAFOREU Throughout most of the Fall and VV inter Terms the School became accustomed to hearing lunch-time notices about rehearsals for H.M.S. Pinaforen - and it is safe to assume that quite a number of boys had no idea what was going on. All became clear on April 19 and 20th when the Ashbury-Elmwood production of this ever-popular Gilbert and Sullivan operetta was at last staged at Elmwood before enthusiastic and appreciative audiences. It must be said at once that the result of the long weeks of labour added up to a brave and praiseworthy first attempt at a piece on such a large scale, and that much of the performance was faithful to the spirit fif not always to the letterj of Gilbert and Sullivan. Musically, the soloists were generally accurate, and so were the girls of the chorus, the boys, however, were too often unsure of their notes and we heard much weird subterranean duplication of the soprano part! But what the sailors lacked in accuracy they more than atoned for in vigour, exuberance and projection, the girls, by contrast, seemed rather inhibited and lacking in volume - even so, their singing and their appearance were both very sweet! There was too often a lack of liaison between piano C which did duty for an orchestra, in the capable hands of Mrs. Lorna Harwood-jonesj and singers- and between the singers themselves, in spite of the frenzied efforts of the conductor fMr. Geoffrey Thomsonj. Une would have expected him to have lost pounds, but alas .... Now a few words about individual performances. Dawn Har- wood-Jones was excellent as Little Buttercup, she was particularly successful with her ogling of the sailors and her coquettish manner with them fone almost felt that experience might be helping herelj, and her singing and acting generally left nothing to be desired, apart from a tendency to drag out her recitatives. john McColl made a splendid Bill Bobstay, and his high-powered performance of He is an English- man was a major highlight which stopped the show and brought the house down! Ted -lanke was equally successful as Dick Deadeye- ugly, villainous and coarse-voiced, he was a cross between Lon Chaney and Charles Laughton, and he could hardly be faulted, musically or dramatically. Robert Millar as Ralph Rackstraw, the romantic lead, had a far more difficult task - he was generally very convincing and he certainly looked the part, but some of his scenes with Josephine lacked naturalness. and his speech was not always clear, his singing, however, was probably the best of the evening, apart from occasional sharpness. Captain Corcoran, as played by David NlcNaughton, moved rather

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22 THEASHBURIAN woodenly and never seemed very relaxed Cexcept with Buttercupj - even so, the performance had its merits and showed great promise Calthough it is doubtful if the length and style of his hair would ever have allowed him to rise to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy, even in the 19th century! J. Beverley Erlandson as Josephine looked marvellous and acted well- vocally she seemed ill at ease, especially in her upper register, but she evinced far more warmth and affection to Ralph than he to her! Philip Loftus portrayed Sir joseph Porter as a namby-pamby, affected and effeminate First Lord of the Admiralty, this part is open to other interpretations, but this one was perfectly valid and was beautifully sustained. And Elizabeth Tanczyk made more than one would ever have believed possible of the tiny and nondescript Part of Cousin Hebe. Movement and grouping got by, but only just, they were too often unimaginative and awkward. The set was simple but effective, and surmounted most of the limitations imposed by the very small stage. Lighting was not very good, but we gather that the man in charge was ill and unable to be present at the final rehearsals and the performances. Costumes and make-up were entirely satisfactory. There may be some readers who loved every minute of the show and who will regard this as an over-critical review, so let it be said now that the total impact of the performance was great and the audience's enjoyment even greater, because of this it was felt that anythng less than an attempt at serious criticism would have been an insult to the standards reached for Cand, in large measure, attainedl by all who took part. ffH.M.S. PINAFOREW CAST Cin order of appearanceb Little Bzztterczzpv Dawn Harwood-jones Bill Bobsmy John McColl Dick Demleye Ted janke RalplvRackst1n1fw Robert Millar Captain C07 C07'41'11 David McNaughton Iosepliivze Beverly Erlandson Sir joseph P01'te1', K.C.l3. Philip Loftus H elve Elizabeth Tanczyk Sir Josephs Sisters, Cousins and Aunts: liathv Baldwin, jane Blvth, Nlarkic Cochran, jennifer Coyne, Debbie Grills, jackie Heard, janet Hughson, Cathy Klaclaren, Sue Massey, Charlotte Sinclair, joy lYallingford, Vicky XVilgress, Alix Young.