Pinafore! (Original Los Angeles Cast)

Adapted by Mark Savage from HMS Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Adapted by Mark Savage from HMS Pinafore by Gilbert & Sullivan
• Audio CD (March 5, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Original Cast Record
• ASIN: B000063TKR
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #477,571 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Introduction/We Sail the Ocean Blue

2. I'm Called Bitter Butterball

3. But Tell Me

4. The Nightingale

5. A Maiden Fair to See

6. My Gallant Crew/I Am the Captain

7. Sir, You Are Sad

8. Sorry His Lot

9. The Commander's Car Is Seen

10. Now Give Three Cheers/I am the Monarch

11. When I Was A Lad

12. For I Hold That On The Seas

13. A Gay Male Tar

14. Refrain, Audacious Tar

15. Can I Survive This Overbearing

16. Oh Joy, Oh Rapture

17. This Very Night

18. Your Little Plan We Have Overheard

19. For The New Gay Tar

20. Entr'acte

See all 30 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

F. Kathleen Foley, Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2001

giddy comic romp - wickedly incisive sendup of "don't ask, don't tell". The belly laughs keep coming CRITICS CHOICE

Product Description

Original Cast recording of the World Premiere production. From HMS Pinfore by Gilbert & Sullivan, Adapted and Directed by Mark Savage. The Operetta is reset in the new gay Navy ("Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was a disaster, so president Al Gore is trying "Separate But Equal") They're docked in Palm Springs, CA. awaiting the arrival of their commander, the oh-so-PC Senator Barney Crank, Democrat of Maryland. Spicing up the mix are the only straight sailor on board, Dick Dockstrap, the Captain's dress-wearing son, Joseph, and three new cross-dressing recruits. When both the Senator and the naive Dick set their sights on Josephine, the complications ensue. An obsession is revealed, an Elopement foiled, a crime confessed, and a Happy Finale ends it all.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Witty Satire, Clever Premise, Amazing Performance, December 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Pinafore! (Original Los Angeles Cast) (Audio CD)

I saw this incredibly clever, funny show many times in Los Angeles and while the CD does preserve a record of the show, it does not, however, give it the justice it - and Mark Savage, its creator - deserves. The vocals could use some reverb - things sound a bit tinny - but it does present one of the best performances I have ever seen and heard.

R. Christofer Sands as "Joseph/Josephine" gives a hysterical performance. His radient, clear countertenor voice effortlessly soared to the soprano heights clearly, amazingly and obviously well within his range. His is a muscular voice, with a delicate vibrato, clever phrasing, expert timing, and spot-on tonal quality. Not at all like the fat soprano sound produced by most countertenors, Sands' voice was clear and bell-like, sounding quite a bit like the legendary Barbara Cook. As for his live performance, one critic described it as "the closest we come to American Kabuki." I kept thinking of Cirque du Soleil. He was brilliant.

Christopher Hall as the "love is blind" lad, 'Dick Dockstrap, whose lanky, yet muscular body houses a voice quaking with ardor, and the swarthy, handsome, daddy-type 'Captain Corkinit' of Michael Gregory are the other standouts of this recording. As 'Bitter Butterball,' Debra Lane, the only real woman in the cast, displays genuine warmth and affection in her rich, creamy voice. David Gillam Fuller as 'Senator Barney Crank' is all appropriate bombast, while Wilson Raiser as the duplicitous 'Harry Heavyset' is ineffective and ultimately forgettable. The chorus of sailor boys could benefit the most by adding reverb, and the 'DQ's' (sister, cousin, aunt) were more visually effective than vocal.

4.0 out of 5 stars An absolute HOOT!, June 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Pinafore! (Original Los Angeles Cast) (Audio CD)

This recording may not be for everyone, but there is no denying its biting wit and clever satire.

This show was an absolute HOOT and a surprise sleeper of the LA 2001 Theatre Season! After its opening on September 7, "Pinafore!" won the triple crown of LA Theatre: LA Times Critic's Choice, LA Weekly's Pick of the Week and Backstage West Critic's Pick. The show ran an amazing nine months to Sold Out houses.

While hearing this CD is not the same experience as seeing the show, it does preserve the exhilarating "soprano" of countertenor R. Christofer Sands winner, who's performance was and remains worthy of the myriad of accolades it received.

Winning the LA Ovation award for his performance, R. Christofer Sands was also nominated for local Robby, BSW/Garland and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle awards. His brilliance - unique, fresh and original - was astonishingly and unfathomably denied these honors. However, writer Mark Savage was justly awarded these accolades for his adaptation of one of the most well-known G&S works.The show also won many local awards for its musical direction (Ron Snyder) and clever choreography (Ken Roht), and the LA Weekly Theatre Awards presented Debra Lane and R. Christofer Sands with Special Commendations for Musical Performance.

Following its success in LA and Chicago, and Best Overall Production Excellence Award at the 2003 NYCFringe International Festival, "Pinafore!" is currently hoping to find a safe harbor in NYC. Here's hoping for a delightfully long voyage there.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly fantastic queer send up of aG&S Operetta, April 17, 2002

By 

Coco Pazzo (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pinafore! (Original Los Angeles Cast) (Audio CD)

Hysterically, funny, well sung...If you like COMEDY in your Musical Comedy, this is the CD to get.