Pinafore is one of the most performed shows in history — on stage somewhere in the world virtually any week in any year … because it is such good fun.  It’s a wonderfully silly spoof of Victorian British snobbery.  It’s a comic musical/opera, filled with well-known ditties and witty repartee.

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Sir Joseph, First Lord of the Admiralty, plans to marry Josephine, daughter of a mere Captain.  She in turn plans to elope (with the crew’s connivance) with Rafe Rackstraw, a mere sailor.  All is changed when Buttercup (who runs a floating convenience store for the fleet) comes forth to reveal her fateful secret of mistaken identity.  The rousing conclusion promises a triple wedding — Hurrah!

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Mounting Pinafore was a big decision for ACT because of the large scale:  40 people on stage plus a medium-size orchestra, a budget $16,000, and a difficult debate about whether to risk the Confederation Centre’s Main Stage.  It did pay off, and led to production of several other G&S comic operas in subsequent years.