The Tooley Opera Company

              The Tooley Opera Company
H. M. S PINAFORE

Figure




The Tooley Operatic Productions Presents MR. H. W. D. TOOLEY AS RALPH RACKSTRAW Supported with Beauty and Charm by MISS KEITHA WARD AS JOSEPHINE In the Nautical Lyric Absurdity of GILBERT AND SULLIVAN'S
H. M. S. Pinafore


The Characters


Sir Joseph Porter, K. C. B.
First Lord Admiralty


Capt. Corcoran
Commanding H. M. S. Pinafore


Ralph Rackstraw
MR. H. W. D. TOOLEY


Dick Deadeye
Able Seaman


Josephine, Captain's Daughter
MISS KEITHA WARD


Little Buttercup
A Bumboat Woman


Hebe
Sir Joseph's First Cousin





First Lord's Sisters, Cousins and Aunts; Sailors, etc.


ACT I.—Deck of Her Majesty's Ship Pinafore, lying off Portsmouth (Morning).
ACT II.—Same as Act I. (Evening).

Scenery by Gustav G. Schell; Wigs and Costumes by Chicago Costume Works; Effects by Kliegl.





ARGUMENT
The action of this classic among comic operas takes place entirely on the quarterdeck of H. M. S. Pinafore, with a view of Portsmouth in the distance.  The rising curtain reveals the Boatswain and sailors cleaning brasswork, splicing rope, etc.  To them enters Little Buttercup, a bumboat woman, with her stock of smallwares for sale.  It soon develops that a handsome young sailor, Ralph Rackstraw by name, is in love with his Captain's daughter, Josephine—a love doomed to be hopeless because of the difference in their rank, and because she is betrothed to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Joseph Porter, K. C. B.  In his tender passion Ralph has the sympathy of his messmates, excepting one ill-favored fellow, Dick Deadeye; but he has likewise succeeded in winning the love, though unconfessed, of Josephine, to whom Sir Joseph's attentions are unwelcome.  The lovers confess their mutual passion and plan to steal ashore at midnight and be secretly married, a plan which Dick Deadeye overhears, and resolves to frustrate.



ACT II.
It is night.  The Captain is discovered playing on a mandolin and singing of the misfortunes that seem to have befallen him, and their weight is not lessened by Little Buttercup's hint of portentous mysteries.  Dick Deadeye reveals the plans of the lovers to escape, and they are seized at the moment of departure by the Captain, and Ralph is thrown into a dungeon by Sir Joseph.  In this crisis, Little Buttercup reveals the fact that she was formerly a nurse and had two boys in her charge—one a patrician, the other of low degree, and unfortunately she mixed these children up so that Ralph is really the Captain and the captain, Ralph.  Through this explanation the two exchange offices, and Josephine marries Ralph, who is now the captain of the Pinafore, while her father takes his place as a common sailor.




The Guns of the Pinafore Bring Splendid Reports in the Press

There is a good deal of music in Mr. Tooley's Company.  Each singer shows training and cultivation of musical atmosphere.  Each voice has its share of natural beauty, good quality and color.  As actors the artists show a complete knowledge of the parts they play. … Mr. Tooley as tenor and leading man is smoothly adaptable.  He is never too much in evidence or too little.  Like the rest of the company he works for the interest of the play.  Miss Keitha Ward has a pleasing personality, and there is a genuine personal charm to her singing.
Mr. Windsor P. Daggett in The Billboard


…and to say the audience was pleased is making a very mild statement.  Every part of the opera was well received.  Each member is an artist, and no flaw could be detected throughout the whole evening.
The Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, W. Va.