By Emma R. Adler ’16
With this spring’s production of H.M.S. Pinafore sailing off into the great blue eternity of HRG&SP posterity, it’s time to set our sights on what’s to come. HRG&SP is thrilled to announce our season for the coming year: The Mikado; or, the Town of Titipu in the fall, and The Sorcerer in the spring.
The Mikado will be helmed by the topnotch producing team of Peryn E.A. Reeves-Darby ’18, Michaela J. Kane ’18, and Alexander A. Raun ’17. With this production of The Mikado, HRG&SP hopes to subject problematic aspects of the show to scrutiny, and to contribute to other campus organizations’ efforts to facilitate greater mindfulness and commitment to social justice among Harvard students.
The Sorcerer, written just before Pinafore, has historically enjoyed much less acclaim than The Mikado (not to mention many fewer productions). However, HRG&SP believes that there is plenty to be said for this ugly duckling of the G&S canon, and that its mockery of Victorian obsessions with rank and social niceties will cause it to dovetail nicely with The Mikado, which places similar mores under a satirical microscope.
The Mikado will run in the Agassiz Theater from October 28 through November 4. In the meantime, be sure to check out the production photos from Pinafore, taken by HRG&SP mainstay Joey Goodknight.
Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players 
How about a production of The Grand Duke?
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HRG&SP has traditionally not performed The Grand Duke because of its reputation as the weakest of the canon and also its extreme length; however it was something we discussed possibly doing for the 2016-2017 season! Personally, I think it would be interesting to do The Grand Duke as something new and different for the organization. We’d love to hear what our audience thinks about this so feel free to me an email at hrgsp.historian@gmail.com!
– Barra A. Peak ’18, HRG&SP Historian
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I listened to a D’Oyly Carte recording of The Grand Duke and enjoyed it. It has strong parts on a par with The Sorcerer. A colleague of mine played the Grand Duke in a HRG&SP production many years ago when he was young and charming.
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Correction: My colleague played in the HRG&SP production of the Gondoliers in 1957. He did perform in the Grand Duke but with another G&S company.
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