Here is a brief look at times
past—and times to come:
A hyde park mainstay
For those who have thrilled to the Company’s performances over the years, we have a complete chronology of its first 50 productions, with full cast listings, production crews, selected program covers, and many photos featuring the principal stars.
the First 50 Years
``The Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company of Chicago: The First 50 Years`` traces the history of this Hyde Park mainstay. For those who have thrilled to the Company’s performances over the years, this book contains a complete chronology of its first 50 productions, with full cast listings, production crews, selected program covers, and many photos featuring the principal stars. If you are part of a group of G&S fans mounting your own production, you may be inspired by the sets and costumes created by a variety of designers. For those who simply love the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, there are plot summaries of each opera and anecdotes about their first staging by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in London. Author Victoria Granacki was the set designer for 13 Company productions. The book is available from Amazon by clicking the title image above for $10 plus shipping and handling.
| The Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, Inc. |
| Annual Productions 1960 – 2022 |
| Year | Opera | Producer | Director | Music | Scenic Design |
| 1960 | The Gondoliers 1 | Nettie Breslin | Nancy Lorie | Roland Bailey | Harold Bradley |
| 1961 | The Yeomen of the Guard 1 | Louise Pliss | Nancy Lorie | Roland Bailey | Harold Bradley |
| 1962 | HMS Pinafore 1 & Trial by Jury 1 | Nancy Lorie | Nancy Lorie | Roland Bailey | Robert Wallis |
| 1963 | Ruddigore 1 | Nancy Lorie | Nancy Lorie | Roland Bailey | Charles Walls |
| 1964 | The Mikado 1 | Nancy Lorie | Nancy Lorie | Roland Bailey | Harold Bradley |
| 1965 | Iolanthe 1 | Nancy Lorie | Nancy Lorie | Roland Bailey | Harold Bradley |
| 1966 | The Pirates of Penzance 1 | Barbara Currie | Ruth Stack | Roland Bailey | Harold Bradley |
| 1967 | The Gondoliers 2 | Barbara Currie | Ruth Stack | Roland Bailey | Geoffrey Plampin |
| 1968 | Princess Ida 1 | Geoffrey Plampin | Ruth Stack | Roland Bailey | George Sikes |
| 1969 | HMS Pinafore 2 & Cox and Box 1 | Charles Walls | David Currie | Roland Bailey | James Kazanis |
| 1970 | The Yeomen of the Guard 2 | Charles Walls | David Currie | Roland Bailey | Ernest Arnett |
| 1971 | The Mikado 2 | Geoffrey Plampin | Janice Roberts | Roland Bailey | James Kazanis |
| 1972 | Ruddigore 2 | Winfield Smith | Janice Roberts | Roland Bailey | Paul Shedd |
| 1973 | Iolanthe 2 | Winfield Smith | Janice Roberts | Roland Bailey | Ralph LaMantia |
| 1974 | Patience 1 | Winfield Smith | Robert Ashenhurst | Roland Bailey | Ralph LaMantia |
| 1975 | The Pirates of Penzance 2 | Winfield Smith | Robert Ashenhurst | Roland Bailey | Roland Kulla |
| 1976 | The Gondoliers 3 | Winfield Smith | Janice Roberts | Roland Bailey | Roland Kulla |
| 1977 | HMS Pinafore 3 | Marnie Deranian | Robert Ashenhurst | Roland Bailey | Winfield Smith |
| 1977 | The Sorcerer 1 | Winfield Smith | Robert Ashenhurst | Roland Bailey | Winfield Smith |
| 1978 | The Yeomen of the Guard 3 | Ralph LaMantia | David Currie | Roland Bailey | Winfield Smith |
| 1979 | The Mikado 3 | Ralph LaMantia | Robert Ashenhurst | Roland Bailey | Winfield Smith |
| 1980 | Ruddigore 3 | Ralph LaMantia | Ellen Martin | Roland Bailey | Winfield Smith |
| 1981 | Iolanthe 3 | Myrna Lane | Ellen Martin | Roland Bailey | Roland Kulla |
| 1982 | The Gondoliers 4 | Beata Boodell | David Currie | Roland Bailey | Matthew Owens |
| 1983 | HMS Pinafore 4 | Beata Boodell | David Currie | Roland Bailey | Matthew Owens |
| 1984 | Princess Ida 2 | Beata Boodell | David Currie | Roland Bailey | Matthew Owens |
| 1985 | The Mikado 4 | Beata Boodell | David Currie | Roland Bailey | Roland Kulla |
| 1986 | The Pirates of Penzance 3 | Robert Ashenhurst | David Currie | Michael Jinbo | John Vinci |
| 1987 | Ruddigore 4 | Myrna Lane | Robert Ashenhurst | Mark Stahura | Ralph LaMantia |
| 1988 | The Yeomen of the Guard 4 | Myrna Lane | David Currie | Michael Melton | Calvert Audrain |
| 1989 | Iolanthe 4 | Helen Scharbach | David Currie | John Avery | Calvert Audrain |
| 1990 | The Gondoliers 5 | Zarina O’Hagin | David Currie | John Avery | Calvert Audrain |
| 1991 | HMS Pinafore 5 | Patricia Werhane | David Currie | Guy Bordo | Calvert Audrain |
| 1992 | Patience 2 | Helen Scharbach | David Currie | Guy Bordo | Calvert Audrain |
| 1993 | Utopia, Limited 1 | Patricia Werhane | David Currie | Guy Bordo | Calvert Audrain |
| 1994 | The Mikado 5 | Mitchell Brown | Michael Kotze | Guy Bordo | Calvert Audrain |
| 1995 | The Pirates of Penzance 4 | Mitchell Brown | Michael Kotze | Antoinette Arnold | Calvert Audrain |
| 1996 | The Yeomen of the Guard 5 | Mitchell Brown | Michael Kotze | Antoinette Arnold | Paul Billingsley |
| 1996 | The Grand Duke 1 | Mitchell Brown | David Currie | Martha Swisher | (Concert version) |
| 1997 | The Sorcerer 2 | Mitchell Brown | Nicholas Martin | Antoinette Arnold | Paul Billingsley |
| 1998 | Iolanthe 5 | Mitchell Brown | Nicholas Martin | Antoinette Arnold | Calvert Audrain |
| 1998 | Trial by Jury 2 | Ruth Lidecka | David Currie | Martha Swisher | (UC courtroom) |
| 1999 | Ruddigore 5 | Helen Scharbach | David Currie | Antoinette Arnold | Paul Billingsley |
| 2000 | HMS Pinafore 6 | Mitchell Brown | David Currie | Jeri Johnson | Calvert Audrain |
| 2000 | Ivanhoe 1 | Gwyneth Aubrey | David Currie | Martha Swisher | (Concert version) |
| 2001 | Princess Ida 3 | Margaret Schroeder | David Currie | Jeri Johnson | Calvert Audrain |
| 2002 | The Mikado 6 | Cedric Chernick | Michael Kotze | Steven Huang | Paul Billingsley |
| 2003 | The Gondoliers 6 | Cedric Chernick | Adam Kozlowski | Steven Huang | Calvert Audrain |
| 2004 | Patience 3 | Mark A. Johnson | Jill Van Brussel | Chung Park | Calvert Audrain |
| 2005 | The Pirates of Penzance 5 | Mark A. Johnson | Adam Kozlowski | Andrew Koehler | Calvert Audrain |
| 2006 | The Yeomen of the Guard 6 | Mark A. Johnson | Jaime Axtell | Andrew Koehler | Calvert Audrain |
| 2007 | HMS Pinafore 7 | Mark A. Johnson | Thrisa Hodits | William C. White | Victoria Granacki |
| 2008 | Iolanthe 6 | Mark A. Johnson | Thrisa Hodits | William C. White | Victoria Granacki |
| 2009 | Ruddigore 6 | Trip Driscoll | Thrisa Hodits | David Cubek | Victoria Granacki |
| 2010 | The Mikado 7 | Mark A. Johnson | Thrisa Hodits | David Cubek | Victoria Granacki |
| 2011 | The Sorcerer 3 | Trip Driscoll | Thrisa Hodits | Timothy Semanik | Victoria Granacki |
| 2012 | The Gondoliers 7 | Nancy Levner | Thrisa Hodits | Timothy Semanik | Victoria Granacki |
| 2013 | The Pirates of Penzance 6 | Nancy Levner | Thrisa Hodits | Robert Whalen | Victoria Granacki |
| 2014 | HMS Pinafore 8 | Nancy Levner | Charlie Marie McGrath | Robert Whalen | Victoria Granacki |
| 2015 | The Yeomen of the Guard 7 | Nancy Levner | Shane Valenzi | Matthew Sheppard | Victoria Granacki |
| 2016 | Princess Ida 4 | Nancy Levner | Shane Valenzi | Matthew Sheppard | Victoria Granacki |
| 2017 | Iolanthe 7 | Nancy Levner | Shane Valenzi | Matthew Sheppard | Victoria Granacki |
| 2018 | Patience 4 | Nancy Levner | Shane Valenzi | Matthew Sheppard | Victoria Granacki |
| 2019 | Merrie England 1 (German & Hood) | Nancy Levner | Shane Valenzi | Matthew Sheppard | Victoria Granacki |
| 2019 | Time Will Tell (Pollak & Ashenhurst) | Mark A. Johnson | Ross Matsuda | Matthew Sheppard | (Workshop) |
| 2020
|
The Pirates of Penzance: Rehearsed but cancelled due to COVIDCast but postponed again before rehearsals |
Nancy Levner
|
Shane Valenzi
|
Matthew Sheppard
|
Shane Valenzi
|
Princess Ida . . . was a smashing success . . . the evening sped by with laugh after laugh, great song followed by great song.
The evening sped by with laugh after laugh, great song followed by great song. These are folks who know their Gilbert and Sullivan and do it proud.
...faithful to the original while fresh and compelling.
The stage excitement, the music, the jokes, and all the special little touches this company is famous for ring true.
