BRITSBURGH FESTIVAL - Behind the Curtain with The Pittsburgh Savoyards: Patience

Gilbert and Sullivan take on Oscar Wilde and the aesthetes! 

Join the cast and crew of The Pittsburgh Savoyards' upcoming production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Patience; or, Bunthorne’s Bride" at the Savoyards Studio Theater in Bellevue and listen to Pittsburgh Savoyards' vice-president, Robert Hockenberry, take you through the world of fads and those who latch on to them. Then hear music from G&S's satire, Patience, of their stupidity. Guy Russo conducts the Pittsburgh Savoyards orchestra and sings the lyrics. A most enjoyable combination! Beforehand, from 5:30Pm onwards, join us across the street and enjoy dinner and a pint at the Lincoln Avenue Brewery.  

The Pittsburgh Savoyards is a local theater company dedicated to preserving the heritage of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas. This fall, the Savoyards will be presenting Gilbert and Sullivan’s "Patience". Join us at 6:45pm on September 8th for an evening that will take you behind the scenes and into the director’s chair.

Patience; or, Bunthorne’s Bride, satirizes the aesthetic movement of the 1870s and 1880s. Two rival poets, Reginald Bunthorne and Archibald Grosvenor, vie for the affection of the beautiful dairy maid Patience. Bunthorne is a self-proclaimed aesthetic who attracts the attention of the local maidens, despite secretly being a fraud who loathes the movement. Patience, uninterested in the poets, initially struggles with the concept of true love. She ultimately finds herself drawn to Grosvenor, who is genuinely handsome and charming. Meanwhile, the officers of the Dragoon Guards also desire the attention of the maidens, and go to great lengths to try to woo them. The opera humorously critiques the pretensions of the art world and the fickleness of romantic ideals, ending with a series of romantic resolutions that leave the characters paired off happily.

Patience is Gilbert & Sullivan’s sixth composition as a duo and originally premiered in April of 1881. It was the first opera to be performed at the Savoy Theatre in London (the origin of the term “Savoyard”), which was the first theatre in the world to be lit entirely by electric lighting.

We're so grateful that the Pittsburgh Savoyards are welcoming us back to their studio for this popular annual event of the Britsburgh Festival! Come and meet some of the cast and crew of "Patience" during this special experience before the production takes the stage as part of The Pittsburgh Savoyards' 87th season; October 4-13 at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center in Ross Township. Tickets for the show can be found here.

THE DETAILS 

• 5:30 pm - Gather for dinner and a pint at Lincoln Avenue Brewery, 538 Lincoln Ave., Bellevue, PA 15202

• 6:45 pm - Walk across the street to Behind the Curtain at The Savoyards Studio Theatre in Bellevue, 523 Lincoln Ave, Bellevue, PA 15202

TICKETS: Please register for this FREE event. ABSOLUTELY NO ENTRANCE WITHOUT REGISTRATION! Guests are responsible for purchasing their own food/drink at Lincoln Avenue Brewery. Donations to support Britsburgh are welcomed and appreciated.

Explore fascinating British-themed topics with the guidance of experts, and enjoy the company and conversation of fellow enthusiasts as a member of Britsburgh! Visit the Britsburgh membership page to join.

This event is part of the Tenth Annual Britsburgh Festival!