“What really makes this Pinafore shine is how well it is sung. For the most part the Festival has cast actors who may have appeared in musicals but who also can sing with the full, rounded tone tone and breath control needed for opera and operetta. One of the main delights of the show are all the songs sung by Mark Uhre as Ralph Rackstraw….

Uhre surprises with his expertise at acting slapstick and in delivering with such aplomb the comically polysyllabic speeches that Gilbert has written for Ralph as an indication of his high-born birth…

Jennifer Rider-Shaw uses a bright, fully operatic soprano for her songs and brings out more meaning in them than I have ever heard before. This is first time I have ever found Josephine’s scena “The Hours Creep on Apace” both gripping and humorous at once.”

“Jennifer Rider-Shaw brings off some bravura coloratura…

Musically, the production is irreproachable, and its imported notions never really obscure the point and fun of the original. What, never? Well, very seldom.”

“As Captain Corcoran, Steve Ross gave one of the finest performances yet seen in this pivotal role: timing, vocal chops and a visage that spoke volumes further cemented his exemplary skills already on view in the previous evening’s Guys and Dolls. More, please.”

“Rider-Shaw has a golden voice and a commanding presence when she takes the stage alone for her performances of Sorry Her Lot and The Hours Creep On Apace. She is also fantastic when matched up with Ross and Murdoch for the best rendition of Never Mind the Why and Wherefore that I’ve seen. She is graceful and funny and can immediately win the audience over with a knowing glance or a well-timed glare or eye roll.”

“With every production there is clearly a scene-stealer, in some cases a show-stealer. The distinction this time belongs to Laurie Murdoch, offering up an intoxicating mix of broad and subtle humour, song and dance, personal sound effects and a stage presence that draws attention to his marvelous characterization of the Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Porter, First Lord of the Admiralty.

Performing a deft juggling act that shifts moment to moment from arrogance and utter bewilderment to shades of both lucidity and lunacy, he is a marvel to behold as he sings “thought so little, they rewarded me by making me the Ruler of the Queen’s Navy” Gilbert’s cheerfully insightful take on the absurdity of the ruling class of the time.”