Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company presents its 50th production 'H.M.S. Pinafore'

For Waldyn Benbenek, it all started with a poster he saw stapled to a south Minneapolis telephone pole in the summer of 1979.

It offered an invitation to meet in the basement of a home in Minneapolis' Kenwood neighborhood and sing the score of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operetta "H.M.S. Pinafore." Having driven his siblings crazy by singing that 19th-century British duo's music around the house since childhood, Benbenek felt compelled to attend.

"The host, Dick Fishel, informed us that our true purpose for being there was to form a Gilbert & Sullivan performing group," Benbenek recalled recently. "Like me, he'd just arrived in town and was disturbed to find no good pizza and no Gilbert & Sullivan group. Our mission was to remedy the latter. A number of people in that basement became stalwarts for the next several years."

The group they formed was the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company, which will present its 50th production in 44 years, beginning this weekend at the Conn Theater in Plymouth Congregational Church, home for the company's productions since 1980.

Which of the silly songfests by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan will it perform? Why, the one that started it all: "H.M.S. Pinafore."

"The philosophy of our founding was and is that those involved in the shows own the company," Benbenek said. "All of us still build the sets, work on the costumes, run the house. As the backstage grew and we built an orchestra, the sense of ownership extended to all involved in the productions.

"The choice of shows we do, the makeup of our board and the rules by which the company runs are decided by the members," he added. "To be a member, you have to have been involved in a production and pay five dollars."

Among those members is Stephen Hage, who's been involved since the mid-'80s. In addition to being the producer who oversees all aspects of the current staging of "H.M.S. Pinafore," he's also one of the sailors in the chorus of this comic love story about life in Her Majesty's Royal Navy in the late 19th century (complete with satirical commentary about classism and incompetent folks rising to leadership posts).

What keeps Hage coming back?

"I can proudly say that almost every production of a show that we do is the best production of that show that we've ever done," he said. "Knowing that the company's next production of a show is likely to be our best yet, I'd struggle to stay away."

Over the course of its 44 years, the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company has also spent summer nights presenting concert versions of the operettas at the Lake Harriet Band Shell, and even performed "Trial by Jury" at the Minnesota Fringe Festival in 2015.

There were worries during the pandemic that this small company might not survive, but it did, returning to action in March 2022. Among those grateful for that is Julia Fishel Ockuly, the daughter of Dick Fishel, the man who stapled that poster to utility poles in 1979. She became involved with the company five years ago.

"It's nice to have many of the same audience members returning year after year, true fans," she said. "But also to start seeing young families bringing their children, and groups of young adults attending together. New fans.

"My dad died last year. And knowing that this company he started in his basement is still going strong, and attracting a new audience, pleases me to no end."

Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company's 'H.M.S. Pinafore'

When: 7:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., through Nov. 19.

Where: Conn Theater, 1900 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $15-$30, 651-255-6947, ext. 2, or gsvloc.org.

Rob Hubbard is a Twin Cities classical music writer. Reach him at wordhub@yahoo.com.