Blue Hill Troupe 100th anniversary production of ‘Pinafore’ by Gilbert & Sullivan will feature six Brooklynites on stage

FIFTH AVENUE, MANHATTAN — Blue Hill Troupe, Ltd. (BHT), New York City’s only theatre group dedicated to raising money for local charities, will mark its 100th Anniversary with a production of “H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor” — Gilbert & Sullivan’s fourth operatic collaboration and their first international hit. BHT’s eight NYC performances of the operetta will take place at El Teatro of El Museo del Barrio on New York’s Upper East Side (1230 Fifth Avenue, between 104th and 105th Streets), April 19-27, 2024. All net proceeds benefit the Young People’s Chorus of NYC, an award-winning multicultural youth chorus founded and directed by Francisco J. Nuñez, a MacArthur Fellow and Musical America’s 2018 Educator of the Year.

Historically identified with the Upper East Side of New York City, the Blue Hill Troupe has grown in its first 100 years to include active members from throughout the Metropolitan region and even a few who spend time abroad. Brooklyn is home to 35 members on the roster, including front-stage performers and active backstage members. This year, six Brooklynites will be performing front stage in the production. For example, Flatbush resident Chaz Peacock is performing the role of Boatswain’s mate Bill Bobstay, leading the famous “For He is an Englishman.” 

The Troupe got its start in 1924, when a group of New Yorkers summering in Blue Hill, Maine, mounted a production of H.M.S. Pinafore. The show was such a success that it was followed by The Mikado the following summer. The group moved its base of operations to New York City in 1926 and — except for the noteworthy years of 1929, 2020, and 2021 — has performed a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta every year since. In 1984, the group began also producing a Broadway-style musical every year. All…