Dana Mariners Captivate Packed Playhouse
Performance Dedicated to Outgoing Principal
By Scott Landers
Outgoing Principal Diane Ryan stands in front with teacher and director W. William “Bill” Cobb. In background, from left: Chloe Owen, Amanda Silva-Flores, Sofie Jimenez (to right of Bill Cobb), Taylor Kietzke, Andrew Garland, Abby Fiero, and Rana Willink.
Dana Middle School’s Musical Theatre class wowed an audience Friday evening, April 19, with a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta, “Pirates of Penzance: the Slave of Duty.” It was a remarkable night of song, dance, and terrific comic acting led by award-winning teacher and director W. William “Bill” Cobb.
“Pirates of Penzance” opens with young Frederic on the cusp of liberation from his indentured apprenticeship on a pirate ship; the naïve, honorable Frederic will now be free to disembark from the only life he has known, in search of a less ethically-challenged vocation. When he arrives on shore he falls in love with Mabel, one of Major-General Stanley’s many fair maidens. Frederic’s former mates soon follow and each one, too, seeks the hand of one of Stanley’s daughters. Once Stanley enlists the local, cowardly constabulary to help repel the pirate suitors, the trajectory is set for reaching a hilarious dénouement in this farcical trial of loyalty and duty satirizing the British moral sensibilities of a bygone Victorian era.
Standout performances included Andrew Garland, alternately grave and gravely comic as Frederic, alongside Rana Willink as Mabel. Willink’s singing was rich and powerful; her performance augurs well for things to come from this sixth grader. Solos also included the beautiful voices of Sofie Roussos and Sofie Jimenez. Comic timing from Pirate King Grace Allen was impeccable and, in keeping with British tradition, comic delivery couldn’t have been drier from Colin Vassall as the Major-General.
Vocals from the large ensemble—the complete cast numbered fifty-five students—were synchronized and on pitch. Dance routines, choreographed by Tammy Smith with assistance from Dance Captains Casey Hall-Landers, Megan Rodi, and Janel Sytko, were lively, well-performed, and even incorporated acrobatics.
Dana’s fifth and sixth graders have been delighting audiences with musical productions ever since the campus at 1775 Chatsworth Boulevard reopened for sixth graders in 1998 and, in 2001, for fifth graders (and for Cobb) as well. Many of Cobb’s students graduate from Dana to the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts.
Dana Middle’s configuration is unusual: it is the sole middle school within San Diego Unified School District consisting of fifth and sixth grades only. These kids are young, yet as outgoing Principal Diane Ryan put it during intermission, when asked how she felt watching the show on her last day at Dana’s helm, “It’s an amazing feeling to be inspired by eleven and twelve year olds—they are wonderful, and so is their director, Mr. Cobb.”
Printed on the inside covers of the playbills was the following statement from Cobb:
“This production is dedicated to Ms. Diane Ryan. In her nearly ten years as Dana’s principal, she has been a steadfast and enthusiastic supporter of the visual and performing arts. As she moves on to accept new ‘Challengers,’ she leaves a lasting imprint on Dana Middle School. She will be missed.”
Ryan moves immediately to her new position as principal of Challenger Middle School, while retired principal and seasoned administrator Mr. Tom Yount will serve as interim principal until Dana’s new skipper can be commissioned.
Category: Local News
