Gates Hall is located at:
4107 Lake Rd, Pultneyville, NY
From Rochester, NY:
Take 104 East across Irondiquoit Bay Bridge.
Pass through Webster and Ontario.
In Williamson turn left onto Route 21, headed north.
Gates Hall is located on the north west corner of the intersection of Lake Road and Route 21 in Pultneyville, NY.
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Gatesinger CO.'s Details
Status:
Single
Zodiac Sign:
Capricorn
Gatesinger CO. is waiting for another show. Posted at 11:02 PM Apr 19, 2008 view more
About me: In July 1961, the first production of the Pultneyville Civic Light Opera Company, conceived by Jean T. Cooper and her brother-in-law, David E. Cooper, was performed on the Gates Hall Stage in conjunction with the annual Pultneyville Homecoming celebration. Jean, a graduate of the School of Drama at Ithaca College and Dave, a graduate of Geneseo, who taught English and directed plays at Sodus Central School, wanted to take a departure from the dramas and comedies produced by the Pultneyville Players. Since a Broadway musical was prohibitively expensive for a start-up group, Gilbert & Sullivan operettas were chosen, as there were no royalties.
For the same financial reasons, it was decided to mount the production in modern dress, saving money on the traditional period costumes normally associated with G&S. H.M.S. Pinafore was selected, because the two Coopers were most familiar with that piece.
At first, the Pultneyville Players balked at sponsoring the musical production, citing “no one wants to rehearse in the summertime” and “no one will come to a show in Gates Hall in the heat of summer” as the reasons. Jean, who was then the president of the Pultneyville Civic Improvement Association (the name “Improvement” was reported to have been dropped from the name of the group because it was felt “Pultneyville doesn’t need any Improvement”), said that group would sponsor the show.
The Pultneyville Civic Light Opera Company (PCLOC, pronounced “puck-luck”) was formed, and has performed a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta each Homecoming for the past 39 years. The operettas are given in a rotation: H.M.S. Pinafore; Ruddigore; Pirates of Penzance; Patience; Iolanthe; The Mikado; The Gondoliers; Princess Ida; Yeoman of the Guard; and sometimes The Sorcerer and Trial By Jury are performed together.
In 1967, Dave Cooper borrowed $300 from the Civic Association in order to make the light opera company self-sustaining. The money was repaid following the summer production and the group has been self-sustained since that time.
Because of the modern-dress costuming concept, the shows are much funnier and more light-hearted than the usual Gilbert & Sullivan presentation. Many of the cast members have returned year after year to perform the shows, including accompanist Mary Alice Henry, who has been with the group for 36 years. The success of the company rests on continuity of the cast, a light-hearted comedic approach to the shows, the dancing and singing of the choruses, and a loyal audience which occupies the hard seats in the July heat year after year to see the shows.
Director David E. Cooper died in April 1990, and his niece, Nan Hanna-Paquin (daughter of the late Jean T. Cooper and step-daughter of the late Stephen D. Cooper), has assumed director’s responsibilities for the Company. In 1997, Jean Cooper returned to the Gates Hall Stage as Inez in The Gondoliers, her final stage performance before her death in August, 1998.
