H.M.S. Pinafore is generally recognized to be one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most energetic productions, but the Harvard Gilbert and Sullivan Players' Agassiz performance is, over-all, unimpressive. While this year's fall show has its bright spots, musical and spatial difficulties make is generally below par.

H.M.S. Pinafore

By W.S. Gilbert

Music by A. Sullivan

Directed by Matt Buchanan

At the Agassiz Theater

Tonight at 8 p.m.

Tomorrow at 8 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Gilbert's story is as witty and entertaining as any he wrote, using the hierarchies of the Queen's Navy to poke fun at the English caste system.

The operetta tells the tale of two pairs of lovers, each divided by the chasm of class. Sailor Ralph Rackstraw and Josephine, the daughter of his ship's captain, are in love; the captain, however, has bigger plans for his daughter--he intends to marry her off to the Honorable Sir Joseph Porter, the leader of all the Queen's Navy.

Meanwhile, Little Buttercup, a rag woman, is in love with the captain, who loves her though he is too proud to acknowledge his affection.

Through a comic series of events, the players come to the conclusion that "love levels all ranks." The rag woman reveals that she was nurse to the captain and Ralph at birth and that she switched them in their cradles. The show ends happily with all the lovers united and the arrogant Sir Joseph stuck with his cousin, Hebe.

It is a promising plot, but the cast--largely through poor enunciation--fails to draw out the ironies, and poor music and choreography in the chorus scenes distract the audience from the better scenes between the main characters.

While Sullivan's music in H.M.S. is generally a pleasure to listen to, the orchestra in the Agassiz production was frequently off-key, which made it slightly disappointing. There was a confusion with timing as well, best exemplified by the opening act, in which, after the orchestra finished playing, all the members turned to stare expectantly at the empty stage for nearly half a minute before the first scene began.

The orchestra also frequently drowned out the singing, thus sadly making it sometimes difficult to grasp Gilbert's irony.