About the Society

Mission statement

The mission of the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society has remained unchanged since its founding in 1954: Provide the highest quality musical theater productions to a broad Pacific Northwest audience at an affordable price. In addition to producing all thirteen of the Gilbert & Sullivan operas, we also produce works by other authors and composers, as well as training and education for actors and students. We are about the only source worldwide for high quality DVD recordings of all the works of Gilbert & Sullivan.

The main goal of the Society is to provide the best musical theater, in the true spirit of family entertainment, at a price that families can actually afford. We are proud of the fact that grandparents may take their grandchildren to our shows and they can all laugh at the same jokes and hum the same tunes.

We also support other arts groups by making its rehearsal space available and be loaning set pieces, props and costumes.

The Society is one of the preeminent community-based theater production companies in the world and about the oldest in Seattle. We have about 750 performing and contributing members. Through our videos and performances in England, we enjoy a worldwide reputation for production excellence among fans of comic opera.

We regularly introduce new generations of theater patrons to live musical theater with the highest of production values. We offer real “dress-up in the evening” theater with large casts, a full orchestra, superior sets and costumes, performed in one of the finest theater venues in Seattle, the Bagley Wright Theatre at Seattle Center, home of the Seattle Rep.

We treat enthusiastic audiences of up to 10,000 people each July who return regularly knowing they can count on an evening of great live theater. Our performances have won prizes at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in England and receive excellent reviews at home.

Since our inception, we have been a very tightly managed organization. Since the early days, we have been a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) arts corporation in the State of Washington. Our founders and managers through the years have been very careful with funds. While our annual operating budget of nearly $300,000 is large compared to other community theater groups, we stretch it even further by using volunteers to as great an extent as possible to build our sets and props and for in-theater operations.

Our ticket prices are quite modest for live musical theater and while we earn about 60% of our income from ticket sales, our top ticket price is only $40. The rest of our income is derived from patron contributions (about 30%), and from merchandise sales and small grants for office and shop equipment.