Singing the parts of nine different characters in one show is an impressive undertaking. Doing it at 101 years old is even more so.
Centenarian Bill Dubey took the stage June 12 at the Pacific Regent La Jolla senior condominium community to perform songs from Gilbert and Sullivan’s 19th-century opera “The Mikado.” He was joined by fellow resident Allan Endy on piano for a 24-song setlist.
Pacific Regent La Jolla resident Allan Endy provides piano accompaniment for Bill Dubey’s singing as they perform “The Mikado.” (Noah Lyons)
“The Mikado” is a two-act satire aimed at British institutions, politics and society, though it’s set in a fantastical version of Japan. Dubey and Endy tackled both acts, with a 15-minute intermission in between.
Dubey was introduced to the work of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as a teenager at the Louis August Jonas Foundation’s Camp Rising Sun in Rhineback, N.Y. There he performed in multiple Gilbert and Sullivan productions, including “The Mikado” and “The Pirates of Penzance.”
“From that time on, I became very taken with Gilbert and Sullivan,” Dubey said. “And for the rest of my life, I often went to Gilbert and Sullivan plays.”
Bill Dubey’s performance included props and colored signs indicating which character he was playing at the time. (Noah Lyons)
Dubey started a career in the packing business before transitioning to nonprofit work. Along the way, he worked at the now-96-year-old Louis August Jonas Foundation.
Since he retired decades ago, he has lived in New Jersey, New Mexico and, for the past decade, the La Jolla area.
Pacific Regent on Nobel Drive has been Dubey’s home for 13 years, Endy’s for more than five.
About 60 residents and guests gathered in the lobby to take in their performance.
Pacific Regent La Jolla residents and guests take in Bill Dubey’s performance of “The Mikado.” (Noah Lyons)
“This is a very friendly place, and people get to know each other quickly … which Nancy [his wife] and I … have always done,” Dubey said.
A few months ago, he felt compelled to bring Gilbert and Sullivan’s work to the community.
“I’ve known all these words to ‘The Mikado’ and ‘The Pirates [of Penzance]’ and several other songs from different Gilbert and Sullivan operas, and somehow or other my brain has retained them,” Dubey said. “I figured it would be nice to be able to entertain people with this, so I took it upon myself to volunteer to do this.”
Work on “The Mikado” began a few months back, with practices two or three times a week at first to every day recently. Marianne Velasco, Pacific Regent’s activities director, helped shepherd the performance.
Though he is a self-described “amateur singer,” Dubey isn’t particularly shy. He jokingly attributed his nearly two-hour performance to hubris.
Harvard University honored Dubey this month as its oldest alumnus (he graduated in 1946).
“I don’t think of myself as 101,” he said.
And during his performance of “The Mikado,” the audience likely didn’t either. ♦