The Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island a confirmed Savoyard. He’d served as vice president of the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Society, and even produced a televised version of The Mikado in 1949. When Helen Marx, president of the Camp Avenue School PTA, asked him if he could organize a fundraiser, his thoughts turned—as they so often did—to Gilbert & Sullivan. Initially the idea was for Packer and Waters to run an adult-education class in G&S that would culminate in a performance of The Mikado. But when Packer recruited an old friend, Sally Buckstone of Oceanside, to sing, the seeds of a new group were planted.
International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival Production" (for performers under 21) and a "Bus Pass Opera" production (for performers over 60). A "Unifest" competition among university groups is presented simultaneously, as part of the Festival fringe. While the amateur productions compete during weeknights at the Festival, there are weekend professional performances given by companies such as the Carl Rosa Opera Company, Opera della Luna, the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, Charles Court Opera, and the Festival's self-produced National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, which has starred such well-known G&S performers as Richard Suart, Simon Butteriss, Bruce Graham, Gillian Knight, Barry Clark, Michael Rayner, Patricia Leonard,