The Bucks County Gilbert & Sullivan Society
GENERAL INFO FOR OUR HANDEL'S MESSIAH SING-ALONG
Our Handel's Messiah Sing-Along is performed at the lovely Lenape Valley Church, 321 W. Butler Avenue, New Britain, PA. Admission is $15 and is collected at the door only, in cash or check form - we do not accept credit cards and there are no advance online tickets sold. Children 13 and under are admitted free. We will have the full Bucks County Gilbert & Sullivan Orchestra to accompany us, and the solo parts of Messiah will be performed by auditioned singers. Everyone who attends may join in singing the chorus parts if they wish. For singers who wish to sit with others in their voice part, there will be signs among the seats denoting voice sections.
If you do not have a Messiah score you may download the music needed by clicking HERE, it is approximately 44 pages if printed.
For guests who come to listen, seating is first-come first served, there are no reserved seats. Our 2024 Messiah is tentatively scheduled for Saturday Dec. 21, time to be determined.
Because of Pennsylvania insurance laws on the protection of children we require that children attending concerts must be supervised by adults at all times and escorted to the restrooms by a parent or guardian.
GENERAL INFORMATION
AUTUMN DESSERT CABARET
PARKING for our Autumn Dessert Cabaret
It is advised that you try to arrive about a half hour before curtain time, so you can park easily, be admitted to Paxson Hall and take your seats before the show begins.
Our Cabaret takes place in Paxson Hall, the parish hall of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, located at 84 E. Oakland Avenue, Doylestown, near the corner of E. Oakland and S. Pine Street. (NOTE, this is NOT St. Paul's LUTHERAN Church, which is on Main Street in Doylestown.) Behind St. Paul's Episcopal is a small parking lot, which may be used by our audience, and is entered from S. Pine Street. If that lot is full, the large free parking lot of the Doylestown Library is just one short block south on Pine Street. There is also onstreet parking all around St. Paul's Episcopal, although please note if you park by a parking meter, it must be fed until 5 pm on Saturday afternoons.
ENTER St. Paul's Episcopal from E. Oakland Avenue, through the glass-paned red front doors to Paxson Hall, which are to the left of the church building. There is a ramp to the right of those glass doors for wheelchair access. Inside will be a ticket desk. Give the name of the person who purchased your tickets to our staff at the desk, they will check you off the list and admit you to Paxson Hall. You do not have to print off a ticket, we will have your name on the list. There is one restroom in the coatroom just at the back of Paxson Hall, and larger ladies' and men's restrooms in the downstairs hallway. Our staff can direct you to these.
SEATING
Our 2 pm Matinee is usually very crowded so please arrive early to be seated. We open the doors to the room a half hour before curtain. Seating is first-come-first serve at cafe tables so you may enjoy the desserts and beverages that are provided during the show. A cafe table typically seats 4 people, with some larger tables available if needed. Depending on the number in our audience, you may be seated with new acquaintances at your table. However, if you have purchased 4 tickets together on Ticketleap we will make every effort to reserve a table for you so all 4 can all sit together, as long as you arrive at least 15 minutes before curtain time. We cannot guarantee your reserved table for 4 if you arrive later than 15 minutes prior to the show. If there is a very large crowd we cannot guarantee you will have a table if you arrive just before curtain time or later, although we will have chairs available for you. Again, our 2 pm Matinees are generally large crowds, so please try to arrive early. If you want to avoid crowded seating, it is wise to come to the 8 pm evening performance.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
FOR RUDDIGORE, JUNE 2025
AT DELVAL UNIVERSITY
Tickets purchased at the door are $30 for Adults and $25 for Seniors /Students. Cash or check only please. Make any checks out to BCGSS. There is an ATM in the Student Center building on the campus, but not in the Life Sciences building where we perform. "Senior" denotes guests age 62 or older.
Tickets purchased thru Ticketleap online are $25 for Adults and $20 for Seniors/Students, plus a service fee, which is a discount of approximately $4 over the door price. Ticket sales online for each show stop 2 hours before the show starts. After that point you must buy at the door, paying full price. If you are purchasing tickets online for friends who may arrive separately from you, please make sure they know to give YOUR name at the WILL CALL Desk.
If you have a COMP TICKET because you or your company have supported our group, you do not need to make a reservation. Please bring the physical paper comp ticket to the performance you wish to attend, and when you enter DelVal's Life Sciences building lobby you may bypass the line at the 'Will Call' table, because you already have your ticket in hand. Doors to the theater itself open approximately a half hour before the show. When the doors open, just hand the comp ticket to an usher stationed near the theater door to be admitted. Seats are not reserved, they are first-come first-serve, so it is wise to arrive early for best seating choices.
Bringing children to the show. Gilbert & Sullivan operettas are sung in English with beautiful music and costumes, good humor and many jokes and puns, and so they are an excellent way to introduce children to opera. The shows run about two and a half hours long, including a 15 minute intermission about halfway through. This may be too long for many children under the age of 7 although we leave that to the discretion of the family. Children 6 and under will be admitted free, with the understanding that if they cause a disturbance during the show an usher may ask that an adult accompany the child to the lobby until they quiet down. This is only out of respect for the rest of our audience, who pay to enjoy the show. DelVal has a large comfortable lobby with restrooms nearby and you are welcome to sit with children there and return to the show when they are ready. We cannot refund tickets If it is necessary for you to miss some of the show while taking care of children. Because of Pennsylvania insurance laws on the protection of children we require that children attending shows be supervised by adults at all times and escorted to the restrooms by a parent or guardian.
Bringing animals to the show. In the interest of safety for our patrons, no dogs nor other animals will be admitted into the lobby or theater without the owner contacting us ahead of time with proper authorization affirming the animal is a service animal. Call 215-348-4837 at least 72 hours prior to your attending the show.
WHEELCHAIR SEATING is available in limited supply at the theater. There are 2 floor spaces and 2 mezzanine spaces reserved for a wheelchair guest with a companion. If you know you will need a wheelchair accessible seat among your party, kindly call Pat at 215-348-4837 at least a day before the show to find out if any are still available, and to reserve a wheelchair space and prepare an usher to assist you.
Hearing aid amplification is available in a limited supply in the theater. We have 3 'Loop' or 'T-Coil' (telecoil) devices for use with a guest's hearing aid. You must reserve one of the devices at least one day prior to your attending, by calling Pat at 215-348-4837 to make arrangements. We cannot guarantee we will have one available if you do not contact us ahead of time.
A telecoil is a loop of wire that can be worn around the neck. It is connected to a small receiver which receives a signal from the sound system. The loop transmits the sound electro-magnetically to the telecoil (t-coil) in a hearing aid or cochlear implant.
Seating for our show is first-come first-serve, no specific seating placements are reserved. We will follow Delaware Valley University's guidelines regarding capacity and safety measures. We open the theater doors for seating approximately 1/2 hour before the curtain time. There is a large comfortable lobby at the Life Sciences building, which opens approximately one hour earlier, where patrons can wait until we open the theater section. Since our shows have grown in popularity, we recommend you arrive at the theater at least 1/2 hour before curtain time to pick up your tickets and get your pick of seats.
WILL CALL desk. In the lobby we have a WILL CALL desk. If you buy tickets thru Ticketleap, come to the lobby on the day of your performance, go to the Will-Call desk, give your name and the number of tickets and our Will-Call staff will check you off the list and hand you your paper tickets. You can then give those tickets to an usher at the door of the theater and take your seat. You do not need to print out Ticketleap tickets at home, we will have your name on our list.
Accessibility. The Life Sciences Building is accessible by wheelchair via a ramp in front, and by a ground-floor entrance in the back of the building. See HERE for more specifics on (H) parking. There are 2 wheelchair-designated seats on the floor of the theater and 2 wheelchair-designated seats in the mezzanine area, and an elevator to reach the mezzanine. If you know you will need a wheelchair accessible seat among your party, kindly call Pat at 215-348-4837 at least a day before the show to check if a wheelchair space is still available and prepare an usher to assist you.
Parking: Enter the Delaware Valley University campus from New Britain Road, make a right onto Admissions Drive, and the first right into Parking Lot C, which is right in front of the Life Sciences Building. If Parking Lot C is filled, there are other lots around the campus (all are free) where you may park, though all are a bit further from which to walk. Directions and a campus map with all campus parking lots marked is HERE. The popularity of our shows may cause Parking Lot C to fill, which is another reason to try to arrive early for best parking.