Dr. Penelope “Penny” Vrachopoulos (1922-2019): Founder of Gilbert & Sullivan Theater Company

 

Grave Marker for Penny Vrachopoulos

Plot 13

Dr. Penelope Helen Vrachopoulos, was a gifted musician, educator, and pioneering director. Born in New York City to Emmanuel and Theresa Vrachopoulos, Penny pursued a life steeped in music and scholarship. She studied at Queens College and Columbia University, ultimately earning her Doctorate in Music from Stanford University in 1971—cementing a lifelong connection to the Bay Area.

Her distinguished teaching career spanned several respected institutions, including Cornish College of the Arts, SUNY Potsdam, and Washington State University. Known for her fierce dedication to her students, Penny inspired generations of young musicians to pursue their craft with discipline, heart, and humor.

In 1972, Penny founded The Peccadillo Players, a Gilbert & Sullivan repertory company in Bellevue, Washington, which she led for nearly four decades. Under her baton, the group staged all 14 comic operas in the G&S canon, delighting Pacific Northwest audiences and introducing many to the delights of rarely performed works. She also founded The Bellevue Opera and the chamber opera company Eastside Lyric Theatre, further nurturing the operatic arts in the region.

Posters for the Peccadillo Players

 

Beyond her musical achievements, Penny had a remarkable eye for talent. She played a pivotal role in launching the careers of many outstanding performers, including NY Metropolitan Opera tenor Rob McPherson, Berlin Opera mezzo Julia Benzinger, Broadway star Megan Hilty, TV personality Mary Votava, and Hollywood actress Deidre Kilgore. 

Penny’s love for music and performance also lived on in her family. Her daughter, Penelope Houston, became a central figure in the San Francisco Bay Area’s punk and folk scenes. As the lead singer of the seminal punk rock band The Avengers and later as a solo artist, Houston carved out her own legacy—recording albums like On Market Street at Berkeley’s famed Fantasy Studios. It was a different genre, but the same fierce spirit of artistry that Penny passed on.

Though her most public work took place in the Pacific Northwest, Penny remained deeply connected to the Bay Area, both through her academic roots at Stanford and her later years in Oakland. Her funeral service was held on July 22, 2019, at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland and was attended by a vast community of artists, musicians, students, and collaborators whose lives she touched.