The legacy of Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert in musical theater is nearly beyond measure, and The Pirates of Penzance is a prime example of their genius. The play was premiered in 1879, and immediately wooed audiences with its tuneful melodies, bombastic characters, and satirical British humor.
The play has enjoyed continual performance ever since, and is The Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s (PCPA) second production this season, a more than worthy follow-up to the magnificent fairy-tale production of Cinderella, an updated Gilbert and Sullivan musical.
The fantastic thing about a classic with such a long history of performance like The Pirates of Penzance is the true freedom that a production company like PCPA has within its structure. The irreverent, often deadpan, British comedic style lets the actors put their own twist on the subtlest bits of humor or over-the-top physical comedy. It allows a cast to really make the show their own, and PCPA succeeds, no doubt, blowing far away any cobwebs that might have gathered on such an aged libretto and script.
The story opens with an overture, a musical theater convention not often found in contemporary shows, which illustrates Gilbert and Sullivan’s place as a bridge between opera and modern musical theater. PCPA uses this moment as a chance to display how dynamic the set is, preparing it in plain view for the opening scene by converting the multileveled gangplanks and stairways into the iconic pirate ship with just a couple of emotive actors.
The plucky pirates of Penzance sing boisterously about their life at sea and all the enjoyment it entails. However, the youngest among them, Frederic (Alex Stewart), is not entirely wedded to the pirate life. He has just turned 21, and so his contractual obligation of apprenticeship expires in mere hours, after which he humbly declares he will be opposed to them and everything they stand for.
How did he find himself in such a pickle? He has the salty Ruth (Jacqueline Hildebrand) to blame, who tells the tale in the song, “When Frederic Was a Little Lad.” Ruth mistook Frederic’s dying parent’s plea to take him to apprentice under a pilot, and mixed the titled up with pirate. It’s these kind of silly turns that—including the pirates’ own sense of moral duty and etiquette—provide the comedic bedrock of the farcical show.
Another potent introduction is that of the Pirate King (George Walker), whose proud and flamboyant declaration of his position is heard in the memorable “Oh, Better Far to Live and Die.” Walker displays incredible vocal power in this aria, which he melds with acrobatic physical humor that he will employ throughout the show. With a dark and trimmed beard and crazed eyes reminiscent of another popular pirate captain, Walker’s Pirate King is the show’s first larger-than-life character, but certainly not the last.
Once away from the throng of overly courteous pirates, Frederic stumbles upon a party of young ladies out strolling the beach. It’s his first time ever seeing a lady other than Ruth, and he implores them for their compassion in looking upon him, and perhaps loving him. The group of sisters rebuffs the young man, that is, until the last remaining sister Mabel (Natalie Graham) arrives, answering Frederic’s pleas with a bounding, virtuosic soprano voice. Graham’s vocal ability nearly steals the show, especially considering that the musical maven is a second year PCPA acting intern (so is Stewart), but the show is still only in the first act. Her voice will continually return with clarity, adding particular punch to the ensemble singing as well.
The young maidens are then ambushed by the pirates of Penzance, who make clear their plans of absconding with the youthful beauties and marrying them all at once. Their plans are put to a stop when the girls’ father arrives. Major-General Stanley (Andrew Philpot) calmly makes his entrance—he’s on his afternoon walk after all—and introduces himself with one of the more memorable songs in the show “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General,” which requires an incredible amount of vocal skill. I don’t know if it’s the kilt or what, but Philpot’s Major-General is astounding in his performance, whether his humorous demeanor or his masterful display of riveting rhythm and rhyme in the song.
The only new characters we see in the second act are the police—all dressed in the crisp English bobby uniforms—who march under the baton of their Sergeant (Michael Jenkinson), whose skill as a dancer and choreographer are on full display in his very funny performance with the ensemble cast.
As mentioned before, the incredible freedom and looseness that the cast enjoys in the show is something to behold. Their efforts are reinforced tenfold by the beautiful set (Jason Bolen) and costumes (Eddy L. Barrows) along with the fantastically scored music directed by Callum Morris. You could swear that there was an orchestra in the pit, but the Marian Theatre has no pit, so the nimble fingers in the control room are worthy of praise as well.
It turns out that the director of the show, Brad Carroll, is a returning PCPA collaborator, and it’s his second time directing The Pirates of Penzance for the company. This was a fantastic choice on PCPA’s part, as the production seems at once familiar yet new, an incredible alchemy that only the most skilled in stagecraft can accomplish. To take a classic as aged as Pirates and deliver it with such immediacy is truly a feather in PCPA’s cap, but really, it’s just business as usual at the Central Coast’s première theater company.
Arts Editor Joe Payne still won’t wear a kilt. Contact him at [email protected].
