New production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, transposed to the American Old West, by The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company.
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company brings The Pirates of Penzance to The Conn Theater at Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Avenue South, running from October 30 through November 22. It's a new production of the comic opera, directed by Joe Andrews with music direction by Dr. Randal Buikema. The company is staging it with two alternating casts—a 'Gilbert Cast' and a 'Sullivan Cast'—so you could actually catch it twice and see two different groups take on the same roles.
If you're not familiar with the original, The Pirates of Penzance was Gilbert and Sullivan's fifth collaboration, coming after the huge success of H.M.S. Pinafore. It opened almost simultaneously in England and America: it premiered December 31, 1879, at the Fifth Avenue Theater in New York, with Sullivan conducting, after a single performance the day before at the Royal Bijou Theatre in Paignton to secure the British copyright. It then opened April 3, 1880, at the Opéra Comique in London, where it ran for 363 performances. This particular staging transposes the whole thing to the American Old West, set on the California-Nevada border during the Gold Rush. The pirates are reimagined as sentimental bandits, and the police are sheriffs and deputies. The production is dedicated to the memory of company member, tenor L. Peter Erickson.
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There are plenty of options for when to go: Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 7:30 PM, and Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 PM. With the run stretching from October 30 to November 22, you've got several weeks to fit it in.
Date
30 October – 31 October
19:30
Recommended Age
+14 years
