“Pour, oh pour the pirate sherry!” There’s no doubt that Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance is an intoxicating brew of musical comedy. And the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players are filling their pirate glasses to the brim and having a merry old romp at City Center. Though there have been countless stagings of this classic, the current one—though not perfect--has enough rippling wit and arrant nonsense to appeal to any theatergoer.
The piratic plot centers on the ventures of Frederic, who was apprenticed to a band of pirates as a young boy, a result of his nursemaid’s poor hearing (She mistook “pilot” for “pirate”.) As the action opens, Frederic has just turned 21 and the pirates are celebrating his birthday. But Frederic has no intentions of remaining with his associates. No longer indentured to them, he has made up his mind to turn the pirates in for their crimes and reform himself. When he sets out on his proper life, he immediately meets and falls in love with Mabel, the Major General’s daughter. Problems arise, however, when the Pirate King and Ruth, the Pirate Maid-of-all-Work, inform Frederic that he was born on February 29th. Which means that his chronological age is 21, but his calendar age is 5. This paradox deflates Frederic’s hopes of freedom and romantic happiness. And that’s all I’ll tell you here.
The comic leading roles go to a solid trio of actors. Leading the pirates is the swashbuckling David Wannen, who’s somehow straddles the tough and tender-hearted side of his Pirate King; Colm Fitzmaurice does just fine as the self-effacing apprentice pirate Frederic who is the “slave of duty;” and Stephen Quint gives you, if not a definitive modern Major-General, a quite impressive one.
The supporting cast is not quite up to the aforesaid principals, but they manage to pass muster in all of the hit songs of the opera. True, there were moments of mediocre acting in several scenes. But as directed by Albert Bergeret, the singing was a sumptuous feast for the ears.
This musical contains the elements of fantasy and reality in just the right dosage. We have a brash crew of pirates on the coast of Cornwall, England, colliding with the stuffy society of Victorian days. Gilbert’s satiric words once irritated the Crown, but today we can surely appreciate the author as a first-class social critic.
When it comes to a show-stopping number in the show, nothing compares with Stephen Quint’s rendering of the “Modern Major-General.” Quint is the fruitiest of major-generals, and he does a bang-up job with this tongue-twisting classic. This ditty is a glorious fusing of Sullivan’s snappy music and Gilbert’s wily words. And to hear it performed onstage is a rare treat.
Sullivan’s melodies sweetened and packaged the pungent lyrics of Gilbert. Thus, we get a gorgeous tapestry of songs here, interwoven with colorful threads of romance and adventure. The most sublime song is Mabel’s (Michelle McConnell) solo “Poor Wand’ring One,” which the chorus picks up and amplifies with pathos. Another highpoint is the song “When a Felon’s Not Engaged in his Employment.” Sung by the Sergeant (David Auxier) and Police as they try to capture the pirates alone in Act 2, it calls to mind the Keystone Kops and their zany behaviors.
Gilbert & Sullivan created family-friendly opera. So it’s not surprising that the theater is filled with a cross-section of youngsters and adults of all ages. It seems that nobody wants to miss out on the fun. True, the younger audience members won’t be able to understand every tricky word (like “commissariat”), but they will enjoy the rambunctious merriment that is afoot during the entire show.
This Penzance is all of a stylish piece. Its acting is not as good as its singing. But as long as we have this old-fangled work to chew, we can kiss the holiday blues goodbye.
City Center, West 55th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues).
Tickets range in price from $96 to $40. (Children 12 or under: half price when accompanied by an adult.) Phone CityTix (212) 581-1212 or visit http://www.nycitycenter.org .
G & S Fest 2010 runs through January 17th.