MUSIC | Sir Arthur Sullivan
LIBRETTO | W.S. Gilbert
SUNG IN | English
PROJECTED LYRICS | English
RUN TIME | 2 hours and 25 minutes
PERFORMANCES | July 22m, 27, 30m; August 1, 4m, 9, 13m, 15, 17m, 19m
GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BYÂ | Eugene and Jean Stark
CONDUCTOR | Joseph Colaneri
DIRECTOR | Seán Curran
CHOREOGRAPHER | Seán Curran
SET DESIGNER | James Schuette
COSTUME DESIGNER | James Schuette
LIGHTING DESIGNER | Robert Wierzel
HAIR & MAKEUP DESIGNER | Tom Watson
CHORUS DIRECTOR | Katherine Kozak
Synopsis
Due to a mistake made by his nurse, Ruth, Frederic is indentured to the Pirates of Penzance until his 21st birthday. When Frederic turns 21, he announces his intention to abandon the Pirates and live an honorable life. The Pirate King is disappointed to lose his apprentice, but he concedes that Frederic is duty-bound to follow his conscience. Ruth asks Frederic to take her with him; as he considers her proposal, a bevy of maidens appears. One of them, Mabel, is deeply moved by Frederic’s situation.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Pirates resolve to take the maidens by force. Mabel reveals that she and the other young women are wards of Major-General Stanley; the Major-General arouses the Pirates’ pity and secures his release by telling them that he, like them, is an orphan. As Frederic takes his leave of the Pirates, Ruth makes a last appeal, but Frederic rejects her in favor of Mabel.
The Major-General and his wards shelter in a chapel, where the Major-General implores the ancestors to forgive him for lying about his orphan status. Frederic appears, closely followed by a band of insecure policemen, resolved to fight against the Pirates. Ruth and the Pirate King inform Frederic of a contractual loophole and appeal to his sense of duty. Frederic, slave to duty that he is, rejoins the Pirates and informs them of the Major-General’s lie. Furious, Ruth and the Pirate King plan an attack. In a confrontation, the police find a way to appeal to the Pirates’ own sense of duty and patriotism. Before the Major General can have the Pirates arrested, Ruth reveals their origins, and all is forgiven.
