The revival of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, retitled Pirates! The Penzance Musical, began previews on Broadway April 4 with a jazz-infused flair. Playing the Todd Haimes Theatre, the production will officially open April 24 and continue performances through July 27. Meet the company in the video above.
Scott Ellis directs and Warren Carlyle choreographs. Tony winner Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) has adapted W.S. Gilbert's original libretto, shifting the action to the legendary port city New Orleans. While the score by Arthur Sullivan remains intact, a new set of orchestrations with Caribbean and French Quarter influences have been written by Joseph Joubert and Daryl Waters, with Joubert also serving as the production's music director.
The production stars Ramin Karimloo and David Hyde Pierce as The Pirate King and as W.S. Gilbert and the Major General, respectively. They are joined by Jinkx Monsoon as Ruth, David Hyde Pierce as Gilbert/Major General Stanley, Nicholas Barasch as Frederic, Preston Truman Boyd as Sullivan/Police Sergeant, and Samantha Williams as Mabel Stanley.
The cast says the new setting and orchestrations have given the show an update for modern audiences. "Gilbert and Sullivan is some of the most delightful music you'll ever hear, but it was written a long time ago," Monsoon says. "And we know that some young people have a hard time embracing things from the past. But what's wonderful about live entertainment, what's wonderful about Broadway, is that we find ways to [make] old stories new again."
Placing the story in New Orleans was a decision rooted in the show's history, Pierce explains. "In order to get an American copyright so that they would actually be paid for [The Pirates of Penzance], Gilbert and Sullivan premiered it first in the states, in New York, and then actually did a touring production around the United States," he says. "So there was precedent for the idea that they were here, and the show was here...New Orleans actually [had] pirates in it...at that time. And what if [Gilbert & Sullivan] brought the show to New Orleans like they were bringing [it] around the country, and they got so taken, as we all do when we go to New Orleans, by everything about the city?"
Some of the show's characters have also been reimagined for this new production. Mabel, for example, is no longer a damsel in distress鈥擶illiams says her Mabel is strong, determined, and assertive.
Even with these changes, the company says the message at the original show's core remains. "I think it's part of the reason why it's lasted so long," Barasch says. "[It's about] the absurdity of war, and two sides fighting, and coming to terms with the fact that we're all the same. There's a lot of heart to it."
Jinkx Monsoon
Jinkx Monsoon
Samantha Williams
Samantha Williams
Preston Truman Boyd
Preston Truman Boyd
Ramin Karimloo
Ramin Karimloo
Nicholas Barasch
Nicholas Barasch
David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce
Warren Carlyle
Warren Carlyle
Daryl Waters
Daryl Waters
Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes
Joseph Joubert
Joseph Joubert
Daryl Waters, Rupert Holmes, and Joseph Joubert
Daryl Waters, Rupert Holmes, and Joseph Joubert
Preston Truman Boyd, David Hyde Pierce, Samantha Williams, Nicholas Barasch, Jinkx Monsoon, and Ramin Karimloo
Preston Truman Boyd, David Hyde Pierce, Samantha Williams, Nicholas Barasch, Jinkx Monsoon, and Ramin Karimloo
The cast also includes Kelly Belarmino, Maria Briggs, Tyrone L. Robinson, Cicily Daniels, Ninako Donville, Alex Dorf, Rick Faugno, Niani Feelings, Tommy Gedrich, Alex Gibson, Afra Hines, Dan Hoy, Ryo Kamibayashi, Tatiana Lofton, Nathan Lucrezio, Shina Ann Morris, Cooper Stanton, and Bronwyn Tarboton.
The design team includes scene design by Tony winner David Rockwell (She Loves Me, Doubt), costume design by Tony winner Linda Cho (The Great Gatsby, A Gentleman鈥檚 Guide to Love & Murder), lighting design by Tony winner Donald Holder (South Pacific, My Fair Lady, The Lion King), sound design by Tony nominee Mikaal Sulaiman (Macbeth, An Enemy of the People, Doubt), hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe, makeup design by Ashley Ryan, fight choreography by Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet, and dance arrangements by John O'Neill (Harmony).
Kate Wilson is the production voice coach. The production stage manager is Charles Means, and the production management is provided by Aurora Productions. Denise Cooper is the general manager. Michael Aarons is the music coordinator. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger.
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