The Pirates of Penzance (2007)
Pirates, policemen, maidens, and major generals collide in this rollicking English satire. Peppered with such popular numbers as "I am the very model of a modern Major-General", "Poor Wand'ring One", "With cat-like tread", and the beloved "Hail Poetry", Pirates of Penzance is a must-see for the entire family. Learn more about Pirates of Penzance.
2007 Performances:
June 8th & 9th at 8pm; June 10th* at 2pm
June 15th & 16th at 8pm; June 17th at 2pm
*(June 10th performance is our Community Outreach Program, with special activities for children and tours backstage, starting at 12:30pm)
Print your own The Pirates of Penzance Poster!
Director's Notes
From stage director Guillaume Tourniaire:
“A rollicking band of pirates we”
My interest in pirates is long-standing. In Brittany, across the Channel from Penzance, stands my mother’s hometown of St. Malo. As I child, I ranged along its fortified rampart walls, which in the 18th century protected massive wealth accumulated partially by trade, but mostly by privateering. The gentlemen of St. Malo would close their respectable shops at week’s end, and go to sea with Letters of Marque: permission to raid foreign ships. They amassed fortunes, cementing their position and building palatial homes. One of them, Robert Surcouf, even earned the title “Le Roi des Corsaires” (The Pirate King) for the millions of francs he captured in gold, goods, and ships.
“As a child, I was regularly apprenticed to your band”
One of the highlights of working with VLOC is the family aspect of our shows, sometimes encompassing three generations of performers. In considering the silliness and exuberance of Pirates, and the many threads tying it to Peter Pan, Treasure Island, and other tales, I decided to tell it as a children’s story – seen from their perspective. Boy and Girl represent the children in the audience, and in us. Not allowed to stay up for the party, they go to sleep, imagining what the adults must be doing. This is their dream, where they are a part of the story, skipping and marching alongside sisters, pirates, and policemen.
“Yes, yes, let’s talk about the weather”
Although I understand the conceit of Frederic being born in leap year, how can one explain the lovely spring-like weather at the English seaside in late winter? Consulting the almanac (for both 1873 and 1877) does not reveal a particularly warm February 28th, near noon. The Scottish touch added to the Major General and his family is purely hypothetical, but all things being relative, who else might consider Penzance’s climate in late February to be so agreeable?
“They are all noblemen who have gone wrong”
At the end, are the pirates confessing who they really are, or is this simply a ruse to escape the law? Most productions portray them as pirates pretending to be gentlemen, but I began tinkering with the idea of gentlemen playing at pirates. This brings us to the setting of our production, set in the late Victorian, early Edwardian year of 1897, a century and a half after the Golden Age of Piracy. The members of the Penzance Boat Club gather once again to escape their lives of respectability and domesticity, and indulge in a bit of unbounded felicity.
“Let’s vary piracy …”
Some lines peppered throughout this production have been restored from early versions of the libretto, from the premieres in New York, Paignton, and London.
“… with a little burglaree”
Regarding the Overture, my apologies to Tchaikovsky. But if Gilbert might have stolen from Offenbach’s Les Brigands, I can borrow from The Nutcracker.
Cast
- Mabel - Sarah Minckler
- Frederic - Matthew Heil
- Major General - Gary Sullivan
- Pirate King - Ryan Power
- Sergeant of Police - Blair Eig
- Ruth - Karen Fleming
- Samuel - David Dubov
- Kate - Ashley Bibbey
- Edith - Patricia Portillo
- Isabel - Madeleine Smith
- Boy - Noah Friedlander*, Alex Desjardins**
- Girl - Rebecca Sullivan*, Grace Brigham**
- Chorus: Meredith Beringer, Felicity Ann Brown, Ed Byrdy, Tony Dwyer, Wanda Flinn, Annie Gribbin, Lucy Hellerman, Tara Hockensmith, Rand Huntzinger, Adam Jackson, Donna Jaffe, Lyle Jaffe, Ralph Johnson, Marianna Martindale, Carlton Maryott, Jane Maryott, Kenny Maryott, Alexandra Morton, Heather Sperry
*Performing June 8th, 10th, and 16th
**Performing June 9th, 15th, and 17th
Production Staff
- Producers - Denise Young and Felicity Ann Brown
- Stage Director - Guillaume Tourniaire
- Music Director - Joseph Sorge
- Assistant Music Director - Jenifer Craley Bland
- Choreographers - Guillaume Tourniaire, Felicity Ann Brown, Jane Maryott, Carlton Maryott, Lucy Hellerman, Annie Gribbin, and Alexandra Morton
- Costume Designer - Jennifer Gavin
- Assistant to the Director - Julie Stevens
- Lighting Designer - Robert Wilson Timmerman
- Scenic Design Artist - Varvara Tourniaire
- Set Design Consultant - James Douglass
- Master Carpenter - William Kolodrubetz
- Stage Manager - Kierstie Whitehead
- Assistant Stage Manager - Tony Dwyer
- Assistant Stage Manager - Doug Maryott
- Publicity - Sandy Rovner
Check out photos of our dedicated set painting crew!
Orchestra
- Violin I: Steve Natrella(Concertmaster), Bonnie Barrows, Carolyn Larson, David Friedlander
- Violin II: Martin Brown, Peter Mignerey, Irv Berner, Edwin Schneider, Erin Grace
- Viola: Amanda Laudwein, Victor Ontiveros
- Cello: Andrew Schneider, Laurie Brown, Mike Stein
- Double Bass: Peter Gallanis, Alice Mignerey
- Flute: Jackie Miller, Louise Hill
- Oboe: Lori Guess
- Clarinet: Laura Langbein, Laura Bornhoeft, James Bensinger
- Bassoon: Richard Sargeant, Susan Reynolds
- French Horn: James Kocsis, Deb Kline, Kathleen Bartolomeo
- Trumpet: Curt Anstine, Bernie Rappaport
- Trombone: Steve Ward, Alan Potter, Frank Eliot
- Percussion: George Huttlin
- Piano & Assistant Music Director: Jenifer Craley Bland
Rehearsal Photos
Guillaume consults Jenny
Rehearsing "Paradox"
Peeking around the imaginary chapel.
The Overture Reel!
Here is Love...