The Pirates of Penzance JR

Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular show, The Pirates of Penzance, is a rollicking, delightfully funny tale of a band of soft-tempered pirates. Mistakenly apprenticed to a pirate (instead of a pilot) by his nursemaid Ruth at the age of eight, the handsome Frederic is now twenty-one and, though quite fond of the group of joyous and fun-loving pirates, chooses to abandon his profession and “lead a blameless life henceforth,” dedicating himself instead to their eradication. Shortly after leaving them, he encounters a gaggle of beautiful maidens (one of whom, Mabel, steals his heart) and their father, the eccentric Major-General. The whole group has a run-in with the pirates themselves before escaping on the false premise that the Major-General is an orphan -- a fact these tenderhearted pirates simply cannot help but take into account, given the fact that the majority of them are orphans themselves and “know what it’s like.” Just as Frederic is ready to lead a band of lily-livered policemen to take out the Pirate King and his men, a secret is uncovered that will change his fate forever, but, naturally, all comes out right in the end. Beloved since its premiere in 1879, The Pirates of Penzance (or The Slave of Duty) is a delightful farce of a classic that is fun for all ages.

• “Pour, oh pour, the pirate sherry" (Samuel and Pirates)
• "When Fred'ric was a little lad" (Ruth)
• "Oh, better far to live and die ...I am a pirate king!" (Pirate King and Pirates)
• "Oh! false one, you have deceiv'd me" (Frederic and Ruth)
• "Climbing over rocky mountain" (Edith, Kate, and Daughters)
• "Stop, ladies, pray" (Edith, Kate, Frederic, and Daughters)
• "Oh, is there not one maiden?" (Frederic and Daughters)
• "Poor wand'ring one" (Mabel and Daughters)
• "Stay, we must not lose our senses" ... "Here's a first-rate opportunity to get married with impunity" (Frederic, Pirates, and Daughters)
• "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" (Major-General, Pirates, and Daughters)
• "Oh, men of dark and dismal fate" (Mabel, Kate, Edith, Ruth, Frederic, Samuel, King, Major-General, Pirates, and Daughters)
• "Oh, dry the glist'ning tear" (Mabel and Daughters)
• "When the foeman bares his steel" (Mabel, Edith, Sergeant, Policemen, and Daughters)
• "When you had left our pirate fold" ("A paradox") (Ruth, Frederic, and King)
• "A rollicking band of pirates we" (Sergeant, Pirates, and Policemen)
• "With cat-like tread, upon our prey we steal" (Samuel, Pirates, and Policemen)
• "Now what is this, and what is that?"(Company)
• Finale (Company)