Here there be Pirates ... of Penzance

By Joe Dwyer     3/26/09 7:00pm

These last two weeks have been crazy as far as college theater is concerned, and Rice Light Opera Society has only added to the number of quality shows opening this week with its production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance.The basic premise of the play is that Frederic (Geoff Copper, Sid Richardson College '07) has completed his indentures with a ragtag group of pirates and is looking for some loving. He falls for the beautiful Mabel (Sid senior Quinn Shadko) but is soon caught up in a conflict centered around his duties to his former masters and his newfound love.

The greatest strength of the show lies in the musical ability of the entire cast. The orchestra, led by Shepherd School graduate student Michael Dirk, is superb, providing perfect accompaniment to the melodic vocals of the chorus and lead characters. While they were probably moved off to the side of the stage for the practical purpose of clearing a path for the ship that approaches at the beginning of the play, this arrangement plays a dual purpose of keeping the orchestra from drowning out the actors while also allowing the audience to see the entire stage.

At times the actors fail to enunciate, especially during some of the more verbose numbers, which makes understanding them difficult, but the gist of the song is usually clear enough to figure out what is going on.

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Shadko and Jones College senior Alex Lambert, who plays the Pirate King, are the standouts of the cast, giving strong and flamboyant performances as their respective characters.

The Grand Hall is not the best space to put on a production, but the Light Opera Society has done the best with what they have. A plain white scrim lit with a colored light serves as the backdrop to the stage, which fills the room from wall to wall. When the entire cast in onstage for a musical number, the stage space works great, but when only two or three actors are present onstage they are dwarfed by the massive stage. A simple spotlight on the actors rather than uniform lighting across the entire stage would easily draw focus to the actors and solve this problem.

Clocking in at just under two hours, The Pirates of Penzance may seem daunting, but as the saying goes, "time flies when you're having fun." Pirates is no exception. The show flows seamlessly from song to scene and back again, pausing only for a 10-minute intermission.

The costumes, brilliant and entrancing, evoke images of the Disney pirates from Peter Pan and are bursting with color, breathing life into the otherwise stern gray stage.

The show also uses simple and effective choreography during each of the numbers, placing the focus more on the lyrics than the movement, which is welcomed.

All in all, The Pirates of Penzance is a must-see. Fans of light opera will eat it up, while people who have never seen an opera in their life can still find lots of things to enjoy in its slightly ridiculous plot.

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