[ Story: Jeni Swope ] [ Photos & Video: Jeni Swope ]
A band of orphaned pirates, a major general with eight beautiful daughters and a group of policemen with more dance steps than courage all sailed onto stage in “The Pirates of Penzance” at Missouri Western.
The second theatre production of the university’s 2014-2015 season ran from Nov. 13-16 in Potter Hall. “The Pirates of Penzance: or The Slave of Duty,” was directed by theatre, cinema and dance department chair Don Lillie.
The story begins with Frederic on his 21st birthday, on which he is given the choice to finally end his indenture with a group of pirates. As a slave to his sense of duty, he concludes he is obligated to put an end to piracy, though he gets distracted at the first sight of a beautiful woman named Mabel.
“The Pirates of Penzance” was written as an operetta by the famed Victorian duo of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, and takes a satirical stance against nobility. Director Don Lillie’s vision for the production was to stay true to the era of the play, which is considered to be the birthplace of the contemporary musical genre.
“Nothing’s realistic at all,” Lillie said. “It has this whimsical fantasy about it, because that’s the way it was. If Gilbert and Sullivan walked in with their bag of popcorn, they’d be very comfortable.”
While the approach to the play was classical, modern audiences enjoyed it just the same. Jessica Walter, a junior English education major, found herself enamored by the play’s authenticity.
“I think they kept it very contemporary so that people who don’t normally like opera can enjoy it,” Walter said. “I actually thought it was really fun and I enjoyed seeing so many familiar and new faces.”
The play featured a host of returning favorites, such as associate professor Tee Quillin as Major General Stanley, returning actress Lauren Bergman as his impressionable daughter Mabel and junior theatre student Thomas Delgado as the police constable.
One newcomer to Missouri Western’s stage was vocal performance major Matt Ulmer in the leading role of Frederic. The young actor stated that he found inspiration in his character’s noble pursuit of his goals.
“Frederic is a soft hearted person, and he’s always honest,” Ulmer said. “He’ll go to great lengths, no matter what the consequences are, to follow his heart and his sense of duty.”
Unfortunately for Frederic, his heart and his sense of duty didn’t always align. Missouri Western’s production focused on these contradictions, and exploited the conflicts and laughs they created.
Such a vast array of characters and absurd dilemmas helped the play cast a wide net that reeled in audiences of all interests. Theatre goers of all ages enjoyed a fun-filled evening of song and dance, brought to them under the banner of the recently formed School of Fine Arts.
In addition to uniting audiences, the School of Fine Arts united theatre, dance, orchestral and vocal performance majors together in one production. This unification, along with its community appeal, were both factors in the play selection process.
“We asked ourselves, what could we give the community that is good for them: fun, wholesome and educational?” Lillie said. “And that’s our mission with the school, isn’t it?”
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