The Pirates of Penzance at Parker Theatre

I am a big fan of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance so I was really excited to see a production at the Parker Theatre (one of my new favorites) last night. It was so much fun! Frederic (Alan Smith) has reached his 21st birthday and decides to leave the band of pirates to whom he has been mistakenly apprenticed. Soon after, he meets Major-General Stanley (Owen Richardson, Jr.) and his daughters, falls in love with the youngest daughter Mabel (Karllen Johnson), and enlists the Sergeant of Police (Connor Evans) and his constables to arrest the pirates. Chaos ensues when the Pirate King (Tyler Oliphant) and Ruth (Natalie Killpack-Daniel), Frederic's former nursemaid, tell him that he was born during a leap year and, since he has only had five birthdays, he must continue to serve his apprenticeship. I was really impressed with the main cast because they all have beautiful voices! Smith is incredibly engaging with brilliant comedic timing, especially in his interactions with Ruth in "Oh! false one, you have deceiv'd me" when he learns that she is not as beautiful as she has claimed to be and with the Pirate King in "When you had left the pirate fold" when he learns that he must join the pirates once again. Oliphant also has great comedic timing and I loved his melodramatic version of "Oh, better far to live and die." Johnson gives one of the best performances of "Poor wand'ring one" that I've seen and she has tremendous chemistry with Smith in "Stay, Fred'ric, stay," "Ah, leave me not to pine," and "Oh, here is love, and here is truth." Richardson is absolutely hilarious in "I am the very model of a modern Major-General," especially when he marches and clicks his heals together, and I laughed out loud during "I'm telling a terrible story" when he admits that he is not really an orphan. However, Evans steals the show with his exaggerated movements and facial expressions (watch his eyes) during "When a felon's not engaged in his employment." The ensemble, including pirates (Danny Eggers, James Carter, Daniel Pittam, and Matty Boyd), daughters (Alicia Fairbanks, Alice Maphey, Elizabeth Myers, Natalie Sandberg, and Katherine Tietjen), and constables (Doug Hendriksen, Arza Joseph Marsh, Ryan Withers, and Logan B. Stacey), are also outstanding because each of them have distinct personalities which make them fun to watch (especially the daughters when they rebuff the advances of the pirates and the costables when they try to hide in the graveyard).  The costumes are great, particularly the colorful dresses worn by the daughters, the epaulets and medals worn by the Major-General, and the spats worn by the constables. The set is quite simple but effective and consists of a ship, the seaside, and a graveyard, and I loved the use of the Union Jack on the proscenium arch.  Hurrah for this delightful production because I enjoyed everything about it!  It runs through May 13 and tickets may be purchased here.