Batten down the hatches for the operetta, ‘The Pirates of Penzance’
Pirates are supposed to wave swords, drink rum and search for treasure, but this weekend, Wichita State will experience a different, milder type of pirate.
Marie King’s pirates learn choreography, wear makeup, and sing in the operetta, “The Pirates of Penzance,” today, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in Miller Concert Hall.
King, director of the English operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, relates it to the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
“It’s a very particular style of British humor that is very, very funny but is also very smart,” King said.
The main character, Fredrick, has been raised by pirates, but he doesn’t want to continue in his family’s profession. Throughout the show, Frederick has to choose between nobility and family. On top of that, he falls in love, but his age stands in the way of being with his sweetheart, Mabel.
“In my opinion, this piece is the strongest of the 14 (Gilbert and Sullivan operettas) in terms of the music,” King said. “It’s tight. There really is not a weak link in it. Each number is really full of action and full of tunes.”
An operetta is different from an opera because it contains spoken dialogue and resembles musical theater.
One of the biggest challenges for Joshua Larson, choreographer from Music Theatre of Wichita, was teaching dance to voice majors. Opera singers are used to standing while they sing, but Larson expects them to memorize the steps, too.
“It’s a great piece if somebody wants to check out the opera department for the first time,” junior voice performance major Alyson Golladay, who plays Ruth in the operetta, said. “This is the ideal thing because it’s just so much fun.”
Golladay describes her character as an, “old, cougar pirate,” and never gets tired of all the cheesy jokes that she hears each night during rehearsals.
“Everyone needs to come to this one,” Larson said. “It’s a short one, and it’s a fun one.”
Tickets are $16 with discounts, available through the College of Fine Arts Box Office at (316) 978-3233 or www.wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice.
