A Utah Theater Review by Shannon Eden
The Pirates of Penzance, put on by the SCERA’s High School Company, Acting Up! tells the tale of naive Frederick, a now twenty-one-year-old young man who has been indentured to the Pirate King and his crew since he was eight years old due to a mistake made by his hard of hearing nursemaid, Ruth, who was supposed to deliver him into the hands of a ship’s pilot! Ever the slave of duty, Frederick has remained with the band because of his contract, but bids his friends and their detestable career farewell as soon as he is free, leaving behind the only world he has known, the only woman he has known, and embarks on a ridiculous adventure full of beautiful maidens, a cunning Major-General, and a slew of cowardly policemen, all the while being pursued by his former comrades.
An operetta written by Gilbert and Sullivan, Pirates of Penzance has always been, and always will be, one of my very favorite shows. It is light-hearted and silly, and just plain fun to watch. The characters are all over the top and full of whimsy – it is an escape into a world where even the ‘bad guys’ have a happy ending. I grew up watching the movie production of it, have been in the show twice, and have seen many renditions done in many different theaters.
I will admit that I entered the SCERA theater expecting a mediocre performance. How much can you expect from a group of high school students? High school level talent…right? I’m happy to say that I was very much wrong. I was prepared to edit my review in accordance to an audience’s lower expectations when going to see a youth theater production, but – and I hope the cast will take it as a most sincere compliment – the show, having been just as good as most community plays I have been to, I feel, deserves an honest critique from a critic who truly enjoyed the show.
Directed by Kathryn Laycock Little, and assisted by Brodee Ripple, the Acting Up! company truly put on a quality show. Laycock moved her characters around the stage in a believable yet entertaining way and obviously had a lot of fun with this show. Ripple was also the choreographer and I found the dancing to be entertaining, yet not so rigorous that it took away from the singing (that inevitably must occur at the same time when dealing with an operetta). The maidens frolicked and I could still hear them singing! The pirates wrestled…and I could still hear them singing! The set, designed by Teri Griffin, was also very well done. The whole stage was framed by a facade that looked like carvings burnt into wood, and each scene change had a helpful sign of the same design that gave the background an almost classical comic book feel. I loved the pirate ship – with its working wheel and rope ladder, giving the pirates so much to do without cluttering the stage with unneccesaries. The show, really only having three major scene changes, requires a simple yet interesting set so that you don’t get bored with it since you have to look at the same places for so long! Griffin did an excellent job providing that interest. Costuming was a delightful aspect of the show as well, done by Ripple again (busy guy!) and Kelsey Seaver. I loved the diversity of the pirates, although I must say…I absolutely hated the clown boots that some of them were wearing! They were so clunky and distracting, I think that it would have served their characters better to not have footwear so very much out of place on a stage full of the more traditional costumes. The maidens were fresh and light. I would have liked to see some facial hair on the Major-General. With a cast so young, it would have been nice to provide more of a distinction between him and his daughters. Although, I am so very glad that the choice was made to refrain from making him, or Ruth, ‘old’ by use of make-up. It was better to see them portray their age differences as opposed to slathering their faces in lines and wrinkles. The sound and lighting seemed very smooth and professional, having really only one sound hiccup that I noticed all night when the Police Sergeant’s mic wasn’t on for half of his song – which was a shame, but he pushed right through it and projected very well. Overall, very well done. I hardly paid attention to the technical aspects of the show, which is, in fact, the best compliment I can pay to the crew. They did their job, highlighting the show and the actors without letting the audience even know that they were there.
The Pirate King, played by Will Pritchard, stole the show from the very beginning. Pritchard delivered a cocky King whom you couldn’t help but love and laugh at. He had great comedic timing and swagger – so much so, that not one person spared an “awww” for the guy he shot mid-song, they just laughed. I did wish that his “Pirate King” song had had a bit more flexibility in the track. He felt a bit rushed in some spots, having to speed along in places where a bit of a longer pause could have helped with the comedy going on on stage. The “Hail Poetry” segment was a fun touch, with the Pirate King leading the others – a touch of Amadeus, crazy hair and all. The interaction Pritchard had with those in the audience was delightful.
Ruth, played by Katya Wagstaff, was another over-the-top performance. She was quirky and fun, and I loved her cave woman-esque hair. There were quite a few times that I felt she was playing more for laughs then doing things that were character driven, but her performance was over all very solid, and her voice was strong. I was a little distracted by the choice to portray Ruth with a cockney accent. Wagstaff did the accent well enough, but her being the only person in the whole show that had an accent was a little disengaging – they are, after all, presumably from the same country, so how come she’s the only one that speaks differently?
Major-General Stanley, played by Michael Allen – I wrote one word about General Stanley after he finished, “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” – effortless. There was absolutely nothing showy or out there about Allen’s stage presence, but I laughed at just about everything he did. The slightest gesture or facial expression made you snicker, just because of where it was placed or how subtly it was done. His snarky comments to the pirates were well timed – even his weeping and wailing made the audience laugh. Like I said before, the only thing I felt he was missing was a mustache or something – the only thing at all distracting was the fact that he looked more like the maidens’ brother as opposed to their elderly father.
The Sergeant of Police, played by Ammon Loveless, though only in a comparatively small portion of the show, was awkward and uncomfortable on stage – and I mean that in the very best way. Sporting a rather large ‘stache, Loveless was still able to convey what an absolute chicken he was and led his band of equally chicken officers into a fun encounter with the completely opposite band of pirates. I did, however, struggle to understand the purpose of lunch sacks passed out to all of the police force. Like the pirates’ clown boots, the sandwiches were very distracting for me – and though it gave them something to do, they had to sing with full mouths, or in the Sergeant’s case, just sing while holding it most of the time – not my favorite prop. The entire police force, being made up by girls, lost a bit of feeling for me too, just because I missed the deep voices that come out so strongly in their normally masculine musical segments. However, I did like the touch at the end when the girls were ‘revealed’ to wed some of the pirates and engage in some shameless flirting with the Sergeant – another place where Loveless’ facial expressions shined!
With the good, there always has to be a bit of not so good. I was disappointed in the performances from both Frederick, played by Kyle Vorkink, and Mabel, played by Savannah Liechty. I am the first to admit that both parts vocally are incredibly challenging in both range and lyrics, and Vorkink and Liechty did do a decent job of execution in that department. However, they both seemed so concentrated on the vocal aspects, that their acting suffered. Liechty relied heavily on ‘princess hands’ and silly smiles to convey Mabel’s character. Vorkink lost a lot of the comedy of his lines by simply reciting them. One I made note of in particular was, “Oh, horror!” I felt little, if anything close to ‘horror’ at his realization that he was bound by duty to betray the father of the girl he loved. Both leads have great potential if they focus a little more on why their characters do what they do and say what they say, and try to find a connection with those they interact with.
The ensemble in this show was the very backbone of the performance – not one scene would have been the same without them. From the smaller leads of Samuel (Tanner Wood), Edith (Kelsey Philips), Kate (T’Naiha Ellis), and Isabel (Lauren Pugmire), to all those simply listed as ‘Pirates,’ ‘Sisters,’ or ‘Policemen.’ The interactions between them on stage was entertaining and fun. I found myself a little let down at the end that there wasn’t one last chase scene between pirates and maidens because their interactions were just enjoyable to watch and so creative. This cast worked really well together and supported the leads with every ounce of talent they had – which in this group was quite a lot!
At the end of it all, I still love Pirates of Penzance, and I am all the more educated on the wonderful youth theater program that is Acting Up!. I am excited to see more from this group.
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