By Rachel Ricks
Pirates of Penzance, a classic yet comical operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan put on by CenterPoint Legacy Theatre in Centerville, Utah makes for a night of laughter, fun, and entertainment. This production tells the story of Frederic, a boy mistakenly apprenticed to the Pirate King who, upon his 21st birthday and the end of his service, renounces pirating and sets out to find a wife. Along the way he meets General Stanley’s daughters and takes particular interest in Mabel. It is later brought to Frederic’s attention that he was born on February 29th of a leap year, making him only five years old, at which point he feels it is duty to return to his service to the Pirate King and chaos ensues.
Director and Choreographer Liz Christensen does a great job of blending modern overtones and humor into the production, which takes places in England during the reign of Queen Victoria. While the production first premiered in 1879, it felt very relevant to a modern day audience through Christensen’s direction, the actors’ choices, and the hilarious use of supertitles that sometimes strayed from the actual words being sung to translations such as “K Thx Bye”, “They like it so they wanna put a ring on it”, “Pity date” and “Holla”. I loved the directing choices and the modern spin that had the audience giggling the whole production. The beautiful music heard the whole night was under the direction of Anthony T. Buck who brought out the best in each character as well as the beautiful harmonies heard in the ensemble numbers.
Frederic, played by Derek Marsden and Mabel, played by Kahli Dalbow were perfectly cast for their parts and very believable in their roles. Marsden’s portrayal of Frederic is spot on, and I loved the young and boisterous feel he brought to the character. He is vocally strong with a great vibrato and beautiful top notes as you would hope from this tenor role. Dalbow has a beautiful voice, it was obvious that she has had some serious vocal training. She had me hanging on to every word she sung in her beautiful deliverance of “Poor Wand’ring One” and every subsequent song she sang.
The standout of the night was definitely Major General Stanley, played by David Marsden. His presence is felt immediately and he commands the stage and engages the audience with every line he delivers. Marsden puts loads of personality and enunciation into every single word sung in “I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major-General” and was perfectly cast for the part. I absolutely loved his portrayal of the general.
Frederic’s nurse, Ruth, is portrayed by Laura Alsop Checketts. Checketts acts the part well and her strong voice is a great fit the part of Ruth. Monte Garcia plays the Pirate King and I loved his portrayal of the character. He brings humor and wit to the part of the King, especially when convincing Frederic of his duty to come back and be a pirate and in all his interactions with the General. Kat Tietjen plays Edith and I found myself constantly drawn to her during the ensemble numbers because of great presence on stage, dancing, and acting.
The ensemble of pirates, police, and daughters are full of great actors and actresses that had the audience laughing at their facial expressions and whimsical characters. I loved that you could tell that each ensemble member was not just a daughter or a pirate but that they had a specific backstory for their characters that gave them depth and unique, and distinct personalities. Some of my favorite dancing of the night came from the Police force members who had the audience cracking up at every move they made, and every low note they sang. I only wished their hats were a little higher on their heads so that we could see their facials a bit better because I could tell they were great.
The show came together due to the great costuming by Jeana Forthman and Nita Smith and the set design by Bryan Christensen. The production team is in sync and uses small but effective details in the costuming and set to bring the production together.
So bring your darlings to see this darling production of Pirates of Penzance at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre. You will find much to love here and you’ll be smiling as you leave the beautiful theatre. I bet you’ll be humming one of the many jaunty tunes as you drive home.
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre Presents Pirates of Penzance by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre, 525 N 400 W Centerville, Utah 84014
August 3– September 1, 2018, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $14-27
Contact: 801-298-1302
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre Facebook page
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