What ever happened to Gilbert and Sullivan? Once theatrical icons, Gilbert and Sullivan — co-creators of famed comic operettas including “H.M.S. Pinafore” and “The Mikado” — have taken a noticeable dip in popularity in recent years. Their 1879 operetta “The Pirates of Penzance” was a runaway hit and has been revived on Broadway numerous times, mostly famously in a 1981 production starring Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt (and memorialized in the 1983 film), but now their work is mostly performed by community theaters. Roundabout Theatre Company has decided to bring them back to Broadway with a bit of makeover. This new production — an adaptation by Rupert Holmes with new orchestrations by Joseph Joubert and Daryl Waters — does a laudable job updating the material for a contemporary audience, re-christening it “Pirates! The Penzance Musical,” now set in New Orleans.
As in the original, “Pirates!” tells the story of Frederic (Nicholas Barasch), who has been duty-bound by his dead father to apprentice for a group of incompetent pirates. Upon his twenty-first birthday, he is freed and comes ashore to join society and find a bride, but as with all Gilbert and Sullivan pieces, topsy-turvy hijinks ensue, this time as a result of some improbable calendrical technicalities.
Before things get started, however, this adaptation begins with a metatheatrical curtain speech by composer Arthur Sullivan (Preston Truman Boyd, who also plays the Police Sergeant) and writer William S. Gilbert (David Hyde Pierce, also appearing as Major-General Stanley). They preface the performance by offering an unconvincing explanation for why this “Pirates!” is set in New Orleans and has incorporated the city’s “colorful personality” and “exotic rhythms.” They appeal slightly to history, referencing copyrights and the fact that “Pirates of Penzance” premiered in New York, but it is mostly clear this is purely a flight of directorial and adaptive fancy.
There’s fun to be had in this reconceived setting and a litany of lyrics and jokes about New Orleans have been incorporated, but it brings up some dramaturgical questions. The program and the curtain speech inform us we are in 1880, yet the score is infused with jazz and blues and there are several choreographic nods to the Charleston, all of which imply a setting later than 1880. It’s unclear why, after choosing to locate this production in New Orleans with new, jazzy orchestrations, the creative team still decided to keep it in the 19th century, instead of, say, the 1920s, when the pirates might’ve been bootleggers.
Surprisingly, most of Gilbert’s lyrics do not sound painfully awkward in an American accent, though Pierce proves how much better it all sounds British. Only one moment legitimately doesn’t work in our local dialect: in a reveal of a crucial misunderstanding, Ruth, Frederick’s former nanny (played by the incomparable Jinkx Monsoon of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”), recalls mishearing the word “pilot” as “pirate” — which here only works when the cast over-enunciates the word as “pi-LOT.” (Nevermind the fact that Americans would never call a tugboat captain a “pilot” to begin with.)
Operetta is a historically important albeit mostly forgotten genre, and the crucial stepping stone between opera and musical theater. In operetta, songs function the same way they do in musicals, but the style and tone (not to mention the usage of the chorus) is so different that an operetta song is instantly recognizable. For the most part, the team behind this revival has re-orchestrated, re-arranged, heavily adapted, interpolated, and substantially altered the songs, both musically and lyrically, to such an extent that many now have a musical theater sound. The few songs that remain more or less untouched, while closer to the Gilbert and Sullivan original, stick out and feel sluggish, outdated, and oddly enough, out of place. A “fa-la la-la” chorus in a love duet is just too hard of a sell nowadays, and generally, vestiges of operetta bring the show down. It is at its best when it really feels like a musical — which, thankfully, is most of the time.
Structurally, the second act is decidedly weaker, in large part due to the nonsense plot, which runs out of conflict or interest as it slowly creeps toward the inevitable happy ending. This revival exacerbates the problem by interpolating three Gilbert and Sullivan songs from “Iolanthe,” “The Mikado,” and “H.M.S. Pinafore.” The first is another patter song for Pierce, which is needless. The second is an aria that has been beaten into a ballad for Monsoon, and although she makes the most of her spotlight moment, the song doesn’t give her enough to work with and she deserves something stronger.
In an odd choice, the finale has been cut and replaced with a song from a different show. The creative team transformed “He Is an Englishman” into a head-scratching number celebrating diversity, immigration, and cultural blending, called “We’re All From Someplace Else.” As a dénouement for “Pirates!” it makes little sense, attempting to shoehorn in a message which the show never explored elsewhere — and it’s not helped by a jarring staging that transitions us from the show’s climactic skirmish to Mardi Gras. It’s certainly a perplexing way to end the show, and the bid for relevancy is neither successful nor necessary.
Still, it is easy enough to put aside almost all quibbles about genre tensions or adaptation choices because the production is so joyous and well-executed. Director Scott Ellis keeps things light, bouncy, and maximizes the hilarity. Lindo Cho’s colorful costumes play with period details, and David Rockwell’s sets even include a massive pirate ship. The choreography by Warren Carlyle is sensational, energetic, and whimsical, making inventive use of props including pirouetting parasols, spectacular sabres, and fierce flagging. Many of the big numbers are so enjoyable it makes you immediately want to see the production again. (Thankfully, the show treats us to a few brief encores.)
This revival soars in large part due to its fantastic cast, especially Pierce, Barasch, Monsoon, and Ramin Karimloo, playing the Pirate King. Pierce and Karimloo embrace their characters’ operatic origins, but transform them into musical comedy icons. Pierce displays his unparalleled talent for subtlety and nonchalance, rattling off the infamously difficult polysyllabic rhyming patter of “I am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” — a true masterclass in comedy — and also delivering a host of witty puns with metatheatrical eyebrow raises to the audience (since he is technically playing Gilbert playing the Major-General, amused at his own cleverness). Karimloo gives a muscular performance, chest ablaze, hamming it up and flawlessly executing athletic stunts. Barasch is clearly having a blast as the adorably dutiful Frederic, though he sometimes gets lost in the murky waters between operetta and musical theater.
Monsoon is a triumph. Broadway should be honored to have her gracing the boards, as she is sure to be canonized as one of the all-time comedy greats. She makes a meal out of a cameo role, which the creative team have wisely expanded. It’s a great piece of progress to have a trans actress and drag queen on Broadway playing a role that is neither explicitly trans nor a drag role. Monsoon helps prove that while she can bring her identity and artistic skills to a part, she need not always or only be a reflection of herself on stage. She is an extremely talented, versatile performer with the ability to play a wide range of roles — and to play them very well.
There might be a few bumpy waves in this piratical adaptation, but the booty is well-worth the effort. Even though it is unlikely to spur a trend of Gilbert and Sullivan revivals, this production wholly justifies itself, providing a hearty dose of musical comedy fun and absolutely earning the exclamation point of its title.
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