“The Pirates of Penzance" at St. Ambrose University -- April 25 through May 4.
Friday, April 25, through Sunday, May 4
St. Ambrose University Studio Theatre, 518 West Locust Street, Davenport IA
One of the most ticklish and tuneful operettas in theatrical history enjoys an April 25 through May 24 run at Davenport's St. Ambrose University with the theatre department's staging of The Pirates of Penzance, the beloved Gilbert & Sullivan masterpiece whose 1981 Broadway production won the Tony Award for Best Revival and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical.
Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera is packed full of sentimental pirates, blundering policeman, absurd adventures, and improbable paradoxes. In this timeless, romantic, and hilarious work, Frederic, a pirate’s apprentice, falls head-over-heels in love with Mabel, the daughter of Major-General Stanley. Frederic is due to be released from his apprenticeship on his 21st birthday, but there’s a snag: As he was born on the 29th of February, Frederic discovers that he is, technically, only a five-year-old. Although he is very much in love, Frederic's dedication to his fellow pirates is unshakeable. Filled with delightfully familiar operatic tunes such as “Poor Wan'dring One” and the sublime tongue-twister “I Am the Very Model (of a Modern Major General),” The Pirates of Penzance asks whether lovesick Frederic can ultimately find a way to live happily ever after with Mabel, yet still find a way to honor his duty.
Directing and choreographing The Pirates of Penzance is the St. Ambrose theatre-department chair and professor Daniel Hale, whose previous stage presentations for the university have included The Secret in the Wings, She Kills Monsters, and The Little Prince. Hale's latest production in the university's Studio Theatre will not only boast a cast of student performers, faculty members, and SAU alumni, but is being designed as a fully interactive and immersive in-the-round experience, with cast members entering from all corners of the theatre and the audience called upon to help with sound effects and the employment of props. Before each performance, several members of the audience will also be invited to join characters on stage for portions of the show. Grace Hagerman serves as Pirates' stage manager, and additional members of Hale's creative team include: music director Nathan Windt; scenic and lighting designer Aaron Hook; assistant stage managers Bella Vitale and Bella Ruscitti; and pianist Gail Baldwin.
St. Ambrose alumnus Charles Murphy portrays the pirate apprentice Frederic, with his castmates including university professors Chris Schwartz (The Pirate King), Philip Goldfarb Styrt (Samuel), and John Stachula (Sergeant of Police). The role of Major-General Stanley will be enacted by SAU student Zach Ulmer, with Abi Jensen as Stanley's daughter Mabel, and the Pirates of Penzance ensemble is completed by: Ebby Barber; Matthew Coomber; Faith Foley; Allison Harker; Olha Huska; Catie Johnson; Paloma Lopez; Megan Rohn; Callie Thomas; Esther Windt; and four additional SAU professors – Matthew Coomber, Larry Skillin, theatre-department technical director Aaron Hook, and Hale himself.
The Pirates of Penzance will be staged in the studio theatre of St. Ambrose University's Galvin Fine Arts Center April 25 through May 4, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $15, and more information is available by calling (563)333-6251 and visiting Facebook.com/SAUTheatre.
