The Pirates of Penzance Revival 1939

Ages: 8+
Opened: January 5, 1939

The Pirates of Penzance - 1939 - Broadway History , Info & More

Martin Beck Theatre
302 W. 45th St. New York, NY 10036

No Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera boasts as many walk-away tunes as The Pirates of Penzance, the only collaboration of the pair to premiere on Broadway, and not in England. Building on the success of the previous year’s H.M.S. Pinafore, but trading—as their principal “serious” focus—the rigors of naval discipline for the obligations of duty, G&S manage to burlesque their normal share of popular institutions, including the army, the police, and operatic sopranos. Pirate apprentice Frederic, at age 21, has faithfully served out his indentures and, replete with a sense of duty, joins the police force, determined to exterminate his old mates. He falls in love with Mabel, the first girl he sees, but the daughter of Major-General Stanley, who himself is the target of a pirate revenge plot. Plans go awry when it is revealed that, thanks to a leap-day birth, Frederic is really only five and one-quarter years old. The engaging musical score includes some of the catchiest music in the G&S canon: Mabel’s pyrotechnic “Poor, wandering one;” the tongue-twisting patter song “I am the very model of a modern major-general;” “A policeman’s lot;” “Climbing over rocky mountain”—a survivor from Thespis, G&S’s lost first stage work; and “With catlike tread,” which, more than a quarter-century later, was given new words as “Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.” At The Egyptian Theatre.

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The Pirates of Penzance FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What productions of The Pirates of Penzance have there been?
The Pirates of Penzance has had 51 productions including Broadway which opened in 1900, Broadway which opened in 1900, Broadway which opened in 1912, Broadway which opened in 1912, Broadway which opened in 1918, Broadway which opened in 1918, Broadway which opened in 1926, Broadway which opened in 1926, Broadway which opened in 1927, Broadway which opened in 1927, Broadway which opened in 1931, Broadway which opened in 1931, Broadway which opened in 1933, Broadway which opened in 1933, Broadway which opened in 1934, Broadway which opened in 1934, Broadway which opened in 1934, Broadway which opened in 1934, Broadway which opened in 1935, Broadway which opened in 1935, Broadway which opened in 1936, Broadway which opened in 1936, Broadway which opened in 1936, Broadway which opened in 1939, Broadway which opened in 1940, Broadway which opened in 1942, Broadway which opened in 1944, Broadway which opened in 1946, Broadway which opened in 1946, Broadway which opened in 1948, Broadway which opened in 1949, Broadway which opened in 1949, Broadway which opened in 1951, Broadway which opened in 1952, Broadway which opened in 1952, Broadway which opened in 1955, Broadway which opened in 1955, Off-Broadway which opened in 1961, Broadway which opened in 1976, Broadway which opened in 1976, Off-Broadway which opened in 1977, Off-Broadway which opened in 1979, Broadway which opened in 1981, Broadway which opened in 1981, US Tour which opened in 1981, West End which opened in 1982, Off-Off-Broadway which opened in 1986, Off-Broadway which opened in 2006, East Haddam, CT (Regional) which opened in 2006, Milburn, NJ (Regional) which opened in 2007 and West End which opened in 2017.

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