The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players to Present THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE at Coppell

The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players are bringing their production of The Pirates of Penzance to Coppell on Friday, July 25 at 8 PM. Join the band of swashbuckling buccaneers, bumbling British bobbies, frolicsome Victorian maidens, and the delightfully dotty “model of a modern Major-General” for a rollicking romp over the rocky coast of Cornwall.

This exuberant musical theater masterpiece, directed and conducted by Albert Bergeret with choreography by Bill Fabris, is performed in its original format. The rich sounds of full orchestra, chorus, and legitimate vocal soloists resonate with classic elegance and power while the company's vibrancy, energy and contemporary sense of humor keep the show alive and exciting to a modern audience.

The Pirates of Penzance was first performed at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on December 31, 1879. It was the only Gilbert & Sullivan operetta to have its world premiere in the United States and it has remained popular both here and throughout the English-speaking world ever since. Gilbert's wit (always incisive but never vicious or dated) and Sullivan's memorable score are among the most valuable treasures of musical theater history.

The plot centers on the dilemma of young Frederic who, as a child, was mistakenly apprenticed to the pirates until his twenty-first birthday. Since he was born on leap day, February 29, he is honor bound to remain a pirate until the distant date of 1940, despite his moral objection to piracy. Helping Frederic to deal with this unusual predicament are the brash Pirate King, Ruth - the pirate maid-of-all-work, romantic Mabel, and the delightfully stuffy Major-General Stanley.