The McGill Savoy Society to Present THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, Opening Tonight Through 2/18

By: Feb. 10, 2017
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The McGill Savoy Society will be presenting Gilbert and Sullivan's THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE at Moyse Hall, McGill Arts Building, 555 Sherbrooke Street West from February 10, 2017 through February 18, 2017.

Young Frederic is indentured to a band of not-so-deadly pirates until his 21st birthday, when he sets out into the world and quickly wins the heart of Mabel, the eldest of Major-General Stanley's many daughters. But a technicality soon reinstates Frederic's piratical apprenticeship. Will true love win out over duty? Some of Sullivan's most tuneful melodies and Gilbert's most wry wordplay enliven this classic operetta.

Aaron Meredith as the Pirate King

Founded in 1964, The McGill Savoy Society celebrated its 52nd Anniversary last year as the oldest university-affiliaTed Gilbert and Sullivan Troupe in Canada. As a student-run organization of the Students' Society of McGill University, the McGill Savoy Society is a non-profit, high-profile theatre group that produces a mainstage production operetta in addition to a variety of sideshows every year. The production's cast, technical team, creative team, and executives are primarily comprised of McGill University students and recent graduates. The McGill Savoy Society is proud to foster a widespread plethora of theatrical knowledge both on and off stage.

Sebastien Comtois as Frederic and
Sevan Kochkarian as Mabel

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE; or, THE SLAVE OF DUTY was first performed in England at the Royal Bijou Theatre in Paignton, Devon on 30 December, 1879, and then premiered in the United States the following day at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City. Months later, on 3 April 1880, the operetta debuted in London at the Opera Comique and ran 363 performances. In the absence of international copyright laws, the cross-continental premieres were meant to discourage the then-common occurrence of 'pirated' American productions, such as followed the first English production of Gilbert and Sullivan's previous work, H.M.S. PINAFORE. After the New York premiere, four American touring companies-trained by Gilbert and Sullivan themselves-performed the operetta across the United States through the

Scott Cope as Major-General Stanley
with his daughters

summer of 1880. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company toured the British provinces with the show from 1880-1884, and later in 1888. It was a staple of D'Oyly Carte's touring repertory from 1893 to the time the company closed in 1982. In 1980, American producer Joseph Papp commemorated the operetta's centenary with a heavily revised version that ran nearly two years on Broadway and in London's West End. A 1983 film adaptation starred Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt, reprising their respective Broadway roles as the Pirate King and Mabel, while Angela Lansbury played the role of Ruth.

Show dates and times:
Friday, February 10, at 7:30PM
Saturday, February 11 at 2:00PM & 7:30PM
Friday, February 17 at 7:30PM
Saturday, February 18 at 2:00PM & 7:30PM

TICKETS: https://mcgillsavoysociety.yapsody.com/event/index/59062/the-pirates-of-penzance

Photos courtesy of Cai Cheng

 

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