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Who Played Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance

Ruth is a role in The Pirates of Penzance, a musical that opened Broadway in 1981.

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.

28 actors have played Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance.

View full cast of The Pirates of Penzance

Performer Production Opened
Alice Barnett Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1879
Fanny Harrison Regional (UK) The Pirates of Penzance 1879
Emily Cross West End The Pirates of Penzance 1880
Josephine Jacoby Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1912
Vera Ross Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1926
Vera Ross Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1927
Anne Yago Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1931
Vera Ross Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1933
Dorothy Gill Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1934
Vera Ross Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1934
Vera Ross Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1935
Evelyn Gardiner Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1936
Vera Ross Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1936
Evelyn Gardiner Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1939
Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1940
Helen Lanvin Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1942
Catherine Judah Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1944
Catherine Judah Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1946
Ella Halman Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1948
Jean Handzlik Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1949
Ella Halman Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1951
Ella Halman Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1952
Ann Drummond-Grant Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1955
Lyndsie Holland Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1976
Muriel Costa-Greenspon Off-Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1977
Ethelmae Mason Off-Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1979
Estelle Parsons Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Jo Anne Worley US Tour The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Kaye Ballard Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Marsha Bagwell Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Marsha Bagwell US Tour The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Spring Fairbank Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Wendy Wolfe Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Annie Ross West End The Pirates of Penzance 1982
Joanna Glushak East Haddam, CT (Regional) The Pirates of Penzance 2006
Liz McCartney Milburn, NJ (Regional) Pirates! 2007
Lucy Schaufer West End The Pirates of Penzance 2017
Jinkx Monsoon Broadway Pirates! The Penzance Musical 2025

Other Roles in The Pirates of Penzance

Role Production Opened
Edith Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Ensemble Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Frederic Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Isabel Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Kate Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Mabel Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Major-General Stanley Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Major-General Stanley's Daughter Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Performer Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Pirate and Policeman Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Ruth Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
Samuel Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
The Pirate King Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981
The Sergeant of Police Broadway The Pirates of Penzance 1981

“Ruth” Also Appears In

Production Type Year
Harmony Broadway 2023
Titanique Off-Broadway 2022
Soul Doctor Broadway 2013
Blithe Spirit Broadway 2009
The Homecoming Broadway 2007
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Broadway 1982
The Pirates of Penzance Off-Broadway 1980
The Norman Conquests: Living Together Broadway 1975
The Norman Conquests: Round and Round the Garden Broadway 1975
The Norman Conquests: Table Manners Broadway 1975
Milk and Honey Broadway 1961
Wonderful Town US Tour 1954
Ruddigore Broadway 1927

Photos from The Pirates of Penzance

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