‘O’er the Playbill-owy Waters’: 10 Creative Pirates of Penzance PLAYBILLDER Covers
With Pirates! The Penzance Musical to Broadway, here’s a look at unique school and community theatre productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan musical.
Welcome to PLAYBILLDER Spotlight, where Playbill highlights shows from educational institutions or regional theatres and special events around the country (who have used Playbill’s program-building service). By welcoming these PLAYBILLDERs center stage, we hope to give our readers a more in-depth look at theatre programs that are fostering the love of the performing arts in the next generation and the way theatre lovers are bringing Playbill along for life’s big moments.
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When Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1878 opera H.M.S. Pinafore became a smash hit, it quickly crossed the Atlantic, spawning dozens of unlicensed “pirated” productions in the United States, where the author’s British copyright held no power. Gilbert and Sullivan responded by creating their next opera—about pirates—for an American audience, and premiering it on Broadway on New Year’s Eve 1879. The gambit paid off, and The Pirates of Penzance has remained popular in the United States ever since, spawning numerous Broadway revivals, including a brand-new adaptation called Pirates! The Penzance Musical, which opens tonight at the Todd Haimes Theatre. Because Gilbert and Sullivan’s works are in the public domain, they remain popular for schools and community theatres to produce and experiment with, creating all sorts of unique and inventive ways to interpret the material. Here’s a look at some of those productions, which used PLAYBILLDER to create their programs.
Miami Acting Company’s The Pirates of Penzance
South Side High School’s The Pirates of Penzance
Aspen High School’s The Pirates of Penzance
SRO Theatre Company’s The Pirates of Penzance
Wauconda High School’s The Pirates of Penzance
Western Wyoming Community College’s The Pirates of Penzance
Kyle Rossetti
Saint Patrick Catholic School’s The Pirates of Penzance
Studio 12 Collaborative School of Music and Acting’s The Pirates of Penzance
Kaara McHugh
Southwest Baptist University’s The Pirates of Penzance
Journey Theater Arts Group’s The Pirates of Penzance
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