Meredith Kreigh
Managing Editor
Young maidens, pirates, the local police force and “the very model of a modern major-general” took the stage as the Bryan Opera Theatre and Bryan College Music Department presented “The Pirates of Penzance.”
This operetta by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan premiered in 1871. It has since been replicated as a movie and in the auditoriums of numerous colleges and universities.
The first act opens on a band of pirates who never attack anyone weaker than themselves and invariably lose when they attack anyone stronger. The youngest, Frederic, played by Garrett Hill, is a man who has lived 21 years. He believes he has reached the end of his apprenticeship to the Pirate King, played by Jay Carpenter, only to be foiled by a loophole.
The story follows Frederic in his consideration for a wife. First he is shown Bethany Sheats’ character, Ruth, who, aged by makeup, is found to be incredibly plain. Then he moves on to 15 beautiful young ladies, all with bouncing curls and skirts that brushed the floor.
But along comes Mabel, portrayed by Brittany Feeser, in an audacious lavender gown. She is sister to the 15 others, daughters of Major-General Stanley, played by returning actor Randy Bright, class of 2013. She immediately demands the attention of Frederic only to find that he is still a pirate.
“The Pirates of Penzance” is Gilbert and Sullivan’s effective mockery of British aristocracy. Bright’s character is one of those mockeries. While he may display extensive knowledge about mathematics, history and literature, the major-general himself does not list a single military victory.
Gilbert and Sullivan also introduce mockery through the constabulary. Though they exaggerate their bravado, the police cower behind strict rules of order and regulation, failing to actually “Go to immortality! Go to death and go to slaughter” as Mabel urges them to do.
The major-general and the pirates were able to reconcile their differences for they all loved Queen Victoria.
The crowd cheered not only at the closing of both acts but at the end of every song. They immediately stood to their feet as the final act closed. It ended with pirates and maidens all joining together in blissful matrimony at the blessing of Major-General Stanley. No loopholes that time.
