'Pirates' will steal all frowns and leave big grins

THEATER REVIEW
Wednesday, September 29, 2004

BY TED MERWIN
For The Patriot-News

Nothing summed up the mood of an age more precisely than did the operettas of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan in late Victorian Britain, a society at the height of its imperial powers and consequently ripe for parody and satire.

The opening of one of their light operas, whether in London or New York, was an event of such magnitude that it was not unusual for fights to break out over tickets.

Gilbert and Sullivan's enduring popularity is evident in Theatre Harrisburg's new production of "The Pirates of Penzance," one of the best-loved of all of Gilbert and Sullivan's works.

Directed by Tom Hostetter, a 25-year veteran of the company, this "Pirates" is ripping good fun. George H. Diehl plays Frederic, the Pirate Apprentice, with such an appealing, innocent look on his face (and a ponytail on the back of his head) that he captivates the audience from his first appearance; his brief Elvis impersonation is priceless.

He also sings uncommonly well, which is necessary given that his love interest, Mabel, is played by the phenomenal Bridgette Gan, a senior at Central Dauphin High School, whose mezzo soprano voice is so extraordinary that she seems assured of a successful pro career in opera.

Others in the cast also are strong, including Stosh Snyder as a rubbery-faced and nimble-bodied Police Sergeant, leading his corps of petrified patrolmen as they attempt to apprehend the pirates, and Nathan Brant as a clumsy, bumbling Pirate King.

Pam Eusi is a delightful Ruth, reprising the same role she played in Hostetter's 1987 staging of "Pirates."

The cast is hampered by somewhat pedestrian choreography (this is especially true of Eric Dundore's performance of the famous song, "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General") but the director wisely emphasizes the physical, slapstick comedic elements.

Brilliant wordplay is an integral part of Gilbert's humor, but Hostetter also gets laughs when characters are rendered speechless or, in one particularly amusing scene, even resort to a game of charades to get their point across.

Richard Fowler conducts the orchestra with style and verve; its spirited playing brings out the glories of the music, which includes such highlights as "Poor Wandering One!," "When a Felon's Not Engaged in his Employment" and the hilariously fortissimo "With Cat-Like Tread."

"I don't think much of our profession, but contrasted with respectability it's comparatively honest," the Pirate King says in a frequently quoted line. The weakness of many of Gilbert and Sullivan's characters lies in their propensity for self-reflection; the more they actually think about what they are doing, the more they tend to get themselves into trouble.