THE HANGOVER REPORT – NYGASP’s buoyant revival of Gilbert and Sullivan’s THE PIRATES PENZANCE is the ideal show to usher in springtime

David Wannen (center) as the Pirate King in the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ revival of “The Pirates of Penzance” at the Kay Playhouse at Hunter College (photo by William Reynolds).

This past weekend at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, I caught one of only a handful of performances of New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ production of the beloved operetta The Pirates of Penzance. With New York City Opera’s programming now a shadow of what it once was and the Metropolitan Opera largely staying away from the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, NYGASP has been elevated as the city’s premiere presenter of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.

It’s clear from the moment the curtain rose on the Saturday matinee showing that these folks know what they’re doing when it comes to staging the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Musically, the performance was sparkling, beginning with associate conductor Joseph Rubin, who led the excellent NYGASP Orchestra in a buoyant account of the tuneful, crowd-pleasing score. The voices were handily equipped to tackle the operatic demands of the score; particularly strong in the dual-casted production were baritone David Wannen as the Pirate King (Mr. Wannen is a veteran in the role and also the company’s Executive Director), tenor Christopher Robin Sapp as Frederic, and Sophie Thompson as Mabel. NYGASP also thoroughly understands Gilbert and Sullivan’s tongue-in-cheek humor, which the cast delivered with spontaneity and a gleefully knowing wink to the audience. For their inspired comic performances, the prizes in this department go to David Macaluso and David Auxier as the Major General Stanley and the Sergeant of Police, respectively.

NYGASP’s production is one of the classic jewels in its repertoire. The staging by Albert Bergeret (who also conducted certain performances) – which features charmingly quaint sets and lovely new costumes – equally emphasizes the contributions of William S. Gilbert (words) and Arthur Sullivan (music). As such, the lively book scenes were just as integral and heartily satisfying as the musical numbers, and each was seamlessly interwoven into the other. In summary, I had a perfectly delectable time at NYGASP’s revival of The Pirates of Penzance. I can scarcely think of a more joyous way to have ushered in springtime.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
Operetta
New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Closed

Categories: Music, Opera, Other Music

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