PCPA’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’ sure to steal some laughs

Let’s make one thing clear about “The Pirates of Penzance”: This is not your great-great-great-great granddaddy’s Gilbert and Sullivan.

In PCPA-Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s production of the comic opera, director Brad Carroll and his cast go engagingly off-script — plumping up an already silly story with playful asides, sight gags and physical comedy. There are punny pirates, a joke-cracking Major General and, yes, policemen with Queen Victoria hand puppets.

The theater company establishes its gloriously goofy tone from the start. Two stagehands (actually actors) are seen sweeping up the remnants of other operas by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan — “H.M.S. Pinafore” and “The Mikado” among them — an in-joke for fans of the British songwriting duo.

As soon as Jason Bolen’s cute pirate ship set is revealed, the opera begins in earnest.

Thanks to his hard-of-hearing nursemaid, Ruth (Jacqueline Hildebrand), Frederic (Alex Stewart) has been apprenticed since childhood to the Pirates of Penzance, a band of buccaneers so kind-hearted that they never attack orphans. (As a result, everyone they encounter claims to be parentless.)

Frederic is turning 21, which means his apprenticeship is over and he’ll be forced to fight the folks who raised him.

The Pirate King (George Walker) bids Frederic a tender goodbye, advising him “Always act according to the dictates of your conscience.” Ruth, who has developed feelings for her significantly younger ward, doesn’t want to let him go.

Fortunately, the handsome sailor is saved from Ruth’s romantic advances by a bevy of Victorian bathing beauties enjoying the English seaside.

Frederic beseeches one of the graceful girls to join him in matrimony. But the women want nothing to do with a former pirate.

Finally, Mabel (Natalie Graham) takes pity on this “poor wand’ring one.” “Take any heart — take mine,” she invites him, as her sisters (including Molly Wetzel, Brittany Law and Courtney Reece) swoon.

But Frederic isn’t the only seaman with marriage on his mind. As soon as the Pirate King, his lieutenant Samuel (William Hoshida) and their crew arrive on the scene, they also decide to seize on this “first-rate opportunity to marry with impunity.”

Only the pleading of the girls’ father, the pompous Major-General Stanley (Andrew Philpot), prevents the swashbucklers from claiming their brides.

“Have pity on my lonely state,” he begs. “I am an orphan boy!” (This, of course, is an “innocent fiction” delivered in “elegant diction,” he assures the audience.)

Before long, both Frederic and his future father-in-law are at war with their consciences. The Major-General believes he’s betrayed his ancestors’ honor by deceiving the pirates.

And the sailor, bound by duty to eradicate the pirate band with the help of the Sergeant of Police (Michael Jenkinson) and his men, shudders at the thought of taking up arms against his former friends.

Then a bit of calendar confusion leaves Frederic even more conflicted.

“The Pirates of Penzance” marries together cunning comedy, marvelous music and witty wordplay in a theatrical cocktail that’s almost irresistible. (So successful are the comedic bits that the more sentimental moments sometimes suffer.)

There’s no shortage of vocal prowess on display — especially on the parts of Andrew Philpot, who handles the classic patter song “I am the very model of a modern Major-General” with aplomb, and Natalie Graham, whose strong, showy soprano soars in “Poor wand’ring one.” She’s a steadier stage presence than Jacqueline Hildebrand, who sometimes sacrifices projection for the sake of comic effect.

Alex Stewart, with his sweet tenor and tall, lanky frame, is an engaging romantic lead.

But George Walker is the undisputed MVP of “Pirates.” His sassy, simpering Pirate King may bear more than a slight resemblance to Matt Koenig’s flamboyant Black Stache from PCPA’s production of “Peter and the Starcatcher”— but there’s no denying that this swashbuckler, with his affinity for blousy purple pants and uncomfortably wide strides, steals every scene he’s in.

Eddy L. Barrows adds to the comedy with his inspired costumes, which range from Major-General Stanley’s feather-festooned pith helmet, paired with a plaid kilt and spats, to his daughters’ charming bathing costumes, complete with lace parasols, amber-tinted spectacles and straw hats. He gets able assistance from music director Callum Morris, lighting designer Jennifer “Z” Zornow and sound designer Elisabeth Weidner.

“The Pirates of Penzance” is wonderfully wacky. Although the endless parade of puns and pratfalls will prove wearying for some, those with a high tolerance for hijinks — and a natural resistance to hilarity-induced asphyxia — will have a grand old time.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 9:55 AM with the headline "PCPA’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’ sure to steal some laughs."