The Pirates of Penzance

While I was back in Oxford, OH this past weekend I saw Miami University’s version of The Pirates of Penzance with my girlfriend and her family.  This was my third time seeing the live version of this Gilbert and Sullivan musical.  I’ve seen the Oxford Community Arts Center put on a very nontraditional version of it as well as The University of Michigan’s more traditional version in Ann Arbor, MI.  I’ve enjoyed it every time.  I love the movie version as well.  It would be difficult for me to pick a favorite version of it.  I’ve enjoyed them all in different ways.

If you’ve never seen The Pirates of Penzance I understand, but you’re missing out.  If your first exposure to musical theater was something like Grease then I can completely understand why you want to avoid the genre in general.  In my opinion The Pirates of Penzance should be everyone’s introduction to musical theatre (my spell check thingy doesn’t accept this spelling, but I’m fancy and will use it if I want to).

I have a well reasoned argument for why it should be everyone’s first musical.

1. It is short.  Unlike 1776 (also great, by the way), which is over 18 days long, The Pirates of Penzance is under 2 hours.  This keeps it from dragging on and on and is good if you have a short attention span.  Plus, if you don’t like it for some reason it will be over soon.
2. The plot has something for everyone.  If you like romance, comedy, violence, or tragedy then you should be satisfied.  There is at least a little of each (but mostly comedy).
3. The musical numbers are well done.  Unlike some musicals (Grease), The Pirates of Penzance has well thought out, well written numbers, that entertain and advance the plot.  They are memorable and catchy.
4. The characters are great.  It’s hard to pick a favorite.  It usually depends on the actor.  Sometimes I like the pirate king the best, sometimes the sergeant, sometimes Ruth, but usually I like Major General Stanley.  He has one of the best roles and songs in the whole production.  His character is hilarious as well as tragic at times.
5. It has Pirates!  I don’t think I need to clarify or explain why this is a plus (If I do then you have problems).

I’m not saying this should be everyone’s favorite musical.  But I do think it should be your first because it is the most approachable to the widest audience.  If you don’t like The Pirates of Penzance then musicals may not be your cup of tea.  And if you like Grease then you are beyond my help and I feel sorry for you.

During this latest theatrical experience I noticed a young boy of about 10 in the row in front of me.  He was fidgety and looked bored.  When we went out to the lobby during intermission we met up with a friend who was there with her 11 year old son and husband.  She was enjoying the performance.  Her son and husband were not.  I did not understand why these two young boys did not like this musical.  There are singing pirates!  This is probably the best musical for young boys to see.  If you are a 10 year old boy and you do not like this musical then there is no way you will enjoy something like The Mikado or The Sound of Music.  Are musicals only fun for adults?  Doubtful.  I only got into musicals in the last few years, but I would assume most people who enjoy them have enjoyed them since childhood.  My only explanation is to say “kids these days,” and shake my head disapprovingly.  I’m old enough to start doing that now, right?

Here’s a little sample.  Enjoy.

Musicals

I like musicals.

There, I said it.  To be fair, I don’t like all musicals.  And I certainly wouldn’t say I like the genre as a whole.  But there are certainly some musicals that I can firmly state that I like.  I would not have made this statement 5 years ago, or even 3 years ago.  In fact, if you asked me if I liked musicals 5 years ago I most definitely would have said no.  I hated them.  And at that time I don’t think I had actually seen an entire musical from start to finish.  I didn’t have to.  I had seen enough of Grease to know it was crap.  And from that basis I decided all musicals must be like this, and therefore, crap (I still have yet to watch all of Grease and I still think it is crap).

My argument was simple.  Just as the plot seemed like it was gaining some kind of momentum it was interrupted by an extraneous song and dance number.  And then the plot resumed as if it had never happened (the characters seemed totally unaware that they had just spontaneously created and choreographed an entire song and dance out of thin air.  Impressive, but pointless).  The plot would carry on as it had before the interruption, and then it would happen again!  Over and over.  Plot development, irrelevant song and dance number, plot development, excrement, plot development, please shoot me, etc.  You get the picture.  It gave the story a jolting stop and go sort of feel.  It was nauseating.  I like stories with a beginning, middle, and end (interlaced with many explosions).  For me, musicals interrupted the flow of the narrative.

And then I met my girlfriend.

She likes musicals.  She likes lots of musicals.  She was unwilling to accept that I didn’t like musicals.  She MADE me watch as sorts of musicals to prove to me that they don’t suck.  She was right.  They don’t suck.  At least not all of them.  It appears that only the ones with John Travolta truly suck.

I was wrong.  It was unfair of me to judge an entire genre from a very limited understanding of the material.  Musicals, if well written and performed, can be wonderfully fun.  Let me take you through a few I have seen in the last few years:

• Pirates of Penzance — My favorite musical.  I have seen the movie version as well as two live performances.  I am seeing it live again next weekend.
  
• The Mikado — Racial stereotypes bad … but entertaining.
  
• Sweeney Todd — I will not be eating meat pies any time soon.
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers — Oregon is weird.
  
• The Sound of Music — A bit long.  Needed more Nazis.
• The Music Man — I live in Ioway!
• 1776 — My second favorite musical.  It is rather long, but there is some good acting and you get a bit of a history lesson.
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show — This one freaked me out a bit.
• Singin’ in the Rain — Great acrobatic dance moves.
• South Pacific — Stewpot!
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum — Very funny.

I’ve also seen numerous Muppet movies.

(does R. Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet count?  Because that may be the greatest thing of all time).

So, with much reluctance (on my part) and persuasion (on my girlfriend’s part) I finally came to appreciate something I had previously despised.

Speaking of persuasion…recently, my girlfriend made me watch Persuasion.  It’s a movie based on a Jane Austen novel.  Apparently there are more like it.  I’ve been avoiding Jane Austen stuff for years.  It’s not that I hate Jane Austen, it’s just that it doesn’t seem to be my cup of tea.  A bunch of rich 19th century English ladies with “problems.”  No thank you.  Add some explosions and you might have my attention.

Will Jane Austen fill the void where musicals used to be?