Pirates of Penzance May 5, 2007

Pirates of Penzance docks at Cal State L.A. May 3-6

Luckman Theatre staging of opera to open in its original Pinafore style

Pirates of Penzance—Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved story of poor Frederick mistakenly apprenticed to pirates and the sweet, faithful Mabel who steals his heart—will be presented at Cal State L.A. in the Luckman Theatre Thursday through Sunday, May 3-6.

The production, directed by Vera Lúcia Calábria with music direction by Steven Byess, also presents pitiful pirates trying to steal the beautiful daughters of the Major General.

Cal State L.A.’s Department of Music has been producing beautiful operas with aspiring students for the past 30 years. This year’s production is a collaboration with the Department of Theater Arts and Dance.

According to Susan Kane, who teaches opera at the University, “The lead roles are divided between both departments, so we have acting singers right along side the singing actors.”

The result, she said, is a staging that is “rollicking fun”—complete with pirates, policemen and parasols—and “accessible” to the public.

“This production,” said Kane, “will resemble the British premiere of Pirates of Penzance, which happened during a run of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pinafore in a small town in England. To obtain the British copyright, the company had to have the first performance in England.”

Another company was about to premiere it in New York, so the Pinafore cast rushed to perform Pirates of Penzance just before the New York show was to make its debut.

“That is how the first performance of Pirates of Penzance was performed in the costumes of Pinafore,” said Kane, “and that is how we start our production, in Pinafore costumes.

The choreography—which has the entire cast singing and dancing—is by Claudia Lopez, a faculty member in Cal State L.A.’s dance program. The production’s set was designed by Laura Fine, with lighting designed by Lisa Katz. The props are managed by Kirk Graves.

The production has one cast doing the evening performances—Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.—and another doing the matinees—Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. High school students are invited to a schools matinee on Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for faculty and staff with current ID, and $8 for students with a current ID. For tickets, call the Luckman Box Office at (323) 343-6600.

CALENDAR LISTING

What:
Cal State L.A. presents Pirates of Penzance—Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved story of poor Frederick mistakenly apprenticed to pirates and the sweet, faithful Mabel who steals his heart.

When:
Evening performances: May 3-5, 8 p.m.
School performance: May 4, 10:30 a.m.
Matinee performances: May 5-6, 3 p.m.

Where:
Luckman Theatre on the Cal State L.A. campus. (For campus map and directions, go to: www.calstatela.edu) Permit parking is available at Lots C and F or Parking Structure 2.

Details:
Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for faculty and staff with current ID, and $8 for students with a current ID. For tickets, call the Luckman Box Office at (323) 343-6600.