PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL Previews- Page 3

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 4/23/25 at 11:02pm

I saw this yesterday and have to add my praises! I absolutely LOVED this. I'm a big fan of the original and know the score well from doing a production of it ages ago, which probably helped as I was so invested in what they creatively did with the orchestrations. I thought the whole thing was so much fun. The semaphores! The washboards! Ramin's whole vibe, Jinkx's whole vibe, David's whole vibe, Nicholas' whole vibe... just loved it all. 

Only thing I didn't love was the finale. Of course I agreed with the sentiment but the heavy feelings it evoked given current politics felt tonally out of left field after the frivolousness and escapism of the rest of the show. Still a drop in the bucket compared to my overall enjoyment of the night, and I need a cast recording like yesterday!

[Ensemble1728379893]

Posted: 4/24/25 at 8:31am

Same for me.  The first act is heaven but the second act falls flat.  I am not a purist, but I really disliked the musical arrangements. The "prologue" is totally unnecessary and some of the Gilbert/Sullivan jokes were rather amateurish. I also agree that the sound was very poor (center mezzanine) and I know POP rather well or else I do not think I would have understood much of the lyrics. One of my favorite numbers (the paradox) is not as crisp as it should be, for example. However, I felt that the artistic team did not trust the original material enough so they had to apply modern changes but the musical really works when they stick to the original concept.  Nobody has mentioned  the set and costume design. I thought they were awful. I am not sure what they were going for, but it looks like a third-rate company using a rich donor's money. I thought they were awful. They were going for multicultural cute and ended up with tacky 101 (the "trees" in act 2, yikes; the girl's costumes...yikes!). Such a busy, overstuffed, and ugly production.

But the first act is very good. DHP is a national treasure. I hope his Modern General gets on the TONY broadcast. It is absolutely delightful and for once the choreography does wonders. RK is fine, having fun and I loved Barasch and Preston Truman Boyd.  But the rest of the cast is not ideal, unfortunately. I thought that Monsoon was all wrong for Ruth.  The choreography was typical ADHD Carlyle (not every number needs to end the same exhausting way).  The male dancers were great. The first act is great though.  We left at 10;20, but the last 40 minutes felt like a couple of hours.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 4/24/25 at 11:08am

WP: It is the very model of a silly show-off theater song

https://wapo.st/4iun4ly

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 4/24/25 at 11:18am

Agree with these recent posts.  Loved the first act. Endured the second.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 4/24/25 at 3:19pm

The choreography is numbing—a blur of motion with little wit or shape. It's all push, no punctuation. In a production where less often says more, the dance sequences feel like empty filler, lacking the emotional specificity that defines the rest of the show.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 4/24/25 at 3:42pm

BETTY22 said: "The choreography is numbing—a blur of motion with little wit or shape. It's all push, no punctuation. In a production where less often says more, the dance sequences feel like empty filler, lacking the emotional specificity that defines the rest of the show."

Emotional specificity? Less is more?? This is Pirates of Penzance, with the pirate/pilot silliness and leap year birthday and orphan nonsense. The whole thing is over the top and frivolous, in the best way. 

I thought the semaphores were absolutely brilliant! As were many of the other dance numbers. 

Sometimes I really think I’m going to different shows than this board. The whole audience was absolutely loving this show when I saw it!