The Pirates of Penzance

Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by W. S. Gilbert
The Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, March 2020

Shane Valenzi may be in possession of one of the tightest, most well-developed treatments for The Pirates of Penzance in existence. His book was influenced by multiple past productions he was involved in as well as his father’s many years with the show. The resulting piece is flamboyant, powerful, and joyful. Having a chance to digest it, work it with a very talented cast and crew, add my own interpretations and choreography to it, and tease it into existence was a blast.Well, working it was a joy – due to timing of the show, we ended up being shut down by the University of Chicago (our hosting venue) on the night of our final dress rehearsal as global concern about COVID was picking up steam. Two years later, GSOC is once again putting this show on its feet, in hopes that this time we’ll make it through to opening night. Learning about the general rules of the world of Pirates was a lark, as was gaining the benefits of highly detailed notes about bits and routines that had been polished to a mirror sheen over years of touring productions. As long as operetta is being produced (and given that the pieces are in the public domain, we’ll see them for a long time), Pirates will continue to be staged – I’m excited for the Chicago public to finally be able to see our work from a few years ago on stage, where it was meant to be.