Broadway’s ‘Pirates!’ is a Theatrical Shipwreck
A loud, clunky, and laughless "Pirates!" drags a clever Victorian operetta through the mud of misplaced modernity and musical confusion.
Sometimes, I sit in a Broadway theater with genuine bewilderment and confusion. Is this production really as awful as I think it is? Am I the only one not enjoying it? What was the creative team thinking, and why did anyone else think this was a good idea?
These questions arise moments into Pirates! The Penzance Musical, a revamped version of the old chestnut, The Pirates of Penzance.
Composer Arthur Sullivan and librettist W.S. Gilbert, both British, debuted their original in 1879. It was their only work to premiere in the United States since copyright laws at the time did not extend to non-citizens.
This is folded into the plot as the characters of Sullivan and Gilbert (Preston Truman Boyd and David Hyde Pierce) introduce their new work. That first production was met warmly by critics and audiences alike. Had this poorly executed version been the one they saw, it’s doubtful the musical would have become the enduring treasure it is today.
Instead of Cornwall, the action now occurs in New Orleans, where leading man Frederic (Nicholas Barasch) is turning 21 and is ending his apprenticeship with a band of upstanding pirates.
Their maid, a hearing impaired, daffy soul named Ruth (Jinkx Monsoon), mistakes the instructions provided by Frederic’s father for him to be a ship’s pilot, not pirate. This eventually results in swashbuckling skirmishes and, like most classic tales, romance.
Ramin Karimloo serves as the Pirate King to his fellow buccaneers. Samantha Williams is Nicholas’ love interest, Mabel. Pierce rounds out the cast of leading players as Major General Stanley, the father to Mabel and her sisters.
Music director Joseph Joubert has swapped Victorian, classical compositions for discordant, Dixieland jazz, and the result is an audible mess, fully at odds with the operetta’s intended style.
David Rockwell’s set, combined with Linda Cho’s costumes, are unappealing, looking more like a freshly drawn paint palette that hasn’t survived a trip across choppy seas. The only saving grace is Warren Caryle’s choreography, which provides some dazzling moments, but under Scott Ellis’ direction, even they are often bombastic.
The soul of British comedy is dry and contained. This is anything but. It lacks wit and cleverness. Even the title, with its exclamation point for emphasis, can’t help itself. But audiences should. Currently, there are many boats on Broadway’s seas, the majority of which will offer a much more entertaining journey.
This one sinks.
Pirates! The Penzance Musical (★★☆☆☆) is playing on Broadway through July 27 at the Todd Haimes Theatre, 227 West 42nd St. in New York City. Tickets are $58 to $379. Visit www.roundabouttheatre.org.
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