Pirates of Penzance at the Jersey Shore Arts Center

Mar 6, 2025 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Susie Rosenbluth and Sue Weston, Two Sues on the Aisle

Pirates of Penzance, one of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s most iconic comic operas, will be presented this week at The Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove. Known for its topsy-turvy world in which absurdities and paradoxes are taken to their logical conclusions, the show includes  swashbuckling pirates transformed into noblemen, bumbling British bobbies, and the “model of a modern Major General” who knows more about “matters vegetable, animal, and mineral” than he does about distinguishing a “Mauser rifle from a javelin.”

There are also frolicsome Victorian maidens and a middle-aged nursemaid who couldn’t tell the difference between a “pilot” and “pirate.”

Directed by Nick Montesano with musical direction by Jeff Brown, it is a reprise of the first show produced at the arts center more than 20 years ago,

“The orchestra, chorus, and legitimate vocal soloists resonate with classic elegance and power while the company’s vibrancy, energy and contemporary sense of humor keep the show alive and exciting to a modern audience,” says Mr. Montesano.

Pirates has long been considered the perfect piece to introduce children to the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, the paradigm of all modern musical theater.

The Pirates of Penzance, subtitled The Slave of Duty, was first performed at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on Dec. 31, 1879, the only Gilbert and Sullivan operetta to have its world premiere in the United States, and it has remained popular here and throughout the English-speaking world ever since.

“Gilbert’s wit—always incisive but never vicious or dated—and Sullivan’s memorable score, including the original tune that became ‘Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here,’ are among the most valuable treasures of musical theater history,” says Mr. Montesano.

Noting that Pirates of Penzance has entertained young and old alike for almost a century and a half, he points out that this classic features the most famous of all Gilbert and Sullivan’s trademark patter songs, “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General.”

The show focuses on a bumbling band of pirates and their young charge, Frederic, who, for a set of tragicomic reasons, is about to hang up his pirate’s sword to become a respectable gentleman. As the pirates attempt to bring him back into the fold, there are confrontations with Keystone cops and romantic entanglements with the Major General’s lovely daughters.

The cast includes D.J. Brown as the Pirate King, Jill Gindi as Mabel, Steven Copp as Frederic, Amanda Winter as Ruth, Anthony and Preuster as the Major General. Appearing as pirates and police are Shannon Phillips. Gian Soren Morici, David Beil, and Brian Craig. The Major General’s Daughters are played by Scout Graham, Jackie Wilberton, Emily Kwak, and Rebecca Conn.

Allison Brown serves as production manager with Arnold Teixeira as technical director. Choreography and costume/set/lighting design are by Mr. Montesano.

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Pirates of Penzance will be performed in the Joseph Palaia Theater of The Jersey Shore Arts Center, 66 Main Avenue, at the entrance to Ocean Grove. For more information, call 732-513-7298.

Performances will be held on Thursday, March 6, through Saturday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m. Tickets are $30, available at www.ticketleap.com or https://www.jerseyshoreartscenter.org.