Ryo Kamibayashi
as Ensemble
Overall9AActing 9ASinging 9ADancing 9A
I won't have fully noticed this until a year later when also seeing him in Oh Mary, but Ryo has memorable expressive eyes.
Overall7B
Pirates! The Penzance Musical
Todd Haimes Theatre (Broadway)
Seeing David Hyde Pierce in a show was delightful. I had not actually seen either Pirates of Penzance or HMS Pinnafore that this is reimagining, but I thought this show as good fun. +1 to Direction for the little flags that Pierce danced with, since I don't know where else that can go.
Score breakdown
Book7BLyrics7BMusic7BDirection8ASet7BCostume7BChoreo7BLighting7BSound7B
Performer notes
David Hyde Pierce
as W.S. Gilbert/Major General Stanley
Overall8AActing 8ASinging 8ADancing 8A
Jinkx Monsoon
as Ruth
Overall7BActing 7BSinging 7BDancing 7B
About the show
A new kind of pirate is docking on Broadway. Roundabout Theatre Company will bring a new version of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic, The Pirates of Penzance, back to Broadway in 2025. Pirates! The Penzance Musical is a reimagined version of the 1879 operetta.
The Pirates of Penzance was last seen on Broadway in 1981- a production that won three Tony Awards. The classic story epitomizes the Victorian-era operetta and explores themes of duty, love, and honor, coupled with parody of class structures and authority. As a cornerstone of light opera, The Pirates of Penzance has solidified its place as a timeless work that bridges the gap between classical and contemporary musical theater.
What makes this Pirates! different? In this version, the pirate ship docks in New Orleans in this jazzy-bluesy vision of the crowd-pleasing classic, in an outrageously clever romp sizzling with Caribbean rhythms and French Quarter flair. With the tongue-twisting Major-General, the rabble-rousing Pirate King, newly-imagined young lovers, daring daughters, footloose pirates and fleet-footed police, there's a shipload of musical comedy delights on board to dazzle first-timers and G&S aficionados alike.
The classic tale is brought to life by director Scott Ellis and Warren Carlyle choreographs with a hilarious new adaptation by Rupert Holmes. It is led by Ramin Karimloo, Jinkx Monsoon, David Hyde Pierce, Nicholas Barasch, Preston Truman Boyd and Samantha Williams.