Gilbert & Sullivan - The Pirates of Penzance / Jon English, Simon Gallaher, Helen Donaldson, Toni Lamond, Derek Metzger, Tim Tyler, Craig Schaffer

This is not the traditional "Pirates", it's true. It's a descendant in spirit of Papp's 1980 New York production, and takes some of the same modern liberties while still standing on its own. So be prepared for a more openly comedic take, and one which breaks the fourth wall early and often. This recording was made well into the production's run, too, so the audience is both aware of what's up and willing to be played to and feed the show's energy.Jon English's Pirate King is, of course, reminiscent of Kevin Kline's; he's swarthy, smarmy, over-the-top and completely unselfconscious throughout the show. Toni Lamond's Ruth is played similarly, and a fine complement to English in all of their shared scenes.Helen Donaldson's Mabel is more low-key, but willing to have fun with her material when appropriate (especially the coloratura on "Poor Wand'ring One" and in the ensemble conclusion of "When the Foeman Bares His Steel") while toning it down for the more "serious" numbers. Simon Gallaher's Frederic similarly is played mostly straight, though again has some openly hammy moments (notably at the end of "Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast"). Donaldson and Gallaher also are the strongest voices by far, and have solid enough chemistry to occasionally make the viewer forget they're in a comedy.Derek Metzger as General Stanley holds up well, though his makeup could be more convincing. Tim Tyler's sergeant of police is clearly taking slapstick cues from Tony Azito, but that's not a bad thing, and Tyler's mannerisms and voice are distinct enough to establish this as his own adaptation of the role. And the condensed Edith/Kate/Isabel roles (credited as "The Fabulous Singlettes") bring just the right touch of camp to each of their appearances.The show does run a bit long to accommodate the various gags, including a stupendous number of audience-encouraged encores on "With Cat-Like Tread", but despite that it never feels as if it's dragging. The energy is relentless, from the somersaulting pirates at the opening of Act I straight through to the stepped-up "mega-mix" medley that runs during the credits.Ultimately, though, your reaction to Gallaher's adaptation will come from your own expectations of what "Pirates" ought to be. If you're looking for a more staid and polished production in the tradition of D'Oyly Carte, you'll probably be best off staying away. But if you're open to quite a bit more comedy in your comic opera, you'll find plenty of entertainment here.

Yes, at some time or another in this production, every cast member does some mugging for the audience. Some more than others. Some of it is down right shameless. The thing is, I saw a portion of this on the ARTS cable network before I bought it and read the reviews here so I had an idea what I was getting. I got exactly what I expected. This DVD gives you excellent performers (maybe not great actors) but fantastic performers. The biggest ham is John English as the pirate king. His interplay with the conductor is terrific and as other reviewers have stated, he is not taking his role seriously. If however, you watch the performance it is obvious that every move has been rehearsed over and over and that all these spontaneous acts come off flawlessly. Derek Metzger as the major-general was a bit annoying with his extra antics, but I could live with that. Tim Tyler as the sergeant did a nice job but I especailly enjoyed his bit with (I think they were ping-pong balls)after his first entrance. Simon Gallaher as Frederic was great and Helen Donaldson was the first Maybel I've ever seen that actually seemed to have a personality. Most Maybels are just there looking cute and singing. She actually used expressions starting with her first entrance: Yes it's Maaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy Bel! Then she got in to the part with the marching song. Hmmm..Good acting and a nice voice. Nice concept. I also would be neglectful if I did not mention the 3 daughters of the Major-General. They indeed tend to chew up the scenery when they were on, but those ladies had some talent!!! This DVD provided exactly what I expected and what I hoped for when I ordered it. This is just 115 minutes of fun. Even the opening overture starts out with the cast having fun with Gilbert and Sullivan. I've read that G & S purists might not like this production. I don't know what a G & S purist is. I love Gilbert and Sullivan and this version did not offend me at all. Maybe I'm not a purist. If you're not a 'purist', don't miss this version of Pirates of Penzance. If you enjoy it once, you will want to watch it again...and again...and again...and...well, you get it. This is an easy DVD to recommend.