After its triumphant return to Philadelphia’s South Broad Street evidenced by 3 SOLD OUT performances at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, The Savoy Company will reprise Gilbert and Sullivan’s dazzling musical comedy, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, OR, THE SLAVE OF DUTY, at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square.
In 1916, Mr. Pierre S. du Pont first invited Savoy to perform at his personal estate of Longwood Gardens with annual performances beginning in 1923. Continuing this pilgrimage on June 10 & 11 (raindates: June 12 & 13) under the stars on the stage of the Open Air Theatre amid the tranquil beauty of Longwood Gardens, The Savoy Company will present 2 performances of Gilbert and Sullivan’s THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, fully staged with professionally designed set pieces, beautiful costumes, and a professional orchestra. (All-day admission and FREE parking are included). PIRATES promises to be a delightful endearingly hilarious adventure for audiences of all ages.
In celebration of this timeless tale of Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta, view the silent movie behind this production of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE [https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=30&v=e1OyItT7IdU]. This much-beloved comic opera is filled with waggish pirates, blundering policemen, and ludicrous adventures. It culminates with a most brilliant paradox, all accompanied by Gilbert’s pin-sharp wit and Sullivan’s scintillating score filled with beautiful melodies and toe-tapping tunes.
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE features some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s best loved songs including “I am a Pirate King”, “Poor Wandering One”, “I am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General”, and “When the Foeman Bares his Steel.” Performances will benefit CAPA (the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts).
Passion and poetry radiate from the talented cast. Alize Rozsnyai and Joshua Glassman portray the star crossed young lovers Mabel, daughter of the Major-General, and Frederic, the apprentice pirate. Ethan Cadoff is the blustery Major-General Stanley. Steve Underwood is the swashbuckling Pirate King, with Mark Baron playing his loyal lieutenant, Samuel. Sharon Rose Derstine is Ruth, the piratical maid of all work. Guillermo L. Bosch lends his deep bass to the role of the Sergeant of Police with Greg Spurgeon as Deputy to Sergeant. Other beautiful daughters of the Major General include Rachel Sigman as Edith, Whitney Connelly as Kate, and Carly Elizabeth Linder as Isabel.
The Savoy Company’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE promises to be a delightful adventure for audiences of all ages. Savoy’s onstage members, fill out the chorus as additional daughters of the Major-General, pirates, and policemen. Savoy’s backstage members, having built the set, are responsible for the technical and physical details during live performances.
Bill Kiesling returns as Stage Director for his second season. Bill has a fond familiarity with Gilbert and Sullivan operettas (having met his wife Marta in a production of Iolanthe). Additionally, Bill has a passion for using theater as a means to build “community”. Bill reflects, “I am grateful for this wonderful opportunity to work with The Savoy Company to honor its history and to work as part of a team to build a ‘community’ for Savoy’s future.”
Peter Hilliard returns as Musical Director for his fourth season. Peter states, “THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE is Gilbert and Sullivan’s American Operetta. They wrote it to cater to American tastes, the first production was on Broadway and a lot of it was written in New York. It’s funny, tuneful, irreverent, and silly. It makes perfect sense that it’s one of their most popular works.”
TICKETS for Longwood Gardens: Individual tickets are priced at $29 per person for performances at Longwood Gardens (1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348). The ticket price includes all-day admission and re-admission on the same day to The Gardens! Handicap seating is available. Visit http://www.savoy.org/Tickets.asp to select your seats and to purchase tickets online. Kindly credit your purchase to the Savoy member of your choice.
GROUP RATES: The Savoy Company welcomes groups to its Longwood Gardens performances! If there are 10 or more in a group, one can take advantage of advance discount pricing ($25 per person GROUP RATE). To make a group reservation, call 215-735-7161 and leave a message for the Group Ticket Coordinator who will return your call within 24 hours. Kindly credit your purchase to the Savoy member of your choice.
A Philadelphia tradition supporting local charitable organizations since its founding in 1901, The Savoy Company is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization. The Savoy Company is the oldest amateur theater company in the world dedicated solely to the production of the 13 surviving immortal operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.
In 1901 a young Philadelphia doctor named Alfred Reginald Allen, a medical school graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, having witnessed Gilbert and Sullivan works in England, decided that the operas should be produced in Philadelphia in the “original” manner. Allen was convinced that the G&S operas heretofore produced in the United States had been ruined by “modernization, colloquial interpolation, and improvements.”
Dr. Allen, along with his sister and one of her friends, recruited a group of local people to perform a “true” Gilbert and Sullivan show. The group rehearsed and then presented Trial By Jury at the Merion Cricket Club, in Haverford, PA, on May 4, 1901 to great acclaim. The production was such a huge success that the original conspirators were moved to form a permanent organization, known as ‘The Savoy Operas’.
The young organization presented successfully the double bill of Trial By Jury and The Sorcerer on December 6 and 7, 1901 at St. James Hall and two weeks later reprised the performances at the Manheim (Germantown) Cricket Club. A unique and noble tradition had been born.
As it is known today, the all-volunteer Savoy Company presents the best known Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in a 12-year cycle, including blockbusters like H.M.S. Pinafore (“I’m Called Little Buttercup”), The Mikado (“I’ve Got a Little List”) and The Pirates of Penzance (“I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General”). In 2014 the Company presented Trial By Jury (“When I, Goof Friends, Was Called to the Bar”) and The Sorcerer (“My Name is John Wellington Wells”). In 2015 the Company presented Patience, or, Bunthorne’s Bride (“Am I alone and unobserved?”).
Since the beginning The Savoy Company, itself a non-profit, has dedicated proceeds to local charities. The Savoy Company donates a portion of the proceeds from its performances to the Alfred Reginald Allen Memorial Fund of the University of Pennsylvania. Established by Savoy in 1921 in memory of the founder, the fund supports the acquisition of books and scores for the university’s Otto E. Albrecht Music Library. Performances of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE in 2016 will benefit CAPA, (the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts).
Members of Savoy help run the all-volunteer Company by helping on committees and other projects. Working and performing together results in lifelong friendships! The Company’s volunteer cast has included such luminaries as Hollywood film star Nelson Eddy, Metropolitan Opera soprano Margaret Harshaw, Wagnerian bass-baritone James Pease, and Broadway star Wilbur Evans.
Theater/Organization The Savoy Company at Longwood Gardens
Theater/Organization Website: http://www.savoy.org/
Theater/Organization Address: P.O. Box 59150 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102-9150 (Map It)
Theater/Organization Phone: (215) 735-7161
