The Pirates of Penzance: Family connections make for real community theater
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By Jim Lowe Times Argus Staff - Published: July 10, 2009
Community theater takes on new meaning when Caleb Pitkin plays the Pirate King in "The Pirates of Penzance." In 1939, his grandfather, Royce Pitkin, played the same role on the same Plainfield Town Hall stage.
Echo Valley Community Arts will present the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, subtitled "The Slave of Duty," accompanied on piano by Eliza Thomas, July 18-19 and 25-26, at 7:30 p.m.
"We really didn't discover the family connection until Caleb spoke up a week ago and said, 'Oh, by the way, my grandfather Royce sang the same role," explained Naomi Flanders, who is directing the production. "There was a stunned moment – and we all started smiling."
And then during another rehearsal, Pitkin reported other family connections. Rachel Cerutti, granddaughter of Mo Cerutti and Sue Hudson, proprietors of North Montpelier's Riverbend Store, is in the chorus, as well as some of Rachel's cousins. Relatives William Hudson played the Major General and Helen Cerutti was Edith, one of the general's daughters, in the aforementioned 1939 production.
"It's such a historic little play of us," Flanders said.
Composer Arthur Sullivan and librettist William S. Gilbert poked fun at English society in particular and people in general in their operettas, precursors of today's Broadway musicals. Many of their operettas proved smash hits in the United Sates as well as England at the end of the 19th century. In fact, "The Pirates of Penzance" had its "official" premiere in New York on Dec. 31, 1879, opening in London four months later on April 3, 1880.
Much more recently, the show was brought to Broadway in a "modernized" version by Joseph Papp in 1981, which was turned into a feature film in 1983, starring Linda Ronstadt, Kevin Kline and Angela Lansbury.
The story concerns Frederic, who, having completed his 21st year, is released from his apprenticeship to a band of tenderhearted pirates. He meets Mabel, the daughter of Major General Stanley, and it's love at first sight. But Frederic finds out that because he was born on Feb. 29 he has a birthday only in leap years.
Hence the pirates insist that Frederic remain until his 21st birthday – so he must serve for another 63 years.
Flanders, a voice teacher living in East Montpelier, has directed many, many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas at Marshfield's Unadilla Theatre over the years. As Unadilla is not doing G&S this summer, she has taken it to the Plainfield Town Hall, sponsored by her own Echo Valley Community Arts.
"Last year when we were doing 'Mikado' (at Unadilla), everybody said that it's time to do 'Pirates of Penzance' again," Flanders said. "There was huge pressure."
Many of Unadilla's G&S regulars made the move to this production, including Pitkin.
"Caleb's just amazing in this," Flanders said, "His voice has just grown and grown."
Marek Pyka, another regular, is playing Major General Stanley.
"He is just such a trooper – and is hilarious," Flanders said. "Of course, the two bounce off each other. When I left them the other night after rehearsal, they were running their dialogue. Caleb smiled at me as I walked by: Marek is so driven."
Mabel, a nearly operatic role, will be performed by Miranda Scott, a 16-year-old from Montpelier who played Peep-Bo in last year's "Mikado."
"She is a very serious young woman who started studying voice with me seriously a year and a half ago," Flanders said. "I just didn't anticipate the growth this young woman has made, but she is a worker. She's just a beautiful young coloratura soprano."
Frederic, Mabel's suitor, will be Jacob Ross, a recent Spaulding High School graduate now at Plymouth (N.H.) State.
"He's just a great young tenor," Flanders said. "They were off-book (rehearsing without script) almost immediately. They came in prepared – and there's not a lot of ego."
The Echo Valley production is truly community theater in that it is a very collaborative effort.
"Most of the costumes are being made by members of the cast," Flanders said. "We're doing it on a shoestring so everyone is pitching in and helping out."
Part of what that makes the effort so successful is that so many people want to do Gilbert and Sullivan, while others just want to partake in the excitement of participating in live theater.
"People in the community need the outlet of performance art in their lives," Flanders said. "One person told me the other day, 'If I didn't have community theater in my life, I'd probably lose it' – because their jobs and daily life can be hard.
"It's just a privilege to work in my community."