Stage review: Spokane Valley Summer Theatre’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’ ensemble truly versatile in consistenly funny, well-choreographed production

“The Pirates of Penzance,” produced by Spokane Valley Summer Theatre, is a good lesson in reading the fine print.

As the musical opens, young pirate Frederic (Grant Measures) is celebrating his 21st birthday and, therefore, the end of his apprenticeship with a merry band of pirates. Frederic is happy with his time with the pirates, even after Ruth (Andrea Bates), the pirates’ maid, shares that, because of a misheard word from Frederic’s father years ago, he was interned with pirates, not a pilot as his father originally intended.

Frederic, having never seen any woman besides Ruth, believes her to be a real beauty, much to her delight. The pirates have other opinions and suggest Frederic take Ruth with him when he gets back to town, but he isn’t so sure that’s the best option for a freshly released young man like himself.

Frederic then announces that, though it hurts him to say, after his apprenticeship concludes he will be required to work towards getting rid of the pirates. To be honest though, Frederic doesn’t see his crew as the best on the seas. Since they’re all orphans, they allow anyone they capture to go free if they say they’re an orphan too.

Frederic invites the pirates to give up piracy and return to town with him, but the Pirate King (Erik Contzius) declines. The pirates then leave Frederic and Ruth on shore, where Frederic sees a group of young women, the daughters of Major-General Stanley (Doug Dawson), and is immediately smitten.

Though all the sisters are flirty with Frederic, it’s ultimately Mabel (Alexandra Lewis) who Frederic falls for. Frederic warns the women that the pirates will soon be back, and they return before the sisters can run away.

The pirates want to marry the sisters, but Mabel tells them that their father is Major-General Stanley, who soon arrives and convinces the pirates that he’s an orphan so they take pity on him and don’t take his daughters.

That seems to mark the end of the relationship between Frederic and the pirates, but he soon learns they’re not finished with him yet. Again, always read the fine print.

“The Pirates of Penzance” is directed by Yvonne A.K. Johnson and features music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W.S. Gilbert.

Watching SVST’s production felt like watching a tennis match, in the best way possible. Though there are leading roles, which I’ll get to shortly, the show really makes use of the ensemble members, whether they’re a pirate, a constable or a Major-General’s daughter.

These characters were hard to ignore thanks to the fun choices they made that gave their characters more personality. One moment it was a “Can you believe this?” look to the audience, the next a bit of physical humor, like when the pirates were passing bags of supplies to each other and getting more aggressive with the tosses each time. Others it was a cheeky moment between the refined daughters and the rough and tumble pirates.

In any scene that featured one, or more, of those three groups, I found myself scanning the stage to make sure I saw as many of those moments as I could.

The pirates are played by Chase Cummings, Shawn Mulligan, Jordan Overturf, Jeffrey Parsons, Ben Reincke (also the sergeant of police), Jim Reincke and Jayden Salazar, while the constables are played by Adriaan Burger, Cummings, Tyson Fletcher, Tyler Heal, Lincoln Jent and Salazar.

Alexandra Bright, Noelle Fries, Elly Sims, Heather Stephens and Kathleen Vertner play the Major-General’s daughters.

There was a real camaraderie among the pirates and the constables, with the constables even speaking in unison at one point, and the sisterly love, and sometimes rivalry, between the Major-General’s daughters felt sweet and true.

I especially enjoyed watching the sisters perform the umbrella-heavy choreography crafted by choreographer Andrea Olsen.

Lewis, as Mabel, is the daughter who outwoos her sisters to win Frederic’s heart. She and Measures made for a beautiful couple visually, with lots of sweet moments between the two, and vocally. I don’t believe I’ve seen either performer before and was blown away by their voices.

It’s always a treat to hear Bates sing, and she was naturally funny as Ruth. Contzius has a voice truly fit for a pirate king, and I couldn’t imagine anyone but Dawson singing “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” while wearing a bushy mustache that truly stretched from ear to ear.

A “comic opera,” “The Pirates of Penzance” is a huge undertaking for the whole cast and the orchestra: David Brewster (piano/conductor), Dave Turner (bass), Taylor Belote (drums), Sheila McCallum (flute/piccolo), Jill Cathey (oboe), Andy Plamondon (trumpet), Jennifer Brummett (horn), Brooke Bos (violin 1) and Nanette Erickson (viola).

I was impressed by their stamina and the consistent quality throughout the show.

Having seen pictures of the pirate ship while working on a story previewing this production, I have to say the photos don’t do the ship justice. It’s truly a beautiful, larger-than-life set piece, as is the chapel set for act two, both designed by technical director and scenic designer David Baker, who also painted the musical’s backdrops.

I also appreciated costume and wig designer Esther Iverson’s attention to detail. From bringing the same color in each daughter’s dress in act one into their nightgown in act two, to the leather boots the pirates wore which looked wrinkled with age and sea water, and the fancy trim on the Pirate King’s coat, the characters read authentically from the audience. These weren’t amusement park pirates but actual seafaring fellas.

When speaking for the preview article, Johnson said she chose this season, which also includes “A Grand Night for Singing” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” carefully, ensuring it would be family-friendly and more lighthearted given the election year. She also wanted to focus on shows that wrapped up in just two hours, as audiences aren’t usually interested in longer pieces.

The decision makes it hard to say no to an afternoon at the theater, especially when you know the laughs are going to be coming as consistently as the waves that brought the pirates to shore.