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Dance Is Very Model Of A Modern Pirate Tale

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By KURT LOFT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 17, 2008

Updated: 01/16/2008 05:44 pm

TAMPA - Pirates, pirates everywhere.

They will invade on ships, fire guns and sack the city over Gasparilla weekend, when Tampa succumbs to debauchery. But not all pirates are of the nasty sort, and some actually sing and dance with aplomb.

The curtain goes up on such a delightful lot Friday through Sunday, when the Orlando Ballet swaggers into the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center with an offbeat production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance."

A comic opera in two acts, "Penzance" has been an audience hit for more than 125 years, poking fun at military customs and the blind devotion to duty (hence the subtitle, "The Slave of Duty"). But for Tampa audiences, it fits nicely into the festivities of late January, says choreographer Daryl Gray.

"I live in Tampa and have become part of Gasparilla," he says, "so I thought it was a perfect tie-in."

Gray plotted the choreography for "Penzance" 12 years ago, and it since has appeared in 40 cities around the world with different ballet companies. Few places struck Gray as so natural as Tampa, though. So he brought the idea to Judith Lisi, president of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and she recruited the Orlando Ballet.

Gilbert and Sullivan, whose works first appeared in London's Savoy Theatre in the late 1800s, collaborated on 14 operettas, including "The Mikado" and "H.M.S. Pinafore." Their lighthearted style makes them flexible, and Gray found plenty of room to rework "Penzance" for 35 singers and dancers.

"It's the only full-length dance production of Gilbert and Sullivan in the world," he says. "Everything about it is different.

"It's a comedy as well as a fusion of musical theater and high art. And you have this crossover of hip hop and contemporary classical, so I think it's fun for anybody of any age."

ON STAGE

Pirates of Penzance

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Ferguson Hall, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa

TICKETS: $18.50 to $59.50; (813) 229-7827

Reporter Kurt Loft can be reached at (813) 259-7570.

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