The Pirates of Penzance

The Pirates of Penzance tells the story of Frederic, a boy mistakenly apprenticed to a band of pirates. Just as Frederic is about to renounce the life of piracy, a loophole is discovered, forcing him to follow in the same path, despite his love for the young maiden Mabel. After much plotting and deception, the pirates surrender, are pardoned, and all live happily ever after. The songs and score are among the most memorable in the Gilbert and Sullivan canon, from the La Traviata parody “Poor Wand’ring One” to “Come Friends Who Plough the Sea”–which would eventually become the tune for the popular camp song “Hail, Hail the Gang’s All Here.”