The Pirates of Penzance (1985) (TV)

Director:

Norman Campbell

Writer:

William S. Gilbert (operetta)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot Keywords:

Operetta | Gilbert And Sullivan | Comic Opera | Independent Film

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Brent Carver	...	Pirate King
Jeff Hyslop	...	Frederic
Caralyn Tomlin	...	Mabel
Douglas Chamberlain	...	Maj. Gen. Stanley
Pat Galloway	...	Ruth
Jim White	...	Samuel
Stephen Beamish	...	Sergeant of police
Karen Skidmore	...	Kate
Karen Wood	...	Edith
Allison Grant	...	Isabel
Wendy Abbott	...	Blue Stocking
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marion Adler	...	Chorus
Michael Beattie	...	Chorus
Aggie Cekuta	...	Chorus (as Aggie Cekuta Elliot)
Timothy Cruickshank	...	Chorus
Domenico Fiore	...	Chorus
David Gale	...	Chorus
Nigel Hamer	...	Chorus
Scott Hurst	...	Chorus
David Keeley	...	Chorus
Larry Mannell	...	Chorus
Richard March	...	Chorus
Dale Mieske	...	Chorus
Ruth Nichol	...	Chorus
Ted Pearson	...	Chorus
Jeffrey Prentice	...	Chorus
Max Reimer	...	Chorus
Lindsay Richardson	...	Chorus
Bradley C. Rudy	...	Chorus
Mark Wilson	...	Chorus

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Trivia:

Revisions to the original include added dialogue for the maidens in Act I; new final verses for "Oh, Better Far to Live and Die" and "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General"; and the ballet music for the fight between the pirates and policemen in Act II.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Pirates of Penzance (2002) (V)

Adorable!

One of Gilbert and Sullivan's finest, this production of The Pirates of Penzance shows off the wonderful hilarity of the book and music. Frederic (the very funny Jeff Hyslop), an honourable boy accidently indentured to a pirate instead of a pilot, has fulfilled his term of servantude, and now wishes to "exterminate" his former friends. He falls in love with the silly Mabel (Caralyn Tomlin), but when his old band of pirates come to kidnap Mabel's sisters, her father tells a lie to save them. As Frederic raises a police force to attack the pirates, he learns a shocking secret that will force him to rejoin his enemies and give up Mabel forever! But through some silly plot contrivances, everything ends happily.

This video recording of the live Stratford Shakespeare Festival production is ideal: all of the dance numbers are filmed from far enough away to show off the whole body, the acting is wonderfully and appropriatly silly, and all of the actors are excellently cast (I did feel bad for Pat Galloway; her Ruth was constantly being overshadowed by Hyslop and the incomprable Brent Carver, and she did do a very good job). The added lines and verses make the zaniness even more delightful, and the choreography works wonderfully. All in all, this would be a perfect recording of the stage play if the sound weren't so off: I had difficulty understanding some of the lines, and it was not due to poor enunciation. The sound system of the theatre must not have been up to snuff that night. Otherwise, a very enjoyable movie that is not inappropriate for children, and that parents can appreciate as well.