'Pirates of Penzance' Invade Festival Park
Pirates for all ages are invading Roanoke Island Festival Park this week for six shows over the next three days, as part of this summer’s ongoing Performance Series.
UNC Greensboro brings The Pirates of Penzance to the park June 19-21, with abbreviated morning shows for the kids at 10:30am each day and full evening performances at 8pm nightly.
Read on for the official press release.
Audiences at Roanoke Island Festival Park will have the opportunity to experience the trials and tribulations of a pirate’s life, the potentially massive consequences of one incorrect word, and the meaning of leap year. All of this will be seen through the lens of one of the most popular comedies ever written by Gilbert and Sullivan.
UNC- Greensboro, with The Pirates of Penzance, take Manteo by storm on June 19, 20 and 21 at 8 p.m. in the Outdoor Pavilion. Tickets are $10 adults and 6-12 years old- $5. 5 and under are free. They may be purchased in advance at the RIFP Visitors Center or the night of the event.
Pirates begins with one of the main character’s promotion to the status of full-blown pirate on the expiry of his indentures. It is the 29th of February, 1897, and it is Frederic’s twenty-first birthday. In a speech of thanks, Frederic startles the Pirates by telling them of his intention to leave them for good as it appears he was apprenticed to them in error.
It is then discovered that his indentures were to run until his twenty-first birthday and since he was born on February 29 , he has really had only five birthdays. There are many twists and turns in this plot involving love, honor, and rather comic sudden changes.
A children’s version of the production will be held in the Indoor Theatre on the same dates at 10:30 a.m.
“We are excited to perform in the outdoor pavilion, and just as pleased to provide a children’s version of Pirates for children during the day in the indoor theatre!,” said David Holley, UNC Greensboro’s Director of Opera. “We must cultivate our future audiences and fill a cultural void for our kids”. Tickets are $5 for the children’s show except for those 5 and under which are free and may be purchased in advance at the RIFP Visitors Center or the day of the show.
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