by Lorraine Payette, written June 20, 2015
“I know the kings of England, and I quote the facts historical…”
– Major General, “The Pirates of Penzance,”, Gilbert and Sullivan
(Gananoque, ON) Maybe that should be “facts hysterical” as the Thousand Islands Playhouse tackles that great piratical masterpiece, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance”.
Poor Frederic (Adam Charles) finds himself in a mess entirely thrust upon him by fate, something definitely not of his own doing but which may very well become his undoing. Fate first came upon him in the form of Ruth (Shelley Simester), a well intentioned but hard-of-hearing, ditsy nursemaid who only had his father’s best wishes and Frederic’s welfare at heart. Asked to apprentice him as a “pilot”, she mistakenly signed him up with pirates, to be indentured until his 21st birthday. But unbeknownst to Frederic, this doesn’t mean that when he becomes 21-years-old he will be free to pursue his own life – no, no, no! For Frederic was born on February 29, and that means his 21st birthday won’t come for decades… – to read more>
A Fresh News Start 