What’s more fun than a Pirate King channeling his inner Tim Curry, a young lyric soprano with serious star power and a choreographer who never misses an opportunity to slide-in an uproarious kick line? Yep, POP is back with another triumph.
Josh Shaw’s Pacific Opera Project, always at the forefront of accessible and affordable opera buffa, has returned to Glendale’s Forest Lawn Museum with a rollicking outdoor production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s comedic Pirates of Penzance.
The engaging cast includes baritone Jake Stamatis as The Pirate King, soprano Chloe Sundet as Mabel, Brian Wallin as Frederic, E. Scott Levin as the Major General, Emily Geller as Ruth, Phil Meyer as the Police Sergeant and a squawking William Grundler, who adds another creature to his zoo of POP “manimal” roles.
POP’s aforementioned choreographer, Amy Lawrence, keeps the cast a movin’ and a groovin’ at all times, and the costumes by Salette Corpuz are a riot of spring color and engaging little details. Our favorite eye catcher was the tiny color-matched pinwheel spinning in soprano Sundet’s hat powered by the hilltop sunset breeze.
All performances of Pirates of Penzance were sold-out, but POP smartly recorded the show for a live stream that dutifully shoves off Sunday, June 18 at 3 pm on YouTube.
