“The Pirates of Penzance" Swings Into the Bean-Brown Theatre
Tuscaloosa - The Shelton State Community College Music Department will present the
fall production, “The Pirates of Penzance,” on November 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. and on
Sunday, November 5 at 2 p.m. in the Bean-Brown Theatre on the campus of Shelton
State Community College at 9500 Old Greensboro Road in Tuscaloosa.
Admission is $5. To purchase tickets in advance, call (205) 391-2277. Tickets can
also be purchased at the door prior to each performance; seating is general admission.
Directed by Glinda Blackshear, "The Pirates of Penzance" follows the story of
Frederic, whose father instructs his nurse to have the boy apprenticed as a pilot. The
nurse thinks the father says "pirate." The zany trouble begins when Frederic is
apprenticed to a band of tenderhearted, orphaned pirates.
The play was written by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, who are the undisputed
masters of comic opera and whose work significantly shaped the modern musical
comedy. The opera premiered Dec. 31, 1879, at the Fifth Avenue Theater in New York,
where it was a hit with audiences and critics. After a successful three-month run in New
York, "Pirates" took the stage at the Opera Comique in London for 363 performances.
Shelton State’s production features Johnathon Lyons as Major General Stanley, Joey
Lay as the Pirate King, Ernest Cannon as Frederic, Jared Roggli as Samuel, Marlin Ward as
Sergeant of Police, Eryn Davis as Ruth, Kate Gates as Mabel, Micklynn Kannapel as Edith,
Brittany Norris as Kate, and Sarah H. Beams as Isabel. Also in the cast are Morgan Skelton,
Hunter Nelson, Daniel Box, Toure Pruitt, Kayla Beams, Christine Fanning, Emily Guy,
ShaQuandria Hinton, Kelcie Kornegay, Alysia Naylor, Megan Pike, Alicia Stroup, Lee
Richardson, Dustin Shipman, Elliott Simpson, Quinton Spencer, James Thomas, Lauren Haley,
Candace Hamner, Kaitlin Killian, Ashley Knox, Ciara Prescott, Marquita Poe, Jennifer Scales,
and Brittany Stewart.
The production staff for the show includes Orchestra: Susan Goode, Syble Coats, Mark
Brown; Choreography: Marlin Ward, Joey Lay, Eryn Davis; Set Design: Joey Lay; Costume
Design: Joey Lay, Eryn Davis, Crystal Gates; Lighting Design: John Hisey; Sound: Chase
Delbridge.
For additional information contact the Box Office at 205-391-2277 or email Glinda
Blackshear at gblackshear@sheltonstate.edu.