The Pirates of Penzance, or, The Slave of Duty

Bursting with lively music, hilarious plot twists, and wildly dramatic lyrics, The Pirates of Penzance has been entertaining audiences for over a century. A comic operetta written by Gilbert and Sullivan, it was first performed onstage in 1879. A hundred years later in 1983, it was made into a movie starring Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, and Rex Smith. Performed almost entirely in song, the play takes place on the coast of Cornwall in the 1870s.

When Frederic was a boy, his nurse, Ruth, mishearing the word “pilot,” apprenticed him to a pirate by accident. Ever since then, he has been under a band of pirates commandeered by the Pirate King. Now, on his 21st birthday, his indenture is over, and he plans to be rid of pirates once and for all. He tells his friends, “Individually, I love you all, with affection unspeakable. But collectively, I look upon you with a disgust that amounts to absolute detestation.” He explains that he considers the pirates too weak and sympathetic, for they refuse to attack any orphans, since they themselves were orphans. Because of their tender-hearted reputation, all their victims then claim to be orphans. Thus saying, Frederic takes Ruth off with him, and they find themselves upon a rocky shore. There, he encounters a bevy of beautiful girls who are horrified of him and his barbarous ways. When Frederic explains that he is no longer a pirate and begs them to help him reform, the youngest sister, Mabel, agrees to marry him. Unfortunately, matrimony is what Frederic’s pirate friends have in mind as well. After invading the beach and capturing the girls, they are just about to find the nearest clergyman when General Stanley, the sisters’ father, appears on the scene. One of the show’s most memorable numbers is the General’s “Modern Major General” where he introduces himself by exhibiting his finest qualities. “In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral / I am the very model of a modern Major-General!” The fast-paced lyrics and tongue-twisters entwined in the song delight audiences of all kinds.

When the General learns of the pirates’ intentions toward his daughters, he uses their greatest weakness to his advantage by claiming that he is an orphan. However, in Act 2, Frederic learns that his would-be father-in-law has lied to the pirates, and that he is, after all, no orphan. Nonetheless, Frederic plans to get rid of his former comrades once and for all, having summoned a band of trepidacious policemen to aid him. Before he can do so, he is accosted by Ruth and the Pirate King, each armed with a pistol and another plot twist. The King begins:

For some ridiculous reason, to which, however, I’ve no desire to be disloyal

Some person in authority, I don’t know who, very likely the Astronomer Royal

Has decided that, although for such a beastly month as February, twenty-eight days as a rule are plenty

One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine and twenty.

He then explains that Frederic, having been born on February 29th, is—going by birthdays—only five years old. Therefore, since Frederic’s indenture binds him to the pirates until his 21st birthday, he won’t be free of it until 1940. To make matters worse, the King doesn’t force the contract on him, instead he leaves the matter to Frederic’s sense of duty. An assiduous slave of duty, Frederic knows he must rejoin the pirates and tell them of General Stanley’s deception. He then finds Mabel, vows to return to her in fifty years, and promptly jumps out the window.

What ensues next is, as can be imagined, a hilarious musical battle between the policemen and the pirates. Just when the swashbucklers have overpowered the constabulary, the Police Sergeant attempts a final desperate tactic. He orders the Pirate King to yield in the name of Queen Victoria. The King realizes he is beaten and surrenders the battle. As the show ends, the pirates swear to reform their ways and take the General’s daughters as their wives.

“We yield at once, with humbled mien,

Because, with all our faults, we love our Queen.”

Sources:
https://gsarchive.net/pirates/pirates_lib.pdf
https://img.apmcdn.org/8be855085014652258ee35c3b8b4a0e63c3a12ab/uncropped/bab0e4-20150812-the-pirates-of-penzance-cast-photo.jpg