Last weekend, the Hamilton College Choir performed its Spring musical, The Pirates of Penzance. The show follows a band of pirates (of Penzance), most of whom are orphans. One pirate, Frederic is an apprentice because his father’s maid Ruth misheard his instructions to apprentice him to a pilot. Upon his 21st birthday, he’s freed from his apprenticeship, and shortly thereafter meets a large group of beautiful young ladies. He falls in love with one named Mabel, and then learns that the young women are wards of Major General Stanley. The other pirates arrive, and want to marry the other daughters, but Stanley isn’t having it. Frederic helps him prepare for an attack of the pirates, with the support of the police, but then Ruth and the Pirate King come to tell him that he’s not technically free from them since he was born on February 29th and so has only had five birthdays. In the climax of the play, the pirates attack and the police are there to defend the Major and his wards. Though initially the pirates are successful, the police appeal to them by commanding them to yield in the name of Queen Victoria, and Ruth reveals that all the pirates used to be noblemen. Everyone reconciles and the Major agrees to marry off his daughters. It’s a rather silly and confusing play, with comedic characters and songs and many situations that don’t seem to make much sense. However, it’s very enjoyable. The Choir did a fantastic job performing with beautiful voices and choreography, and the roles were all well-casted. The set and costumes looked lovely as well. It was a funny and entertaining way to spend an evening – congratulations to all the wonderful performers!
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Hamilton chapter.