We used the updated 1981 Joseph Papp Broadway version. This choice freed us to be bigger, brighter, zanier, and unbound to traditional production practice in the staging and production design.

This was my second Penzance and as I did in my first design, I used the 1930’s French artist Raoul Dufy as visual inspiration but I pushed and expanded the stylistic elements. I had more scenic acreage and a fantastic scenic art team!

The stage action was very physical and athletic. Hidden doors and portholes in the hard surround allowed the Pirates, the Major General’s daughters, and the Police Bobbies to enter surreptitiously through the walls. In Act 1 the Pirates could literally pop through the walls and ambush the girls.

This production came off as fresh, exuberant, and musically exact with the young cast clearly articulating every tongue-twisting lyric, hitting every mark, and indulging in the inherent satire and clever situational humor.