The Pirates of Penzance (2019) – Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

Music by

Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan

Lyrics by

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert

Adapted by

Catherine Flye

The Pirates of Penzance with a delightful twist! Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved comic operetta is as appealing today as it was over a century ago. But instead of the rocky coast of Cornwall, we are in late eighteenth century Virginia, when King George III ruled the colony. The famous soft-hearted pirates (lately of Penzance) are endeavoring to plunder with aplomb along the banks of the famous Rappahannock River. Meanwhile, the blundering Redcoats of the British army are desperately trying to keep tabs on both the pirates and the befuddled Major General George Boshington. Hilarity ensues as the young apprentice Frederick leaves the rollicking band of pirates and falls in love with Boshington’s beautiful daughter Mabel. The Pirates of Penzance – The Rascals of the Rappahannock promises to be a production to delight all ages with marvelous music, funny patter and glorious singing providing entertainment full of laughter, fun and frolic.

C A S T

Andrew Ross Wynn

Major-General Boshington

Sherri L. Edelen

Ruth

Claire Leyden

Mabel

David Jennings

The Pirate King

Samual Keeler

Frederic

Alan Hoffman

Sergeant of Police

Ian Lane

Samuel

Temperance Mila Barbour

Martha Boshington

Elizabeth C. Butler

Isabel Boshington

Katie Little

Kate Boshington

Alona Orofino

Bertha Boshington

Abigail Seymour

Edith Boshington

Stephanie Wood

Mary Boshington

Mitchell Austin

Harry the Cabin Boy

Kevin Cleary

Pirate Percy

John Matthew Flemming

Pirate Pete

Wolfie Hammerbacker

Pirate Bert, Redcoat Reggie

Colby LeRoy

Pirate Algie, Redcoat Rupert

Justin Sisk

Pirate Horace the Hulk, Redcoat Roland

Aidan Michael Toth

Pirate Willie the Wimp, Redcoat Cornwilly

C R E A T I V E

Music by

Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan

Lyrics by

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert

Produced by

Patrick A’Hearn

Adapted and Directed by

Catherine Flye

Music Direction by

Joe Walsh

Original Choreography by

Linda Miller, Professor of Dance, George Mason University

Scenic Design by

April Joy Vester

Lighting Design by

Michael Jarett

Costume Design by

Tom Hammond

Sound Design by

Billy Timms

Production Stage Manager

Emerie Germ

Properties Master & Set Dresser

Bridgid K. Burge

R E L A T E D

RC News & Announcements

Jun 17, 2019

[Culpeper Times] CURTAINS: “Pirates…” The Very Model of a Modern Operetta

Jun 17, 2019

They fancy themselves a dangerous lot, but the grim list of killed and captured by the Pirates of Penzance is…nonexistent. Their job is to be fierce and take hostages, but somehow – dash it all! – the hostages always turn out to be orphans! And being orphans themselves, they just can’t take ungentlemanly advantage. That means our pirates are no more successful now in 2019 than they were back in 1879. That’s when this Gilbert and Sullivan jewel first held audiences captive with its rapier wit, and it’s been swashing its buckles ever since.

Three cannon shots of congratulation to Riverside for staging this gold nugget and doing it justice. In a whimsical modification, director Catherine Flye has renamed this the “Rascals of the Rappahannock” and brought the pirates to Fredericksburg in the time of George III, as opposed to the Victorian era Cornwall coast.

Jun 17, 2019

Jun 5, 2019

[CBS6’s Virginia This Morning] Pirates of Penzance hits the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts

Jun 5, 2019

RICHMOND, Va. – Riverside Center for the Performing Arts has a new offering on stage and you’re invited! Patrick A’Hearn, the Producing Artistic Director, along with Actress Claire Leyden and Musical Director Joe Walsh stopped by to share a preview of the event.

Jun 5, 2019

Jun 4, 2019

DC Metro Theater Arts Review: ‘The Pirates of Penzance (or the Rascals of the Rappahannock)’ at Riverside Center

Jun 4, 2019

Riverside Center of the Performing Arts reprises Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, a two-act comic operetta that was first produced in December of 1879, and remains in production to this day! Director and Adaptor Catherine Flye gives the show (originally set in Cornwall) a local spin by placing the action on the banks of the Rappahannock River and offering the revised title Rascals of the Rappahannock.

Jun 4, 2019

[The Free Lance-Star/Culpeper Star Exponent] Review: A shipshape ‘Pirates of Penzance’ is swashbuckling fun at Riverside

Jun 4, 2019

Brilliant wit, successfully delivered, is a rare delight—to experience such wit, joyously sustained and sprinkled steadily over several hours may occur only a handful of occasions in a lifetime.

“The Pirates of Penzance,” onstage now at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Stafford County, qualifies as one of those occasions—an opportunity to be avidly sought and relished by any intelligent music lover with a sense of humor.

Jun 4, 2019

[The Zebra Press] Review: Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance” at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, Fredericksburg, Va.

Jun 4, 2019

I have just seen/heard an absolutely first-rate production of “The Pirates of Penzance or The Rascals of the Rappahannock” at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Fredericksburg, Va. Honestly, I’ve attended many, many productions of this piece with all kinds of adaptations, and this is—hands down—the best. Boom. Period.

Jun 4, 2019

[The Free Lance-Star] Riverside’s ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ gets a Fredericksburg-themed hook

Jun 4, 2019

Arrrrr, matey. Let’s go on a pirate-filled adventure, shall we?

Don’t worry, this one isn’t dangerous or life-threatening like you’ll find off the Somalian coast. Instead, it’s a beloved comic operetta hitting a local stage and being customized with familiar places and people galore.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance—The Rascals of the Rappahannock” opened at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday and runs through July 7.

Jun 4, 2019

Catherine Flye and Claire Leyden preview “The Pirates of Penzance” with Town Talk’s Ted Schubel!

Jun 4, 2019

Listen to Catherine Flye (Director) and Claire Leyden (Mabel Boshington) preview our upcoming production of The Pirates of Penzance or the Rascals of the Rappahannock at Riverside alongside director and Riverside Center’s Producing Artistic Director, Patrick A’Hearn and Town Talk’s Ted Schubel (NewsTalk 1230 WFVA).

Jun 4, 2019