2009 Pirates of Penzance (When the Foeman Bares Steel)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- Dennis Arrowsmith renders a VERY animated portrayal of the Police Sergeant. The Gilbert and Sulivan Society of Houston's 2009 staging of Pirates of Penzance. Also features Alistair Donkin as Maj. Gen. Stanley, Alison Greene as Mabel, and Abigail Coy as Edith.
The satire of G&S is utterly timeless- as relevant now as when it was written
A fabulous performance from an unusually large chorus of policemen. The soprano is superb and the sargent, beautifully expressed.
As an Englishman I was dreading hearing G&S with an American accent, but I was pleasantly surprised. Well done!
Pip,pip!😊
This guy has the spirit of tony Azito who was the Sargent in the Broadway production of Pirates as well the film verison.
Rip Tony Azito 😢 🙏.
A tribute to Tony ❤❤❤
Tony Azito died after a Aids related illness this guy captures the spirit of Tony Azito 😢😢
RIP Tony Azito who inspired this performance
Rex Smith Linda Ronstadt George Rose Kevin Kline and Tony Azito..the cast of the central park production.
Fredrick looks neither 21 nor a beauty rare 😬
Subjective.
He's 5 and a quarter
Really enjoyed this number one of my favourite G and S numbers . The choreography and sheer number of people involved was great.
I don't know what the problem is. sure the D'Oyly Carte is a landmark, but I find this production pretty sensational.
There are some superb voices in this amateur production. I find Alison Greene and Abigail Coy as good as many full time professionals, would love to hear more of them.
It's a double parody to an Italian Opreta version... catch up.
PS. And very well done.
Dennis Arrowsmith is AMAZING! He OWNS all the roles in which he performs; I have just returned from watching him as Captain Corcoran in Pinafore this evening - another masterpiece under his belt. Thank You Dennis.
Is this Houston, Texas??? If so Gilbert and Sullivan is not only not going out, but it is SPREADING. Those guys were brilliant... which is obvious I guess. I wonder if a hundred years from NOW will G&S be still going strong.
Hmm...I find this a bit lacking in energy. It's not bad, but...indeed, ever since Azito so many companies have chosen rather skinny and possibly acrobatic actors to play the silly police captain. I don't dare claim that Azito was the first tall-and-skinny captain, but he did make the characterisation most popular.
He was the most talented performer and it's sad he died from a AIDS related illness..too young to lose.
One of my favorite pieces from my favorite G & S. Animated, well choreographed and well sung! Thank you for posting.
There are many aspects of tho good, amateur production which I have enjoyed. Some of the criticisms made by others I endorse; but it is, after all, not a performance by professionals, and we must remember that.
My main complaint (and I am afraid that this spoiled the performance for me, considerably) is that the policemen are supposed to be a body of stolid, uneducated, highly nervous, country policemen from Cornwall, and not a chorus line of tap-dancing Keystone Kops! A bit of "business" is fun, in the right places, and adds to a performance; but in spite of a nice, brief visual tribute to the late Martyn Green by Mrr Arrowsmith, I am afraid that the whole was monstrously overacted, for my taste,
For the benefit of the costume designers, British police do not wear a "badge" as do Americans - the uniform is enough, supported by a warrant card to be produced if necessary, particularly by detectives. A sergeant wears stripes, point down, and on both sleeves - and I have never known of a copper to wear spats, which item was no doubt added to enhance the effect of the dance routine.
But keep it up, Houston. Millions enjoy G&S; and if you have ever seen people sitting in one of the "mother" company's more traditional performances, following on vocal scores, you will know how hypercritical people can be. Enjoy yourselves!
The most outstanding thing about this Company is there elegant diction! It is a wonderful technical achievement to ensure that with such a large cast and orchestra the recordings enable us to hear every word of Gilbert's libretto so clearly.
Accept your criticisms but do not feel the are necessarily of major importance in the overall picture!
Agree completely with your concluding paragraph.
I try to see as many of these as I can and am damn impressed by this one . followed Donkin for 35 yrs now. He be good
Some of the best acting I have ever seen. Mr. Arrowsmith is AMAZING!!!
Heck! Did you audition and not get cast? Or were you commenting on another performance? Having just watched several this is the best so far - IMHO!!
Great voices!
Lame choreography and stage direction.
“With these tears your grave shall water” doesn’t make sense grammatically, actually-something like “These tears your grave shall water” or “With these tears your grave _I_ shall water” would work but then the meter would be off.
Why is this giving me Monty Python vibes?
One of the most enjoyable performances of one of G&S's best double choruses.
I've just figured this out - Encore is an English company that is based in Jerusalem. They do musicals and Gilbert & Sullivan. How incongruous, how wonderful! An English operetta performed in English in Jerusalem.
Is that really Alistair Donkin as MGS? Because it doesn't look or sound like him, and he appears to have lost some height!
why 9 out of 10 performances of G&S feel so stiff? Half the comedy is gone when a goofy policeman speaks like he has a stick up his butt. They aren't supposed to instantly despair in this scene! They're supposed to pretend they don't care and slowly search for a way to run away!
I was pleased to see they marched on their left foot (so many choreographers start on the right! Wrong!) but the left handed salute from the sergeant was a definite no-no.
Good to see the Ministry of Silly Walks contributing to law enforcement.
lol 😂🤣🙃💀
I love that Mabel holds a red poppy.
Okay, so it's a rose.
I am pleased that Mabel and Edith sang in the correct key - not lowered as in the film. This is a great performance, good fun and I am sure G & S would have enjoyed the antics!
Congratulations from the DUK (the Dis- United Kingdom as a result of Brexit)!
ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING! BRILLIANT STAGING AND ACTION. Brings back happy memories of family involvement in Village production! Superb music and production complimented by elegant diction :)
Probably the best version on TH-cam and better than many professional productions!
Oh dear! Well perhaps you could do me a favour and link to a performance that you would consider more worthy.. I'm genuinely interested.
One of the best I have come across. I love good chorus work and this is the best, surely just what was intended by G & S!
And as for the soloists, seriously talented, they know their business!
I disagree with Pan Limak - if these performers are non-professionals they are very good indeed and the Sergeant`s part was originally written, I believe, for bass voice.
Love this performance! Thanks for posting.
Gilbert's timeless humour and Sullivan's superb music expertly realised.
Magnificent production, bravo.
General Stanley's going a bit fast. The whole thing makes is less excited than it feels it is. I mean, Azito might not be the best singer, but when you listen to his version you get a real energy to it. This feels like someone was trying to be energetic, but was very sleepy.
Good chorus work. I recall that the sergeant was an attempt to copy of the US production with Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt which was just brilliant.
the chorus is absolutly horrible and non professional
Raoul Beetenboa not even worthy of a meaningful reply.
Hey the central park production had a all star cast,which transferred to Broadway,and the film version featured all the stars from the central park production.
The Policemen only have batons while the Pirates had swords.
I always referred to the policemen in this play as the constables.
George Rose.
This was really good. In my youth, I saw Pirates many times (in fact all G&S operas because Dad was a fan) and I remember the stage being full of policemen back then. I always found this funny but this was one of the best interpretations I have seen ❤
I love this production. I love that Dennis Arrowsmith is so goofy. I hope his career has thrived as it ought to.
I love it! I'm going to be a policeman in a performance in the production in the Maskers and this helps me practice. Thanks a lot!!
I hope you did your performance in memoriam of the late Tony Azito who was the police Sargent in the movie version and the central park production.
Arrowsmith is amazing in this but idk, I know stage and film are two very different performances but I just feel azitos performance was more energetic and audience catching.
Tony Azito the police Sargent in the central park production..he was very talented and very funny leading the police.he did the role on Broadway and in the movie verison.so sad he passed away from a illness due to AIDS.gone too soon and so young.
great performance (from a British G+S specialist!)
He's very much channelling the movie version of the character. Very well done.
Tony Azito he was so funny leading the police..this guy captures the performance tony gave in the central park and Broadway production as well in the film version of the central park production.
In tribute to the late Tony Azito,the funniest police Sargent.in the central park production and the Broadway production.
Tony passed away from a Aids related illness so young so much talent gone too soon.
Robbie Hagberg was on the road now and can take a walk with me and can take the kids to the number either end with what I have to do
It is indeed Mr. Donkin. He hasn't shrunk - Fredrick is 6'3" and the Sergeant is 6'2"!
Who's watching I 2017
2019 :)
Lacking in energy compared to Azito? Azito's body and the magic of Hollywood did most of the work. His voice and facial expressions certainly didn't do anything. And he had how many takes? Arrowsmith wins.
Taken too soon by a Aids related illness.
A awesome tribute to Tony Azito.
lol. this is some good stuff
I love it.
could you post 'when a felon's....' too??!
keeps getting better , too
Great voices!
Good stuff.
Bravo! Bravi!
The sergeant's stripes are upside down
Yes, they are topsy-turvey!
Er, it's a comedy.
I really like Dennis Arrowsmith, this is a very entertaining and dramatic fun performance, love you Dennis!!!!
Thanks for sharing this!! This is one of my favorite songs from Pirates of Penzance movie!! I was a member of our high school’s winter guard (color guard but performed on the gymnasium floor) and we did routines to various songs from Pirates of Penzance. The cops had reminded my grandmother of the Keystone Cops. Our rifles were the cops and they took some of the dancing into their routine, especially one member would do a cart wheel. Again thanks for sharing!!
I'm sure you were honouring the memory of the late Tony Azito who was the police Sargent in the central park production and the Broadway stage musical and in the film version of the musical.
Well done!!
An excellent rendition which is much more than a mere copy of the well-known movie.
The film was based on the central park production.
Fantastic! Who is the wonderful choreographer? (btw, it's really frustrating on a big number like this when there is too much time taken on close-up shots, so we can't see what the whole picture looks like.)
Very true. I think the police captain is good in this, it's mainly the chorus that is lacking in energy. Just watch this again and look how unprofessional the chorus are, they're always looking at each other and not standing still, they're like infants! In this scene the police should be still and looking completely forward all the time in order to look like real police. They should be more like the Army if anything. The chorus aren't bad, they just lack in discipline.
Oh dear. The Policemen should not be clowns! Their humour is in their situation and subsequent actions, not in their ability to cast their legs about them to and fro.
It is great to see the rule of the oily cart opera company finished and we now have so many new productions and ideas. Tired professional productions to the same old regimes with poor music interpretation will not keep the satire alive for new generations. I rather liked giving it the feel of the Keystone Cops! In another scene I thought the daughter on her back with legs in the air exposing her pretty and abundant underwear was inappropriate for the period. Perhaps we should not carp and criticise when it is evident the the tremendous efforts of all involved in this production are so well meant for the future of the genre.
I take your point, Vic. There should be new interpretations to keep the genre alive. I suppose that I am a bit of a traditionalist, and think that there must always be the basic interpretation to allow others to be derived from it. Time will tell whether these new interpretations will succeed in keeping things going. I hope so.
Absolutely brilliant! Fabulous performance with impeccable diction, wonderful direction and production.
Bad theatre