By Justin Mitchell
“Argh!!!” yell the pirates on the stage. This year, the Flora High School Drama Club performance is Pirates of Penzance at the Harry Penny Auditorium on Friday and Saturday, March 19-20 at 7 P.M, and Sunday, March 21 at 2 P.M.
Written by Gilbert and Sullivan, Pirates of Penzance tells a story about a young boy named Fredrick (Landon Durre). Sometimes called Fred, he leaves the pirates on his twenty-first birthday after being apprenticed to the Pirates (Sawyer Mosbarger and Dylan Copple) and the Pirate King (Justin Mitchell).
As they leave the ship, Ruth (Samatha Mosbarger) begs Frederick not to leave. In the mix of their conversations, young ladies come singing over the rocky mountains (Cheyenne Pride, Katie Muskopf, and Jayden Sloan)
When Fredrick confronts the ladies, one of their sisters enters. Mabel (Madyson Slover) leads her sisters in song. That is until the pirates come back to snatch the girls to marry them. Their father, Major-General (Brody Sharp) comes to separate them.
In order for the Major-General to not be killed by the pirates, he escapes on the plea that he is an orphan. They all dance and sing after taking the Major-General in with the pirates.
Following an intermission, the police (Bayley Walker) and their Sergeant (Mallory Lovett) show up at Tremorden Castle, the Major-General’s house, to take away and protect them from the pirates.
Until the Pirate King and Ruth tell Frederick that he was born on a leap year and needs to come back with the pirates because he is only five years old. Obligated to serve, Frederick comes back to the pirates.
Before he leaves he tells his beloved Mabel that he has to go and they share a tender kiss under the night sky. The police come back to find out where the pirates have gone and Mabel tells them to leave because they aren’t all that mad.
The pirates come back to find and kill the Major-General, so the police, who are scared of the pirates, decide to hide from them. They see the general has woken up and decide to hide also.
By the end, the police and pirates fight after finding one another when they were hiding. The battle also had the daughters, Frederick, and Mabel helps out one another.
In the end, they all reconcile over the love of their queen, Queen Victoria. They all share a moment with each respected partner and dance along to the final song which everyone sings.
The musical isn’t over because each cast member comes out to do a final bow. They also show their appreciation for the crew, (Gauge Mayberry, Elisha Scoles, Dericka Winters, Reya Simpson, Wyatt Pride, and Kaylee Scarborough), the tech (Arabella Kuhlig, Elijah Luzadder, and Jebee Salmorin) the pianist (Darla), and their directors (Mrs. Hudson and Ms. Grafton)
After the show, the whole cast and crew will gather throughout the halls., and in the lunchroom to sign shirts, playbills, etc; The Drama Club will be selling tickets for eight dollars for adults and five dollars for students. Anyone under the age of two gets in for free.
Alongside selling tickets, the Drama Club will also be selling light-up swords and T-Shirts. Both will be set out for the show and after the show has ended. Before the show, they will be upfront and after the show, they will be in the commons.
