with Kevin Kline, George Rose, Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith and Patricia Routledge
The Broadway adaption of Gilbert and Sullivan's famed operetta is presented in this lively musical. It is the tale of a journeyman pirate who has just come of age and decides he wants to go straight. Unfortunately, his mentor, the king of the pirates, has other things in mind...
This is a stage performance of what later would be the motion picture The Pirates of Penzance (1983) with the same cast members with the exception of Ruth then being played by Angela Lansbury instead of Patricia Routledge (better known as Hyacinth in the TV-series Keeping Up Appearances.)
It is a good adaptation of the operetta by the infamous British playwright/composer duo, where the audience gets to enjoy the melodies that stick to your brain like crazy-glue. The quality of the recording is somewhat deteriorated and shows great signs of its age, but that does not take away from any of the performances. Some of the characters are perhaps a bit rough around the edges, and Linda Ronstadt is about as stiff as Queen Amidala in a George Lucas production. George Rose has a quick tongue, but seems to lack presence. On the other hand, Routledge and Kline make up for it all with their stage personas - even the Rex Smith Elvis impersonation is quite memorable. Would have been nice to see live though...
Knudegaard Rating:
7 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment