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PREVIEW: The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company’s Crew of Pirates (and More)

by Twin Cities Arts Reader -

This fall, when the Twin Cities are bracing for the winter, the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company will be preparing itself for the spotlight. Piracy under the spotlight, that is. In the…Wild West?

Indeed, for its fall production of The Pirates of Penzance, GSVLOC is going with a new subtitle and twist: Love and Duty in the Old West. Following a new production concept by director Joe Andrews, the stalwart company will pack its bags for mining country from October 30-November 22, 2026:

Transposed to America’s Old West, The Pirates of Penzance maintains its supremely buoyant score, sense of adventure, and improbable paradoxes, but the action plays against the backdrop of the California-Nevada border during the Gold Rush. The pirates are sentimental bandits, the police are sheriffs and deputies, and love and duty win the day, of course!

A promotional poster for the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company’s upcoming production of The Pirates of Penzance …with a new staging twist.

As is its norm, GSVLOC has split-cast the principals:

Group Gilbert Cast Sullivan Cast
Major General Stanley: Scott Benson Tom Berg
The Pirate King: Seth Steidl Eric Sorum
Frederic: Andrew Peterson Graham Remple
Samuel: Mike Tober Matt Polum
The Sheriff: Waldyn Benbenek Scott Gorman
Mabel: Maggie Benham Mary Kettlewell
Ruth: Lara Trujillo Lara Trujillo
Edith: Mallory Rabehl Mallory Rabehl
Kate: Lily Miller Lily Miller
Isabel: Liza Hartshorn Liza Hartshorn

Major General Stanley’s Family

Mary Mescher Benbenek Shawn Holt
Katelyn Breen Gracie Hutchenson
Kelly Danger Lillian Schierbrock
Abigail Dawydenko-Johnson Molly Rose Setter
Maya Gitch Emma Shine
Mary Gregory Charlotte Smith

The Pirates and Sheriff’s Deputies

Claire Bias Stephen Hage
Michael Chapman Dean Laurance
Xander Condie Tony Palumbo
Dylan Croeker Eric Pasternack
Tollef Currell Lowell Rice
Jonathan Flory Sam Vinitsky
Clyde Gerber Trevor Woggon
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