Jacksonville Opera Theatre Presents
The Pirates of Penzance

Do you like pirates?  If you do, Jacksonville State University is the place to be when the “Pirates of Penzance” set sail and arrive on the stage of JSU’s Stone Center, Opening Night - May 18th, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. 

 

Jacksonville Opera Theatre will present Sir Arthur Sullivan’s comic operetta, The Pirates of Penzance.  Performances will occur in the Stone Center on the campus of Jacksonville State University and in the Pell City Center for Education and the Performing Arts.

 

The classic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta promises to be rip-roaring, rollicking fun as good-natured pirates, all orphans, mix with polite English society. It seems that they stumble upon a large family of unwed beauties whose father is a “Modern Major General” ~ who actually knows nothing of military strategy.  Throw in a child apprentice indentured in service to the orphaned pirates who now is free to return to respectable society, (or so he thinks) and you have the beginnings of riotous comedy, British style!  Add to that director Nathan Wight’s imaginative sets, authentic costuming and flare for humor and you can be sure of a raucous evening at the theatre!
 

Jacksonville Opera Theatre’s Pirates of Penzance will be playing May 18-20 and May 25-27, 2007 at Jacksonville State University’s Ernest Performing Arts Center.  Friday and Saturday evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m.  Sunday matinees begin at 2:30 p.m.  A special performance of Pirates will be staged in the brand new Pell City Center for Education and the Performing Arts in Pell City on May 22 at 7:30 p.m.
 

Since 2003, Jacksonville Opera Theatre (JOT) has presented vibrant, professionally staged operas that highlight the wealth of musical talent emerging from the Music program in the David L. Walters Department of Music.  Music faculty and staff conduct, direct, and design the productions.

 

The Youth Apprentice Program is a unique opportunity for local High School students to participate in a collegiate opera production.  Over a ten-week period in March, April, and May, students will attend evening musical and staging rehearsals, then present eight fully staged and costumed performances. 

JSU Faculty, Staff and Student tickets are $10.00. Regular Adult Prices are $15.00 or $25.00. Tickets can be purchased by contacting Dr. Nathan Wight at 256-782-5876 or nwight@jsu.edu.  Dinner and opera are available on Saturday evening, May 19th  and 26th beginning at 5:30 p.m. at “Classic On Noble” in Anniston.  The dinner will include a pre-opera lecture and fine dining, followed by the opera performance, all for $35.

Ticket reservations for the JSU Stone Center may be made by calling Dr. Nathan Wight at 256-782-5876.  For ticket information in Pell City, call the Pell City Center for Education and the Performing Arts Box Office at 205-338-1974.

 

Brief Synopsis:

In The Pirates of Penzance, Frederic was, as a child, apprenticed to a band of tenderhearted, orphaned pirates by his nurse who, being hard of hearing, had mistaken her master's instructions to apprentice the boy to a pilot. Frederic, upon completing his 21st year, rejoices that he has fulfilled his indentures and is now free to return to respectable society. But it turns out that he was born on February 29 in leap year, and he remains apprenticed to the pirates until his 21st birthday. By the end of the opera, the pirates, a Major General who knows nothing of military strategy, his large family of beautiful but unwed daughters, and the timid constabulary all contribute to a cacophony that can be silenced only by Queen Victoria's name

 

Participants

Cast: 

Major-General Stanley – Rocky Tejada – Jacksonville, AL

The Pirate King – Matthew Headley – Pell City and Oxford, AL

Frederick – Chad Miller – Jacksonville, AL

Samuel – Peter Wilder – Columbiana, AL

Sergeant of Police – Jarrod Lee – Talladega, AL

Mabel – Jean Allen – Blue Ridge, GA

Edith – Kristina Shetter – Alexandria, AL

Isabel – Pam Lawrence – Dallas, GA

Kate – Ellie Mellen – Jacksonville, AL

Ruth – Estefania Cuevas – Wellborn, AL

 

Chorus:

Haley Arrington – Glencoe, AL

Julie Batson – Gadsden, AL

Robert Copeland – Mississipi

Brandon Cornelison – Gadsden, AL

Meg Griffin – Carrollton, GA

Juliet Jackson – Rockmart, GA

Issac Pullen – Huntsville, AL

Jessica Roberts – Ashville, AL

Holly Smith – Newell, AL

Michael Turner – Heflin, AL

Jason Wright – Anniston, AL

 

High School Student Apprentices:

Maggie Beam, White Plains HS

Jacob Cummings, White Plains HS

Sebastián Cuevas, SAKS HS

Michael Ervin, Alexandria HS

Adrianna Lenard, White Plains HS

Crystal Sparks, White Plains HS

Martin Smith, White Plains HS

Tiffany Valentine, Alexandria HS

Eric Wilcox, Oxford HS

 

More information may be obtained by calling Teresa Stricklin at 256-782-5047 or by contacting Dr. Nathan Wight at nwight@jsu.edu

The opera is currently sponsored by:

 

-First Educator’s Credit Union

-Fred Couch, Couch’s Jewelers

-Rainbow Omega

-Ft. McClellan Credit Union

-Cheaha Bank

-Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce

-Judy James, Gold Star Realty

-Bolton Chiropractic

-Alabama Safety Products

-Alternatives to Pharmacological Treatments

-J&J Electric

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