We saw Pirates! (or Gilbert and Sullivan Plundered) on Saturday night -- I enjoyed it and laughed a lot. It was good-natured fun, as if the Marx Brothers invaded and took over a Gilbert and Sullivan production. There is a lot of acrobatic dancing and humorous singing in the style of G&S. I thought they stayed true to the spirit of G&S, even with some of the updating of sensibilities.
I can, however, understand Louise Kennedy's damning review in the Boston Globe. This isn't for everybody -- you have to like the non-stop slapstick and broad humor (some people call it "energy", other people call it "low burlesque" or something like that). I think Louise actually did everybody a favor -- the Globe got a lot of irate people hitting their web site to rant about the review, and the Huntington got a lot of buzz. A win-win situation!
Our good friend who saw the production with us didn't like it -- he said it was "too much", that Gilbert and Sullivan is great, and witty, and funny, just done straight. Why make a parody of something that is already a parody? It's a good point. But it didn't prevent us from liking the show.
This was the strongest show in an otherwise mediocre season at the Huntington.
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