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“The Pirates of Penzance”.
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Pirates of Penzance
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The Pirates of Penzance, one of Gilbert and Sullivan's best-loved operettas, features a band of buccaneers
commanded by the swashbuckling Pirate King. They have a pirate-apprentice, Frederic, who celebrates the
end of his indentures on his 21st birthday by announcing that he will abandon pirating and devoting himself
to their destruction. His resolve is strengthened when he sees Mabel, one of Major-General Stanley's
beautiful daughters, and is immediately smitten. But wait: the Pirate King points out that Frederic was born
during
leap year, on February 29, and is legally only “5 and a little bit over;” he still owes the pirates many more
years of plundering!
EUGENE OPERA'S production The Pirates of Penzance starred Richard White as the Pirate King,
Eric Millegan
as Frederic, and Christiane Noll as Mabel.
Richard White is familiar to audiences the world over as the voice of the villain, “Gaston,” in the critically
acclaimed animated film, The Beauty and the Beast. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards
including Best Picture, the first ever for an animated film, and also won the prestigious Best Picture Golden
Globe Award. R ichard made his Broadway debut as Joey in the revival of The Most Happy Fella and has
appeared in the New York revivals of Brigadoon as Tommy and South Pacific as Lieutenant Cable. He
starred opposite Estelle Parsons in the Off-Broadway production of Elizabeth and Essex and as George Kirby
in Jerry Sterner’s Topper. Richard created the title role in the Maury Yeston/Arthur Kopit Phantom at
Theater Under the Stars in Houston. He originated the role of Ace Gruber in the musical Sayonara and
starred in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as Dr. Jekyll, and in the swashbuckling musical Zorro, as the
masked man himself.
After seeing his performance of Billy Bigelow in Carousel, Beverly Sills asked Mr. White to join her at
the New York City Opera where he has been the leading man in productions of The New Moon, The Desert
Song, Brigadoon, Merry Widow, Naughty Marietta, and South Pacific.Television audiences saw his performance
as Gaylord Ravinal in Showboat and Robert Mission in The New Moon telecast on PBS’s Great Performances.
Noll recently appeared in New York City in the Encores! production of Sigmund Romberg’s operetta The New
Moon. Her performance was recorded in its entirety and has been released to critical acclaim. She sang
Valencienne in Washington DC’s National Opera production of The Merry Widow opposite Placido Domingo,
and Kathie in The Student Prince at the Paper Mill Playhouse. Other recent appearances include the New
York Theatre Company’s Fine and Private Place. She was the voice of Anna in the animated film version of
The King and I.
Millegan, who currently plays Zack Addy on the FOX television series “Bones,” grew up in Springfield,
Oregon, and began his musical career with Eugene Opera in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors in 1981.
He went on to appear in Eugene Opera’s Madame Butterfly, La Boheme, Carmen, and Hansel and Gretel.
His New York credits include the Broadway revival of Jesus Christ Superstar. At New Jersey’s Paper Mill
Playhouse, he recently starred as Harold opposite Estelle Parsons’ Maude in the world premiere of
Harold and Maude: The Musical.
EUGENE OPERA's new production was directed by Artistic Advisor, Mark Beudert, who appeared on Broadway
as Frederic with Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt. The conductor was British citizen Nicholas Carthy, whose
extensive international career as conductor and accompanist includes appearances from Carnegie Hall to
La Scala and the Saltzburg Festival. The production used the most recent critical edition of the performance
score, and will be based on Gilbert and Sullivan's original version premiered in New York City on New Year's
Eve 1879. It featured sets by Disney's Don Carson, who has previously designed The Mikado and H.M.S.
Pinafore for the company, and costumes by our long time designer, Mary Mikkelsen.
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