Imagine a rowdy frat party taking over the Tonga Room and you might get some idea of Berkeley Rep's latest show. The revelers are not an exclusive bunch; they want you to join in the party, stage boundaries be damned, and a tiki bar is both part of the set and open for business throughout the show. Apparently, this unruly crowd also belongs to a Gilbert and Sullivan society, blowing off steam in topsy-turvy fashion.
Welcome to The Pirates of Penzance, as told by the Hypocrites. This Chicago theater company has been deconstructing popular plays and musicals since 1997, and Pirates is one of the most popular pieces in its canon. Though abbreviated to 85 minutes, most of the familiar Gilbert and Sullivan songs are heard in one fashion or another. And the story remains the same, albeit with liberties often taken in the telling. The performances, the costumes, the set, and the staging are another matter, pirating away the tale of pushover pirates into a frenzied mash-up.
But there is method to the madness taking place in Berkeley Rep's Osher Studio, an open space with seating on risers on opposite sides and the action taking place on and around various structures and objects in-between. Director Sean Graney's adaptation is carefully designed to look ramshackle, and some improvisation is indeed a must, as it can be for audiences as well. Theatergoers who opt for "promenade" seating sprinkle themselves throughout the playing area, and must frequently relocate when their space is needed by the performers.
Beneath the strings of party lights draped along the ceiling, the party sensibilities can be contagious even for those resistant to theater requiring interplay with beach balls. But you don't have to be a Gilbert and Sullivan fan to realize something is lost in the name of zany fun. After all, The Pirates of Penzance is already zany, and part of the fun is seeing it amidst traditional Victorian theatrical trappings. And when a performer has the talent and inclination to deliver a musical number in a way that allows the songs to be properly heard, you realize that something else has been sacrificed.
This becomes most apparent when Matt Kahler gives forth with a very credible rendition of "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General," the fast-paced patter song with tongue-twisting lyrics. Christine Stulik, as the Major-General's daughter Mabel, uses a comic tremolo that can still connect with the music. The cast provides its own accompaniment with guitars, ukuleles, banjos, accordions, and various other musical instruments, pushing Sullivan's music into ever-changing genres that span the decades.
Stulik is also ever-changing, shuttling between the comely ingenue Mabel and the middle-aged and not-so-comely Ruth. Both characters, usually played by two performers, are in love with pirate apprentice Frederick (Zeke Sulkes), who longs to be free of his servitude at age 21 so he can fight on the side of Her Majesty. But when it is revealed that he was born on Feb. 29 in a leap year, he is duty-bound to stay indentured for another 63 years.
As the Pirate King, the inexhaustible Shawn Pfaustch rules not only over his scurvy lot, but also over the entire production as a kind of trouble-making master of ceremonies. Other cast members play double and triple roles, including pirates, police, and fair maidens in tutus and floral bathing caps.
D'Oyly Carte this is not. But if you're willing to take your Gilbert and Sullivan with a big dose of irreverence, or if you don't give a hoot about G&S, you'll probably be glad you came to this frat party.
The Hypocrites' Pirates of Penzance will run at Berkeley Rep's Osher Studio through Dec. 20. Tickets are $29-$89. Call (510) 647-2949 or go to berkeleyrep.org.