'The Pirates of Penzance'
Opening: The Ordway Center news release says "Gilbert & Sullivan meets 'Spamalot.' " So be heartened or forewarned depending on your taste for high jinks when approaching the ouevre of the British operetta geniuses. "Pirates" does have a cheeky, winking humor, with the swashbuckling Pirate King, the lovely damsels in distress and the flustered Major-General. Director James Rocco's cast for this production includes Broadway vet Brandon O'Neill as the Pirate King, Dieter Bierbrauer, Gary Briggle, Anne Eisendrath as Mabel and Kersten Rodau. The plot is — do you really need to know the plot? It's "The Pirates of Penzance." It's Gilbert & Sullivan. (7:30 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat.-next Sun. $36-$110. Ends Aug. 16. 5th and Washington Sts., St. Paul. 651-224-4222, ordway.org.)
Graydon Royce
