STAGE REVIEWS : ‘PIRATES’ SAILS ON ITS LIKABILITY

Talk about atmosphere. The Orange County Marine Institute has cornered the market with its lively, likable production of “The Pirates of Penzance” staged aboard the brig Pilgrim II, anchored in Dana Point Harbor. Salt air, sea breezes and sea gulls are included in the price of admission, with the gentle rocking of the boat thrown in for good measure. Sensurround, eat your heart out.

The amiable spirit for the evening is all hams on deck, including the audience, which gets into the act in this spirited--albeit abridged--version of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. The action careens with breathless comic velocity from one end of the ship to the other, up and down riggings, above and below decks. Audience members, seated on deck, are exhorted to cheer the heroes, assist with props and look lively if a fair maiden swoons at their feet.

Much of the infectious momentum results from the cozy (read restricted) playing space, which keeps the action nose-to-nose with the audience, and a tightly edited story that has been condensed to accommodate two evening performances (at 6:30 and 9 p.m.). The libretto has been scraped down to the bare essentials, clocking in just under 90 minutes. If that smacks of Gilbert and Sullivan in shorthand--and it does--the compensations are the nautical setting, the high-energy slapstick, some imaginative choreography and the solid vocal work of the very able cast.

Brief narrative is offered to fill in the gaps, relating the familiar tale of a hapless band of pirates who kidnap a British naval officer and his five lovely daughters but don’t have the heart to take advantage of the situation. The 1879 comic opera is blissfully silly stuff, attacking the conventions of classical opera with musical harpoons that land right on target.

Director-choreographer Ray Limon responds in kind with a cartoon-like approach that shifts in and out of fast-forward as pirates flash sabers, swing from overhead ropes, surround blushing maidens and battle it out with bumbling policemen.

(Nimble had to be listed as a requirement in the casting call. These cast members prove adept at scrambling, leaping and pratfalls, all carried out with little room to maneuver and the promise of a long, salty swim if a foot slips.)

Michael Lescault anchors the production as Frederic, a naive lad who finds his faithful nurse has mistakenly apprenticed him to a pirate instead of a pilot. Lescault is all chipper, wide-eyed innocence, wearing both his heart and his sense of duty on his sleeve. Diane Palombo plays the object of his affections, the coy Mabel, displaying a sly, quick wit hidden behind batting eyelashes. Lescault and Palombo have agile, sure voices, and their duets are among the best ingredients of this production.

Trent W. Nelson neatly maneuvers through the treacherous vocal demands of the role of Major-General Stanley in his attempts to outwit the half-witted pirates, led by a dashing John C. Tebay. Much of the high-comic texture is contributed by the strong chorus of strapping pirates, acrobatic cops and two-faced young ladies, each of whom creates a distinctive character. Their vocal work is equally rich, best displayed in their heartfelt, a cappella hymn to poetry.

Some of the funny business is inventive (the sergeant of police being forced to sing upside down), but at times it feels forced (eyeglasses held together with tape; the frantic busy-ness of the nurse; the stretching exercises conducted by the pirate king at intermission).

Vivid costumes and wigs, the work of Mela Hoyt-Heydon and Cliff Senior, add period atmosphere to what Mother Nature and the Pilgrim II have already provided, as does the fine musical accompaniment of Grant Rohr, Jay Mason and Larry Balara.