A rollicking band of pirates has been announced for the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' production of The Pirates of Penzance, which runs January 4-12 at the John Jay College's Gerald W. Lynch Theater.

Alex Corson will lead the cast as Frederic, who, as a young boy, was mistakenly apprenticed to a band of pirates. Although morally opposed to their life of piracy, he is nevertheless bound to aid in their crimes, until his 21st birthday, when he comes of age and is freed from his indentures—or so he thinks.

Corson will be joined by David Wannen and Matthew Wages, who will share the role of the Pirate King, with James Mills as Major-General Stanley. Completing the principal cast are Claire Leyden and Sophie Thompson as Mabel, Angela Christine Smith as Ruth, David Auxier as the Sergeant of Police, Adam Hirama Wells as Samuel, Hannah Holmes as Edith, Alexandra Imbrosci-Viera and Katie Hall as Kate, and Laura Sudduth and Caitlin Borek as Isabel. The ensemble will include Matthew Carter, Michael J. Connolly, Hannah Eakin, Sarah Hutchison, Sabrina Lopez, John Charles McLaughlin, Lance Olds, Patrick Lord-Remmert, and Cameron Smith. 

The production, directed by NYGASP Founder and Artistic Director Albert Bergeret, will feature lighting by Benjamin Weill, costumes by Gail J. Wofford and Quinto Ott, scenery by Albère, and a re-staging of Bill Fabris' original choreography by David Auxier. Bergeret and Associate Conductor Joseph Rubin will share conducting duties.

The Pirates of Penzance is the only Gilbert and Sullivan opera to have made its world premiere on Broadway. When their previous collaboration, H.M.S. Pinafore, proved unexpectedly popular in the United States and spawned a deluge of unauthorized pirated productions, the writers decided to premiere their next opera in New York so that it would have copyright protection. There it has remained popular ever since, with multiple Broadway revivals, including a new adaptation coming to Broadway this spring.

For more information visit NYGASP.org.