the late actor who plays the Major-General and the late Tony Azito who is the captain of the constables, were just part of this great cast, this is a great tribute to two men who died so tragically. Can't think of a better venue to showcase all of these actors/actresses and singers all.

I love Gilbert and Sullivan, and The Pirates of Penzanze is my favourite of their operettas. This film is a lot of fun, very like the operetta, and much better than a production that was made at the same time as this, in relation to the latter while Keith Michell and the music were brilliant and the dialogue witty as ever the whole production seemed amateurish and under-rehearsed and some sluggish pacing undermine what could have been a witty and charming performance. This version, while far from flawless, is far better.

The Pirates of Penzanze has a fun and charming story and some of the zaniest characters ever in an operetta(cue Major General Stanley), also the music is outstanding with some of the wittiest and literate lyrics you'll find anywhere. This version keeps to the structure of the story and the zaniness of the characters and does a very good job. The music is charmingly performed and all the pivotal moments are there, but there is the odd paring down and some order shuffling.

Angela Lansbury is an actress I am very fond of, and she does perform the musical comedy of her role as Ruth brilliantly. Her singing is not exactly what I had in mind for Ruth, when I think of Ruth I think of a mezzo/contralto voice while not being too deep in the lower register. Lansbury does what she can, but for my tastes singing-wise she is a little too light. My other problem is Paradox, it was a definite improvement over that of the other production I spoke of, and I liked the staging and acting but I think the conducting was too fast and although I wasn't sure whether it was the performers enjoying themselves or whether they were trying to get it over with but the whole number seemed rushed through. Consequently the wit and fun of Paradox was disappointingly lost.

That said, the production, costume and set designs are spot on, and the orchestra and conductor do do a great job. The pace adds to the show's wit, charm and fun, while some of the staging is overdone such as in Cat Like Tread this works and adds to the fun and the direction thankfully manages to be the complete anti-thesis of amateurish. There are some great performances as well. Rex Smith is a dashing Frederic and his Ah Leave me not to pine with Linda Ronstadt and Oh! is there not one maiden breast made my heart melt, Linda Ronstadt is a lovely Mabel and as the Sargeant Tony Azito is a hoot. The standouts however are Kevin Kline who plays Pirate King with such a voluptuous swagger -and he seems to be enjoying himself immensely- that you warm to him immediately and George Rose who is everything Major General Stanley should be. The entire chorus work is great, especially from the pirates and I was surprised in a good way at how secure the tuning with the policemen was.

All in all, fun all round. 8/10 Bethany Cox