The CMU theatre and vocal performance departments open the spring season with the witty operetta Pirates of Penzance. This show by Gilbert & Sullivan is filled with pirates, satire, puns and fun for the entire family.

“It’s a unique and hilarious classic,” said junior Music Theatre major Ethan Knowles. “It has a lot of classic humor that is still relevant today.”

Senior acting/directing major Chris Wells and vocal performance major Chris Arroyo will share the role of the pirate king ,and senior music education and vocal performance major Kalinda Theobold has the lead female role of Mabel. The show follows the trials and tribulations of being a pirate or a damsel.

“It pokes fun at a lot of old British customs that were very prevalent in the days that it was written,” Wells said. “It’s very satirical.”

The cast of 30 is the biggest cast since Oklahoma in Spring 2011. Pirates of Penzance will be performed with a live orchestra. Every department housed in Moss Performing Arts Center is collaborating to make this operetta a success. Operas are performed at CMU only once every four years.

“It’s unlike most people have seen before,” Knowles said. “They can expect to see beautiful costumes, a fantastic set, wonderful choral singing and a brilliant live orchestra.”

Pirates of Penzance runs Feb. 28 through March 2 at 7:30 p.m., March 3 at 2 p.m. and March 6-9 at 7:30 p.m.

“College students will love it, it’s goofy,” Wells said. “There’s a rollicking band of pirates.”

Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $6 for students. Student rush will be Thursday, Feb. 28 and Wednesday, March 6. Tickets for student rush cost $4 with a Mavcard present, and can be purchased in the box office.

lstroman@mavs.coloradomesa.edu