SD Uptown News' Jeff Britton reviews "Pirates of Penzance" here. Tickets still available for next weekend!

Click here to see video clips from opening weekend of The Pirates of Penzance!

Ready to Set Sail?

Now’s the time to book the best seats for your 2010-11 season renewal!

If you’re a current LOSD subscriber, first of all, THANK YOU and we love you more than ice cream with chocolate sauce. Second, if you have already received your season subscription renewal packet, we want you to know that NOW is the best time to renew or improve your seats, before season subscriptions go on sale to the general public!

Let us remind you what delights are in store as we take you around the world on a musical journey next season: Gigi in Paris; The Barber of Seville in, er, Seville; The Gondoliers in Venice and/or Venice Beach; and finally Fiddler on the Roof in the Russia of old. What a trip to make with our exciting musical theatre and opera performers, our live orchestra, and our wonderful chorus, all in the spectacular Birch North Park Theatre. So click here and make sure your seats are in first class for this theatrical trip of a lifetime!

"Pirates" Ready to Sail

Well, the invited audience at last night's final dress rehearsal for "Pirates" gave it a standing O, and from all the laughing we heard throughout the evening, we're pretty sure we have a hit on our hands.


Tenor Benjamin Robinson is a real find as Frederic, making his debut with LOSD. Young, handsome, and what a voice! And the other debut, Ashraf Sewailam as the Pirate King, is a true operatic bass-baritone who looks and sounds great on stage. Our returning favorites Megan Weston (Mabel), Fran Hartshorn (Ruth), and Walter DuMelle (Police Sergeant) are as great as ever. As for J. Sherwood Montgomery as Major-General Stanley... well, he simply owns this role. He's "San Diego's favorite funnyman," the king of slapstick and the master of the patter song, and those are few and far between these days.


Here are some of Craig Deutsch's photos to give you a little preview... see you on opening night!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Us

Arr, mateys! Break out the Jolly Roger, the peg legs, and the eye patches, because it’s time to head back to Penzance!

You won’t find Captain Jack Sparrow anywhere near the place, but yes, Lyric Opera’s 31st season is coming to a rousing close with the most beloved of Gilbert and Sullivan classics, “The Pirates of Penzance”! These beloved high-seas bumblers, their lady loves, and the hapless police who pursue them return to the Birch North Park Theatre on Friday, March 26, 2010 -- running for three weekends.

We do so love performing this show for you, and we have two exciting new artists to introduce to you in leading roles: tenor Benjamin Robinson as Frederic and bass-baritone Ashraf Sewailam as the Pirate King. As Mabel, one of our favorite people, the luminous soprano Megan Weston, returns to our stage. And last but not least, “San Diego’s favorite funnyman,” our own Artistic Director J. Sherwood Montgomery, the master of the patter song, returns in one of his signature roles as Major General Stanley. General Director Leon Natker will direct and conduct the production.

The show opens March 26 and runs through April 11. Watch this space for closer looks at the show and the artists in days to come!