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Rating: 
Summary: Penzance is alternately hilarious and unsatisfactory
Review: Compared to, say, THe Gondoliers, THe pirates is not a masterpiece. THere is no character one can really sympathise with, and the potshots are a bit too obvious. It was intended as a satire of Victorian types, and works brilliantly at that, but in the end is rather callous. It tells the tale of a typically Victorian gentleman (cousin to Jack Worthing in THe Importance of being earnest?) who is obsessed with doing his duty. 'Duty' - to Queen, Empire, family, propriety etc. - was the major Victorian obsession, and Gilbert lambasts an unswerving devotion to this concept by having a hero so obsessed with doing his duty, that he will rejoin a band of pirates and hand over for execution to them his prospective father-in-law. Parody and pastiche litter the libretto, which is made of many marvellous things - the brooding, wild, Romantic Cornish landscape which oversees a frothy piece of human nonsense; the harridan nurse who persuades her ward that she is comely; the Modern Major general who is one of the most intellectually brilliant men alive, but hopeless incompetent militarily; the callous man-hungry maidens - true Victorians who would rather marry wealth than obey the dictates of duty; the not very terrifying pirates who drink sherry rather than rum, and will only attack ships with more men than them, and never orphans (resulting in the entire British fleet being sailed by the parentless); the valiant police force who are actually terrified of accosting anyone. THe pirates are ex-peers who have tired of the real piracy that is Victorian respectability. THere are some really hilarious songs, and everyone should sing the Major general's song every morning to the mirror, but there are some - the 'serious' ones, which are dreadfully tedious. THe play reads like a more whimsical Wilde - Noel Coward perhaps?
Rating:
Summary: before you try to wed us against our wills...
Review: I haven't read the book, but our school is putting the play on, and it is good
Rating:
Summary: Good version
Review: I'm not sure what an earlier reviewer is saying about this score not having the solo stuff. This book has the complete score and dialoge. I've used it for two productions of POP and it is missing nothing.
Unless this is a different edition than the one I have..but it has the exact same cover and credits so I doubt it.
Rating: 
Summary: not really a book
Review: Just so you know before you buy, this is only the chorus book. It includes only songs where one of the chorus' (pirates, daughters, or police) is singing. No solos or smaller numbers are included and neither is the script.
Rating:
Summary: Different editions
Review: We're staging a production of "Pirates" in April 2002, and we have two editions of this score by G. Schirmer. The cheaper one is for the chorus, and has just the choral passages. The more expensive one (listed here) has the complete vocal music and dialogue.I have seen both, and would rate them at five stars except that the original page plates are a little dirty, introducing some confusing dots and spots.
Rating:
Summary: Its a cool book, and i like the musical too.
Review: You should read, or watch the musical..
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