Title: Just awful, especially if you know the operetta well
Review: After being delighted by the Stratford performance of the Mikado, I quickly bought this one, and what a huge mistake. If you aren't very familiar with the score, you might enjoy it, but if you know Pirates by heart, you will cringe. The horrors begin with Pirate King quoting Shakespeare and the girls stripping down to Victorian underwear on the beach-- accompanied by awful new dialogue. Gilbert would turn over in his grave. And it just gets worse. The sound quality is bad; Fredrick is dull and hasn't much of a voice, and the applause is distracting... which is isn't in the Mikado. It's customary to add little touches and in jokes (see I've Got A Little List in the Mikado), and that's fine, but this is just beyond the pale. Save your money, and buy this company's wonderful Mikado. (Even my 8 year old son, who has never seen this and loves pirates in general, greatly preferred the Mikado.)
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