Twenty-five years ago, Drayton Entertainment’s artistic director Alex Mustakas played the infamous Pirate King in the Drayton Festival Theatre’s inaugural 1991 season production of The Pirates of Penzance.
A quarter century later, he is returning to his theatrical roots with one of his personal favourite roles in musical theatre.
Mustakas will be on the boards as the proud and dashing swashbuckler in the theatre company’s anticipated fall production of The Pirates of Penzance at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, Oct. 7 to 25. Mustakas will also assume directing duties.
“It’s pretty neat to come full circle at this moment in my career,” Mustakas said. “The timing is perfect.”
Mustakas has carved out a niche in recent years playing dastardly villains, starting with the smarmy boss in 9 To 5: The Musical in 2012 and continuing with Captain Hook in Peter Pan in 2013.
“I may be the only actor who enjoys getting booed on stage,” he joked.
No stranger to the role of the comic operetta’s iconic antihero, Mustakas was introduced to the legacy of the Gilbert and Sullivan canon as a teenager, performing in various productions with the Waterloo Regional Gilbert & Sullivan Society under the stewardship of mentor and lifelong friendJohn Kerr. Fittingly, this production coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Waterloo Regional Gilbert & Sullivan Society.
“The material resonates as much today as it did back in Victorian England,” Mustakas said. “The Pirates of Penzance is a brilliant parody of political and social convention, backed by razor-sharp wit, physical humour, and a sparkling score chock-full of memorable melodies and catchy tunes.”
The Pirates of Penzance tells the topsy-turvy tale of young Frederic, apprenticed to some softhearted pirates by mistake of his hard-of-hearing nursery maid. When he grows up and falls in love with a local maiden, he renounces his pirate heritage and swears to rid England of the scourge of bad guys, thus setting in motion a spirited musical comedy filled with outrageous twists and turns.
Additional casting will be announced in the near future.
Tickets are $42 for adults; $25 for youths under 20 years of age. Tickets for preview performances scheduled before the official opening and groups of 20 or more are $34. HST is applicable to all ticket prices.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, online at www.stjacobscountryplayhouse.com or by calling 519-747-7788 or toll free at 1-855-drayton (372-9866).
