Pirates, A Family Friendly Show!

PYT has always been a family affair and if you’re lucky enough to see PYT’s production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Pirates of Penzance, – you’ll be seeing more siblings in one show then we’ve ever had before!

Introducing our seafaring siblings!

Twins: Izzie and Madeline (They both play pirates in the Gilbert Cast)

Brothers: Devan and Dilan (Devan is a pirate and Dilan is a Pirate/Police Featured Dancer). They are both in the Sullivan Cast.

Sister and Brother: Izzy and Ben (Both play pirates in the Sullivan Cast).

Siblings: Ori, Ella and Yonatan. (Ori is Frederic, Ella is a Pirate/Police Featured Dancer and Yonatan is Samuel in the Gilbert Cast)

And last but not least, sisters: Arielle and Natalie! (Arielle is one of Major General Stanley’s Daughters and Natalie is a pirate.). Arielle is in both Gilbert and Sullivan Cast and Natalie is in the Sullivan Cast.

Spotlight was able to catch-up with Arielle and Natalie to talk about doing a show with a sibling which they have had a lot of practice doing.

Arielle is 16 years old and a junior in high school. When she’s not at school or rehearsal, she likes reading, playing piano, and spending time with friends and family. She first became involved in theatre when she was 8 years old and did a Theatre in the Park show with PYT. (She played the role of Dayo in The Dancing Spider, and drew the cover for the program!). Since then she’s been doing theatre ever since. Practically every time she sees a new show, that one becomes her favorite. The musical at the top of her list currently is Come From Away, however, she also loves Anastasia, Groundhog Day, and of course, Hamilton!

Natalie with sunnies age 2 and big sister, Arielle age 3

The first show Arielle performed with her sister Natalie was The Dancing Spider about 9 years ago, and since then they have been together in almost every show. “Having Natalie in the show with me is really fun because I get to spend time with her and sing the duets from the musical together, even if we don’t get to sing it them in the actual show,” said Arielle. The only challenge Arielle’s had when doing shows together, she said with a smile, “is that I like getting to rehearsal 15 minutes early and my sister prefers to get there a little later, but luckily, now that I have my driver’s license, I decide when we leave the house!”

Natalie and Arielle on vacation together

Arielle’s sister Natalie is 15 and she likes to read, bake, and travel. Another fun fact about Natalie is that she has triple citizenship! Natalie’s favorite musical and role was in PYT’s Beauty and the Beast when she played a “Silly Girl”.

The Pirates of Penzance is their latest show together, but they were just in Stories on Stage, Al Capone Does My Shirts.  In fact, all the shows Natalie has done were with Arielle. Natalie remarked, “The best part of being in a show with my sister is that we can talk about it and if I need help with something, I can generally go to her. A challenge we have is that we can have different rehearsal times, so sometimes, I have to come earlier than I have to because my parents don’t want to have to drive me!”

Asked what they liked best about being in The Pirates of Penzance, Natalie commented, “I like how all the songs are really good. Also, I like how everyone is really nice and friendly.” Natalie describes The Pirates of Penzanceas “funny, dramatic, and entertaining”.

Arielle said, “I like The Pirates of Penzance because it is a really fun show. It’s different from all the shows I’ve done before because there’s barely any dialogue, which means that there’s a lot of great dancing and acting involved.”  And of course, “my sister’s in it!”.

Audiences should come and enjoy “pirates” not only because it’s literally a family friendly show, but because Arielle says it’s, “enjoyable, witty, and up-lifting.”  She also said, “Doing shows with PYT is super fun because it’s a community made up of a lot of great people. Everyone there dedicates a lot of time and effort into making the shows the best they can be, and I have made friends and memories there that will last for a long time.”

Sullivan Cast Photo

The Pirates of Penzance Gilbert Cast performances are on MainStage at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts on: Friday May 17 at 9:30 am, Saturday May 18 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 19 at 1:00 pm. Final Sullivan Cast performances are Thursday, May 16 at 9:30 am and Saturday, May 18 at 2:00 pm.

Blog by: Barbie Koch