A Note from the Director:
In 1993, after serving a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Texas San Antonio Mission, I returned to school on a full-ride scholarship at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. The first musical of that school year was a musical called, The Pirated Penzance. As young college students at WSU, we had no idea the kind of amazing experience we were in for that year. What a thrilling experience to work with the playwrite/director/choreographer, Jim Christian on this original musical. Watching it come together and collaborating with this genius and the most talanted people I've ever been honored to work with was fantastic! I wasn't prepared for the audiences reaction to this peice. Every night the audience laughed throughout the whole piece and every night we received a standing ovation. This production entered the college acting competition and we were invited to take this peice to California for the regional competition. We were given standing ovations again while there and the production was invited to Washington D.C. to perform the show at the Kennedy Center for the National College Showing. Since that first production, The Pirated Penzance! has gone under continual productions and changes- including the name which is now simply called, Pirated! Rumors started going around that this show was moving to Broadway, and in 1999 I flew out to New York and auditioned for the Broadway production. I was shocked and thrilled when the call came from New York informing me that I had been cast in my oroginal role of Leonard, the voice of Samuel the pirate. The show was supposed to workshop and premier off broadway at the Stratford Upon Avon Theatre in Conneticut. We moved everything we had into storage and were just waiting for the call to fly out and begin rehearsing. A short time later I was informed that the project had closed due to financing issues. I was devistated, but honored to have been cast and considered for such an adventure. I've been wanting to do this as a Theatre Teacher and am so thrilled to be doing it now. The cast is fantastic and I'm so proud of each of the students involved. I'm honored to work with such fine human beings and my life is indeed enhanced and blessed every day we work together. I want to thank Jim Christian for being one of the greatest teachers I've ever had, and one of the reasons I chose to be a teacher in the first place. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
Thank you for being here tonight!
