"The Pirates of Penzance" Musical Casting Actors

Frederic is the romantic lead of the show. He’s young, manly, heroic, innocent, a bit naive, but genuine and sincere. An excellent singer.

Mabel is the female romantic lead, the sweet and innocent daughter of the Major-General. Must sing in the soprano range (preferably in an operatic style) with excellent diction and have good comic timing. Must also be a good actor.

Swashbuckling pirate type. Needs to be a good mover for dance numbers, and a strong singer and actor with good comic timing. This character needs to be big, bold, and take command of the stage whenever he is onstage.

Father of Mabel and guardian of his wards, and an upper-class military man. Must be able to convey a high-class, fastidious, pretentious type. Most importantly, this actor must have a good sense of rhythm and articulation for his featured song, which is delivered with rapid-fire precision.

Frederic’s nursemaid and later becomes one of the pirates. She’s a mature woman who has tricked Frederic into thinking she is a great beauty. This role requires excellent comic timing, an ability to be energetic and larger-than-life onstage, great singing. This actor must also be thick skinned: Ruth is a comically plain woman and this is played for laughs several times throughout the show.

The Pirate King’s right-hand man and ship accountant. Bookish and fussy. Must be a good character actor, singer and dancer. Has some featured solos.

One of Major-General Stanley’s daughters. Needs to be a good singer, actor, and dancer. Has some solo singing.

One of Major-General Stanley’s daughters. Needs to be a good singer, actor, and dancer. Has some solo singing.

One of Major-General Stanley’s daughters. Needs to be a good singer, actor, and dancer. Has some solo singing.

He is the leader of the band of scaredy-cat police who are pretending to be brave. He is bumbling and over-the-top, must be a good singer and mover.

A group of elastic actors and singers who can portray a myriad of characters.