Newfield - Running to Places's (R2P) gender flip-flopped "Pirates of Penzance" is a madcap romp of pirate buffoons, bold and exuberant sisters and bumbling police.  One of Gilbert & Sullivan's funniest comedies, 'Pirates' has been a favorite of audiences of all ages for more than 100 years. The show runs Aug. 12-14 at Newfield High School Auditorium, Newfield.

"'Pirates' is a wonderful, silly story that's full of heart and completely devoid of meanness and cynicism. It's just plain fun," says Joey Steinhagen, R2P artistic director.

The noble Frederic (Alyssa Salerno) has mistakenly been apprenticed to a band of tender-hearted pirates until he reaches age 21. When he wins his freedom, he meets Mabel (Imri Leshed), the daughter of Major-General Stanley (Noa Shapiro-Tamir), and the two fall instantly in love. But all is not as it seems, and mischief and mayhem ensue as the Pirate King (Abby Swartout) tries to kidnap Mabel and her sisters to marry the pirates, the Major-General tells a lie, and Frederic's nurse Ruth (Noah Mattice) reveals that due to a technicality, Frederic is still a pirate apprentice. What will happen to the sisters? Will the police be brave enough to fight off the pirates? And why are all the boys in dresses and the girls in mustaches?

"The gender flip-flop allows us to have roles for girls that are really fun, worthwhile and different from what a lot of musical theatre offers for girls to do," explains Joey Steinhagen, R2P artistic director. "It's also about the characters -- and our company members -- discovering empathy for other people by experiencing the world through someone else's eyes and looking at things in a different way."

With three different ensembles (the pirates, the sisters and the police), there's always something exciting happening on stage. The set, designed by Deborah Drew and built by Jim Drew, features a pirate ship for the swashbuckling pirates to arrive on and ancient ruins for them to raid. "Everything is designed very lightly, leaving plenty to the imagination," explains Steinhagen. "We want it to feel like a night at a vaudeville show." Costume designer Liz Woods helps to set the scene with lots of petticoats and vests, while lighting designer Brian Ugorowsky, and sound designer Dan Paolangeli help ensure a rollicking good time for the audience.

The show includes some of Gilbert & Sullivan's most popular songs, says music director Jeremy Pletter, including the oft-satirized "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General."

In keeping with the spirit of the pirates roaming the high seas, the cast is one of R2P's most geographically diverse ever, with actors from Newfield, Dryden, Trumansburg, Ithaca, and beyond: the Pirate King is from Horseheads.

R2P's "Pirates" is exclusively sponsored by the Inn on Columbia with scholarship support from an anonymous fund at the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, with additional grant support from the Park Foundation, Community Arts Partnerships of Tompkins County, the Triad Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Tompkins County and season-long support from CSP Management.

"Pirates" runs one weekend only: Aug. 12-14, Friday and Saturday at 7 PM, Sunday at 2 PM, Newfield High School Auditorium.

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