Posh Meets Plunder in Pirate Lives! The Musical! by David Marino and Stephen Gilbane

March 24, 2012 - PRLog -- Uppercrusters and swashbucklers cross swords this April as Flat Earth Theatre stages the world-premier of Pirate Lives! The Musical! at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown. Written by Somerville playwright David Marino with composer Stephen Gilbane, Pirate Lives! pays crass homage to the works of Noel Coward with a tip of the hat to Gilbert and Sullivan.
Cultures clash when Captain Jonathan Emerald Sherry dubiously enlists Britain's bourgeois as crewmen aboard his once-feared—though unfortunately-named—pirate ship, The Coward.  While the captain fights tooth and nail to recapture his ship’s notoriety, havoc rages on deck as the novice cutthroats navigate otherworldly encounters, romantic entanglements, and secret identities as they adapt to life on the high seas. With a pursuing foe drawing nearer, do the misfit buccaneers have what it takes to make The Coward brave again?
The cast of Pirate Lives! features Brandon Rahhal, Catherine Lee Christie, Christine Toohey, Devon Jones, Eric Rehm, Jeffrey Marcus, Megan Goltermann, Monica Shea, Noah Tobin, Sophia Shrand, and Stewart Holmes. Playwright Marino, who also directs, is joined by composer and music director Stephen Gilbane, choreographer Sejal Patel, and stage manager Amy Lehrmitt.

About The Authors

David Marino (Playwright/Director) has been performing, teaching, writing, and directing with ImprovBoston since 1997 and is currently the Director of Production Development. He performed with ImprovBoston's Mainstage for 8 years,  and directed the weekly competitive elimination shows Micetro, UnNatural Selection, as well as Comedy in the Round for five years. He conceived and directed many scripted and improvised shows, including Archipelago, Pirate Lives, Groaners and Boners, Continuum,  Center Mike, and Agent Spy, which was showcased at the 2004 Chicago Improv Festival. Code Duello, an improvised comedy about the fatal duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, continues to play to sell out performances at comedy festivals around the country.  In 2007, David co-wrote and produced the critically acclaimed Southcity Theater production of Burlesque Me If I Love You: A Vaudeville Rendezvous.  David has worked on various projects with The Improv Asylum, The Tribe, Rough n’ Tumble Theater Company, and Flat Earth Theater (On This Moon, 2010).  He is also the founding director of Groaners for Donors, a performance-based fundraising production “dedicated to raising money for your nonprofit organization by providing a truly unique comedy experience. We make the funny, you make the money!”  David is currently a Project Manager for a Cambridge-based genome research laboratory.

Stephen Gilbane (Composer/Music Director) has composed music (and produced cast recordings) for eight of ImprovBoston’s annual Halloween Gorefest scripted original musicals (including 2010’s Cirque du Slaughté, available on iTunes). He has co-written several short musicals, including The History Of Nails, Romance 101, and Hollywood Insider.  He has developed his full-length musical Showstopper! A High-Tech Musical with the Boston musical theater workshop NOMTI, of which he has been a member since 2003. He has also written songs for numerous other shows, including Lube! and P.S. Page Me Later, an Elliot Norton Award–winning production based on material in Found Magazine. Steve has composed music for various short films (including seven annual Boston 48-Hour Film Project films) and the full-length film Bit Parts (Elftwin Films, 2006), and has a certificate in film scoring from Berklee School of Music.

When
Friday, Apr 20, 2012 8PM
Saturday, Apr 21, 2012 8PM
Sunday, Apr 22, 2012 2PM
Wednesday, Apr 25, 2012 8PM - Pay-What-You-Can Performance
Thursday, Apr 26, 2012 8PM
Friday, Apr 27, 2012 8PM
Saturday, Apr 28, 2012 2PM
Saturday, Apr 28, 2012 8PM

Run time: ~2 hours, 15 minutes with one intermission

Where
Arsenal Center for the Arts
Black Box Theater
321 Arsenal Street
Watertown, MA 02472
MBTA 70 & 70A Bus Routes
Free parking available

Tickets
$15 General Admission in advance / $20 at the door
$10 Student rush at the door
Purchase online at http://flatearththeatre.com
By phone: (800) 838-3006
Group sales (10+) email tickets@flatearththeatre.com

Cast
Eric Rehm as Captain Sherry
Brandon Rahhal as Bosun Greaves
Megan Goltermann as Boots
Stu Holmes as Dangerous Barney
Christine Toohey as Emily Marshwood
Catherine Lee Christie as Murial Fenwick
Jeffrey Marcus as Dr. Gerald Cuthbert
Monica Shea as Amanda Darling
Noah Tobin as The Crimson Man
Devon Jones as The Servant
Sophia Shrand as The Maid

Production Staff
Book & Lyrics: David Marino
Music & Lyrics: Stephen Gilbane
Producer: Jake Scaltreto
Director: David Marino
Music Director: Stephen Gilbane
Choreographer: Sejal Patel
Stage Manager: Amy Lehrmitt
Costume Designer: Coriana Hunt Swartz
Set Designer: Debra Reich
Design Consultant: Nate Kruback
Lighting Designer: Matt Breton
Build Chief: Leigh Downes
Graphic Artist: Rob Burke
Electrician: Rebecca Dunham
Sound Designer: Kyle Lampe
Props Design/Puppetry: James Hayward

Media Note
Cast and crew available for media inquiries.

Pirate Lives! is supported in part by a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.