Pirates! The Penzance Musical (2025) (Broadway)

David Hyde Pierce was born to play the modern major general. His straight deadpan demeanor is perfectly suited to the notorious patter song. He's funny as always. There's lots of comedic wordplay and overall the humor worked for me. The play is not the straight Pirates of Penzance you know. There's a bit of a framing device, providing context for the show's original premiere in 1879. Pierce actually plays the composer playing the modern major general. This production also integrates several songs from other Gilbert and Sullivan shows. Songs from HMS Pinafore, The Mikado and Iolanthe. There's a fun washboard number. The ending recasts "He is an Englishman" to "We're All From Someplace Else", a rousing ode to immigrants that gives the production its raison d'etre in 2025. It gives the show some meaning beyond the loony plot. 

PS. the subtitle of the show is "The Slave of Duty" and in some ways that's about dharma, isn't it? 

Titanic (Encores!) (2024)

No, it's not Celine Dion but the music in this Titanic by Maury Yeston is pretty. There's a big lush orchestra on stage. The orchestrations are great but the music isn't especially memorable. The cast is enormous so there are a lot of grand choral numbers. The opening introducing all of the characters is surprisingly long. With so many characters though, we don't really get to know any of them all that well. And what little plot there is in the first act, is basically irrelevant come the second act since we know they're all going to die anyways, not fulfilling any of their dreams. There's something about class in there, but after a certain point we don't see much of the third class passengers anymore. To be honest, I dozed off in the first act. And when they finally do strike the iceberg, it mostly happens without fanfare. Everyone stays fairly calm. It's nothing like the chaos and spectacle of James Cameron's Titanic. 

My first year at Encores! I saw all 3 productions, and this one was my least favorite. Once Upon a Mattress and Jelly's Last Jam were both fantastic. This one a bit of a letdown in comparison.