Frederick has been apprenticed to the Pirates for many years because Ruth, his nurse who is hard-of-hearing, thought his father said to apprentice him to a "Pirate" when in reality he was suppposed to be apprenticed to a "Pilot". Now that Frederick is 21, he wishes to leave the pirate life behind because he had only stayed with them to do his duty. He leaves in the company of Ruth who has convinced him that she is an attractive eligible girl. Since he has never seen a girl before he believes her. But then on the beach he spies the beautiful daughters of the Major General and becomes angry with Ruth for deceiving him. He approaches the group of girls and sings to them asking if there isn't one who wishes to love him. They reject him but then their sister Mabel appears. She is the most beautiful of all and the best singer (especially if you get to hear Linda Rondstat). They immediately fall in love.
Then the Pirates show up and want to carry off the maidens but their father, the Major General appears and convinces the pirates to spare him and his daughters by claiming that he is an orphan. The pirates, who always spare anyone who claims to be an orphan, believe him and let them go.
The Major General feels terribly guilty over having lied to the Pirates because he really belongs to a large family. He and his daughters are holed up in his chapel with Frederick and Mabel. The Pirate King and Ruth arrive and convince Frederick that he must rejoin the Pirates because, since his birthday is on February 29th, he has only had 5 birthdays and so is really only 5 years old not 21. Frederick agrees to rejoin the Pirates and tells the pirates that The Major General is not really an orphan and the pirates vow to kill him.
A group of policeman are hanging about to catch the pirates and the pirates are stalking the Major General who is taking a midnight stroll. The pirates clash with the police and just as they are about to do away with them, the police charge the pirates to yield in Queen Victoria's name. The pirates love their queen so they immediatly yield and they are able to secure pardons when Ruth declares that they are noblemen who have gone wrong. The Major General invites them to resume their ranks and marry his daughters and all ends happily.
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qvfootball67
17 years ago
The most important thing that you need to know about Pirates, is that it is the epitomy of farce. Penzance, is a little tiny bay off the coast of Cornwall, England. To say that there is piracy in these waters is a preposterous statement. This is what makes the show soooooo whimsical. These "pirates" like to call themselves pirates and like dressing up that way, but are actually noble gentleman and cannot fulfill the duties of a real pirate. Their idea of raping and pillaging is ruthlessly MARRYING the girls. They drink sherry (a high classed wine) instead of the rugged rum. The Pirate King is the king because, well...he owns the boat. HAHA, love it.
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