Gilbert and Sullivan returns to town

It's that time of the year.\nAs the leaves turn vibrant hues of red and brown, it's to be expected.\nSomeone's going to stage a Gilbert and Sullivan production.\nThe Bloomington Music Works has kicked off its season this year with the classic, "The Pirates of Penzance." It runs at 8 p.m. today through Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.\nLight-hearted fare typical of the duo, it concerns the travails of Frederick, the son of a nobleman who's supposed to be apprenticed to a pilot. But his hard-of-hearing nurserymaid instead apprentices him to a band of pirates, the none-too-intimidating "Pirates of Pezances."\nWith a soft spot for orphans, they have failed to build up much of a reputation. When they cross paths with a major general after Fredrick elopes with his daughter, comic hijinks ensue. A self-declared "slave of duty," Fredrick sides with the pirates against his would-be father-in-law. Almost needless to say with a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, there's a happy ending in store for the audience.\n"(Gilbert and Sullivan) have a great flair for the English language," said Chuck Macklin, who plays the major general. "I really like the twists and turns through which the author and the composer take us."\nPreviously staging "H.M.S. Pinafore" and "The Mikado," the Music Work opens every season with Gilbert and Sullivan.\n"They always get a great response from audiences," said Abigail Paul, manager of the Sunrise Box Office. "People find them fun, and ticket sales always go up."\nBrian Samarzea, artistic director of the Music Works, said the tradition just makes sense from a business perspective.\n"This is only our third season," he said. "And it really cuts down on our overhead, since we don't have to pay royalties as we would with all the Broadway musicals."\nGeared toward musicals and light operettas, the Music Works rose like a phoenix three years ago from the ashes of the ashes of Bloomington Town Theater.\n"It was really disorganized," Samarzea said. "And when it went under, the University Theatre was the only game in town. There was no production company for townies or recent graduates. And there was nothing at all in this town big on musicals."\nMacklin, who graduated from the School of Music in 1990 and now works at a coffee shop, said he's certainly grateful.\n"The Music Works is something new and dynamic," he said. "It's always exciting when they present something."\nHe's performed in a number of productions since he got out of school and has been in "three or four" BMW shows, including last fall's "The Mikado."\n"I got stuck in the geezer role again this time," he said. "I'm just disappointed I get to marry the battleaxe this time." \nThe Music Works season includes the children's musical "Toy Shop" in December, a dinner theater production of "The Fantastics" in March and "Once Upon a Mattress" again at the Buskirk in May.\nSamarzea said the Music Works intends to use the Buskirk more next season.\n"It's an excellent venue, with great production values," he said. "We have a pit orchestra with 25 people for this production, and that just wouldn't be possible at the (John) Waldron (Arts Center). It's basically … a large space that's been converted into a theater. The Buskirk allows us more complicated lighting, more elaborate productions." \nTickets for "Pirates of Penzance" are $13 and available through the Sunrise Box Office at 323-3020.