The Pirates! In a Musical with Scientists

***The Pirates! In a Musical with Scientists*** (released internationally as ***The Pirates! Musical of Misfits***), is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Dennis Kelly and a book by Elton John, based on the 2012 stop-motion animated *The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientist (Band of Misfits)* by Aardman Animations, which itself is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Gideon Defoe. The musical's narrative centres on The Pirate Captain and his Misfit Crew, who are desperate to win "Pirate of the Year" when they meet scientist Charles Darwin . After a twelve-week trial run staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at Stratford-upon-Avon from November 2016 to January 2017, it received its West End premiere on 10 July 2017 at the Cambridge Theatre and its Broadway premiere on September 19, 2018 at the Winter GArden Theatre.

*The Pirates!* has received widespread critical acclaim and box-office popularity, it was nominated for best musical at the 2018 Tony Awards but lost to *The Band's Visit,* It Began it's US Tour in 2023, originally was going to start in 2020, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, It plans on touring in the UK & Ireland in 2024, and in Asia in 2025. It was released on Music Theater International in December 2022

## Cast

The Pirate Captain - Luke Evans (Stratford: 2016, West End: 2017, Broadway: 2019,),

The Pirate with a Scarf - Lee Mead (Stratford: 2016), Hadley Fraser (West End: 2017), Alex Brightman (Broadway: 2019),

Charles Darwin - Daniel Radcliffe

Queen Alexranda Victoria - Lucie Jones (Stratford: 2016, West End: 2017), Laura Benanti (Broadway: 2019)

Black Bellamy - Will Swenson

The Albino Pirate - Charile Stemp

The Pirate with Gout - Trevor Dion Nicholas

The Pirate Who Likes Sunsets & Kittens - Omari Douglas

Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate - Jill Paice (Stratford: 2016, West End: 2017), Laura Bell Bundy (Broadway: 2019)

### Act 1

1. Overtune
2. I Hate Pirates! - Queen Victoria
3. Ham Nite
4. We are Pirates! - The Pirate Captain/The Crew
5. Blood Island
6. The Fattest Parrot
7. Failed Robberies
8. No Awards - The Pirate with a Scarf/The Crew
9. Attacking the Beagle
10. She's Not A Parrot!
11. Traveling to London

### Act 2

1. Arrived at London
2. Mr. Bobo
3. Wonders of Fortune - Charles Darwin/The Pirates
4. The Science Show
5. Polly!
6. Meeting the Queen
7. He's a Pirate!
8. Pardoned!
9. No Longer A Pirate
10. The Terrible Truth
11. Going to raid the QV1
12. Teamwork saves the day! - Charles Darwin/The Pirate Captain
13. In the Kitchen
14. Caught
15. I Hate Pirates (Reprise) - Queen Victoria
16. Returned
17. Baking Soda & Vinegar
18. Polly is Saved!
19. We are Pirates! (Reprise) - The Pirates
20. Bows
21. The Swords of Thousand Men

## Trivia

* Minor characters from the original film such as: The Pirate with Prostehtics, Scarlett Morgan, Peg-Leg Hastings, Cutlass Liz, and The Pirate King did not make the cut
* The Scene where Mr. Bobo & Charles Darwin try to steal poppy is removed
* Charles Darwin has no interest in dating Queen Victoria in this version, he just wants to meet her
* Polly & Mr. Bobo are puppets in the show and are designed by Michael Curry who designed puppets for *The Lion King* and *Finding Nemo: The Musical*