Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department faculty members Andra Velis Simon and Heather Gilbert — musical director and lighting designer respectively for The Hypocrites theatre company’s Off-Off-Broadway production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta Pirates of Penzance — were praised by New York Times critic Ben Brantley in his “Critic’s Pick” review of the show, which runs through December 10 at New York University’s Skirball Center in Greenwich Village.

“The music director, Andra Velis Simon, ensures that you never miss the presence of an orchestra. And Heather Gilbert did the essential pastel lighting, which when necessary plunges the show into a deep lavender twilight,” Brantley wrote in his rave review, which was published December 2. Brantley also called the production “a sweet and restorative alternative to the drudgery of holiday shopping” and “the most charmingly relaxed production of a Gilbert and Sullivan work that I’ve come across.” The Hypocrites’ stripped-down adaptation of the classic musical features a cast of ten actors playing all the instruments and multiple roles.

Pirates of Penzance plays at New York University’s Jack H. Skirball Center, 566 La Guardia Place, New York. NYU Skirball, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, is one of New York City’s major presenters of international work, and has been the premier venue for cultural and performing arts events in lower Manhattan since 2003. For tickets, call 888-611-8183 or click here.

The production will also play January 23-February 18, 2018, at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino, in Pasadena, California. For more information, call 626-356-7529 or click here.