A pirate twist on a holiday classic

The Greatest Pirate Holiday Spectacularr! debuts on Dec. 20. Cast members, from left, were Rick Leidenfrost-Wilson, Marc Mills, Emily Rouch, Kevin Maphis, Olivia Harding and Chris Leidenfrost.

Courtesy Chris Leidenfrost

Cast members Olivia Harding, left Emily Rouch and Kevin Maphis rehearsed a scene last week.

Courtesy Chris Leidenfrost

Rick Leidenfrost-Wilson, front, and Chris Leidenfrost have created a pirate parody of ‘A Christams Carol.’

Courtesy Chris Leidenfrost

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Pirates are synonymous with buried treasure, walking the plank, peg legs, eye patches and the occasional swig from a bottle of rum — none of which involve becoming a better person or getting in the holiday spirit. But the characters of “The Greatest Pirate Holiday Spectacularrr!” aren’t your average buccaneers.

“TGPHS!” is a family musical that parodies Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and features a lot of improvisation. The musical, which will run from Dec. 20 to Jan. 3 in Snapple Theater Center, an Off-Broadway venue in Manhattan, is not the first pirate-based venture that Baldwin residents Chris Leidenfrost and Rick Leidenfrost-Wilson have launched.

The two are the driving force behind “The Greatest Pirates Story Never Told!” a musical that boasts a similar dynamic of story structure and improvisation. In 2012, Chris, an actor who has portrayed pirates and performed in improv shows, came up with the idea, and the musical made its debut in the summer of 2012 at the Pirates on the Hudson festival in Tarrytown. Since then, the musical has traveled the country, including an eight-month run in the Snapple Theater Center that ended in June and about two months of performances in Oregon in August and September.

While performing Off-Broadway during the last holiday season, Chris, Rick, “TGPSNT!” director and producer, along with other cast members, began tossing around ideas to make the show holiday themed. When parodying “A Christmas Carol” came up, no one was really sure how to make it work, Chris recalled. It wasn’t long before the famous character Tiny Tim was brought up and ideas started floating around. “What about Puny Pete?” Chris remembered being said. “It all snowballed from that silly idea.”

Since “A Christmas Carol,” the classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge learning to become kinder and more compassionate, is so well known, Chris thought it would be fun to parody. “It’s good to give the fan base something new and put a holiday spin on a classic story,” he said.

In their version of the story, Dickens, portrayed by Rick, actually plays a role. In the beginning of the musical, the pirates solicit Dickens’ help to put on their own play and he eventually agrees.