Jack Sparrow sings?

“The Greatest Pirate Story Never Told!,” a musical about pirates with a heavy dose of improvisation, was written by Chris Leidenfrost, of Baldwin, center. The show, which recently ran for eight months off-Broadway, also features, from left, David Anthony, Baldwin resident Asia Lupo, Emily Rouch and Kevin Maphis.

Courtesy Lars Lunde

Chris Leidenfrost wrote the musical in 2012. His husband, Rick Leidenfrost-Wilson, produces and directs it.

Courtesy Lars Lunde

Asia Lupo, who graduated from Baldwin High School in 2011, joined the cast last fall.

Courtesy Lars Lunde

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It’s a story as old as time: A group of pirates are sent into the future to perform a musical for a sea witch who yearns to be a Broadway producer.

Actually, it’s a story that’s all of two years old. The idea came to Baldwin resident Chris Leidenfrost, an actor who has portrayed pirates and performed in improv shows, in 2012. He wanted to combine his love for pirates and improvisation and thought up “The Greatest Pirate Story Never Told!” a musical that changes with every performance. About half of the 70-minute show is improvisation based on audience suggestions, while the rest is scripted to continue the pirates’ journey.

Not everyone was sold on the idea at first, however, including Chris’s husband, Rick Leidenfrost-Wilson. “When Chris originally told me this idea he had of pirates and improv, I literally told him that I thought it was the stupidest idea in the world,” Rick said.

But despite the early doubts, “TGPSNT!” debuted in the summer of 2012 at the Pirates on the Hudson festival in Tarrytown. The show didn’t go through the conventional rigors that a musical would normally face before production, like readings and workshops. Instead, a 25-minute version of the show was performed after some rehearsals. “We kind of jumped the gun a little bit,” Chris recalled.

However, that original version was all Rick needed to see to change his thinking about the idea. “I remember calling [Chris] over afterward and saying, ‘I know I said this was the stupidest thing in the world, but what I meant is it’s the most brilliant thing in the world,’” he said.

With Chris as a cast member and Rick as its director and producer, the show continued to grow and evolve as it was performed at venues like the New York Renaissance Faire and the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in Manhattan. It caught the attention of the assistant general manger of the Snapple Theater Center, an Off-Broadway venue in Manhattan.

“Each one of the incarnations of it has taught us something and developed it even more,” said Rick.