How Actress Samantha Williams Harnesses the Headstrong Heroine In Tony-nominated ‘Pirates! The Penzance Musical'
Perhaps nearly as thrilling as the Tony nom, Williams is also fresh off a performance for a group of young students, which she says felt like headlining at Madison Square Garden. For Williams, the journey with this New Orleans-set, jazz-inspired adaptation of the comic opera 'The Pirates of Penzance,' has been this exhilarating since Day One. Williams stars as Mabel, the headstrong heroine, alongside David Hyde Pierce (who plays her father), Jinkx Monsoon and Ramin Karimloo in 'Pirates! The Penzance Musical' at the Todd Haimes Theatre through July 27.
More from WWD
EXCLUSIVE: Kiehl's Is Back in the Locker Room With Life Time
Nicole Scherzinger Makes a Fashion Statement in LaQuan Smith and Thigh-high Boots at Broadway's Big Luncheon Honoring Idina Menzel
Ana de Armas on 'Ballerina,' Breaking Barriers and Finding Balance in Hollywood
'Pirates! The Penzance Musical' follows a young man, Frederic, accidentally forced into being a pirate until he turns 21. Gearing up for his birthday, he meets and falls in love with Williams' character Mabel. However, a slew of challenges arise, deterring their relationship — and hilarity ensues.
While many theater fanatics are familiar with the original Gilbert & Sullivan work, this adaptation has been surprising attendees since its opening night with this new setting and 'silly' approach, according to Williams.
It also surprised Williams, who was originally reluctant to audition for the role when she was first approached about a one-night-only concert rendition in October 2022. According to Williams, it was a complete change of pace from the type of work she'd been doing.
'I was like, 'Girl, I don't really think that's my vibe,' because I was doing more serious contemporary theater,' she recalls. 'I was like, 'A lot of young people don't really know it.' I learned about it in theater school, but I passed on the original audition for the concert. Then the team, specifically Joseph Joubert, who rewrote all the music — he was my music director and the orchestrator on 'Caroline, or Change' — wrote to my agents like, 'She has to come in…it's not what she thinks it is. They've changed it all.''
Williams adds: 'The world of Gilbert and Sullivan, I'd never seen a Black girl. I was like, 'I don't really see where I would fit in that world,' and so it was more like the preconceived ideas of what that [world] is and what that looks like, that society has put on all of us, actors and theater makers alike, that I was giving into.'
Upon digging into the updated score and production, Williams was hooked and did go on to star in the concert alongside many of her current cast members. The jazzy orchestration and new take on the character of Mabel in particular stood out to her.
'Mabel is very headstrong and in tune with her sexuality in this version. She knows what she wants, and she gets it,' Williams says. 'She's the one sister that's always up to her own thing, whereas the rest of the sisters work as a school of fish… It's been fun to dive into bringing this character back in a way that's not so much damsel in distress and has more ownership over what she wants.'
Of the vocals, Williams says: 'It has the jazz, the soprano, a little belt. It is all over the place, so it's been really fun and a great challenge for me.'
The show comes with some other challenges, most notably holding in laughter, particularly in scenes with costars Pierce and Karimloo, Williams says.
'We laugh a lot on stage… The audience loves when you break during a comedy. They eat it up,' Williams says, adding this was especially true of the student audience.
In terms of who breaks the most with laughter, Williams immediately says: ' It's me, and [the cast] would all say me too.'
While Monsoon, Pierce and Karimloo are constantly causing Williams to crack up on stage, she's grateful to be working with such a stacked cast.
'All three [are] so gracious and humble… We're only around each other. We don't really have lives, and so [I] kind of forget who they are until someone [is like] 'how is it working with these icons?'' she says. 'My mom is obsessed with David Hyde Pierce and 'Frasier.' She was fan-girling when she met him at opening. David is just so subtle with everything, which is what makes him so good, and Ramin [has] that voice, and Jinx is just such an icon.'
Upon opening, 'Pirates! The Penzance Musical' was already set for a limited engagement, something that Williams is used to as she completed a short run of 'Titanic' at New York City Center last summer alongside Karimloo.
'I love being able to be like, 'OK, we did that. Now, let's jump to the next thing.' There's always something to learn with that,' she says. 'At the same time, it is a little bit scary because you just don't know what the next thing is going to be, and you have to just trust that something will come that's meant to be.'
As far as what is next, Williams jokes about writing a 'Cheetah Girls' musical with her friends, adding that she's always been a Galleria, the character played by Raven-Symoné.
'It would be for a very specific audience, though, like our age girlies, [but] we can we make a dent,' she jokes, adding that she's been listening to the song 'Cinderella' from the first movie.
As thoughts of a potential 'Cheetah Girls' musical rattle around Williams' brain, she says a bit more seriously that she is a part of several hopefully Broadway-bound new musicals. She's also ready to do something on television.
'What's next?' she asks herself. 'Lots of fun!'
Best of WWD
Celebrating Lenny Kravitz, Rock Icon, Actor, Author, Designer and Style Star: Photos
Cannes Film Festival 1970s: Flashbacks, Celebrities and Fashion Highlights from WWD's 'Eye' Pages [PHOTOS]
A Look Back at Cannes Film Festival's Best Dressed Red Carpet Stars: Blake Lively, Angelina Jolie, Princess Diana and More Photos
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
Jinkx Monsoon talks Broadway show 'Oh, Mary!'
The two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner is dazzling audiences as Mary Todd Lincoln in the Tony award-winning outrageous reimagining that is "Oh, Mary!" on Broadway.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
BEAST QUAKE!!! Marshawn Lynch Recounts One of the NFL's Greatest Plays
Former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch joins Rich Eisen Show guest host O'Shea in-studio where he recounts his famous 'Beast Quake' playoff run against the New Orleans Saints.
UPI
4 hours ago
- UPI
Leguizamo's Esposito seeks redemption by catching an arsonist in 'Smoke'
1 of 3 | John Leguizamo's "Smoke" wrapped up Friday. Photo courtesy of Apple TV+ NEW YORK, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and Ice Age Icon John Leguizamo says the disgraced detective he plays in Smoke is seeking redemption by trying to bring down the former partner who cost him his career. Created by best-selling novelist Dennis Lehane, the show follows a law-enforcement task force, including Leguizamo's Esposito, who are determined to catch Dave (Taron Egerton), an arson investigator and prolific fire-setter. "He got too close to the truth. He knew who the arsonist was and that's when they destroyed his career, made him the fall guy, and he hit rock bottom," Leguizamo, 65, told UPI about his character in a recent Zoom interview. "He drinks a lot and takes a lot of pills and he becomes a porn director," the actor said. "But then he gets a chance to get back on the [police] force because he knows the truth. But he has to keep constantly proving himself and I think that's the exciting part of being in that character. I have to fluctuate. I have to fight with all these different forces against me and no one will believe me." John Leguizamo knows how to make an entrance.#Smoke - Now Streaming Apple TV (@AppleTV) July 18, 2025 Esposito finds an unlikely ally in ATF Agent Hudson, played by Veep and My Girl alum Anna Chlumsky, 44. "She tries to help me get back the reins," Leguizamo laughed. "Poor woman. She's exhausted because of me." To prepare for the role, Chlumsky looked at what a woman in her position would have had to accomplish to get to where she is in a predominantly male field. "There's this sense of having to prove yourself over and over, even if you've gotten to the point where you're leading a task force," she said. "That never goes away. It's part of your conditioning. It's part of your workplace code switch and that's really where I was jumping in from. I was jumping in from how trusted she felt at work, how much she trusts herself and, ultimately, not wanting to let any of those insecurities get into her ability to do the job well." Leguizamo pointed out that this is a theme for many of the characters in Smoke. "Jurnee [Smollett] has to try to prove herself," he said, to which Chlumsky replied, "Also, to whom are you proving something, right?" Leguizamo said he was happy to provide the comic relief in a show that digs into some really serious topics, including crime, corruption, mental illness, suicide and violence against women. "What I love about this series is that it has teeth," Leguizamo said. "It's not easy. It's not just light-hearted," he added. "I love that it's really dark, complex characters, people with a lot of demons and, then, we get a chance, Anna and I, to bring a little humor and a little repartee that lightens it up a little bit, but they are still messed-up characters. We're still broken human beings and I love playing those kind of characters that are really vulnerable and, yet, they fight for the truth." Chlumsky emphasized that the show is first and foremost intended to be entertaining. "Even when he's going to the darkest questions and exploring the shame of his characters or the parts of this characters that they don't even want to look at, you can tell that [Lehane] is remaining playful," Chlumsky said. "He's having a great time and that's, I think, what energizes the whole thing." The series wrapped up on Apple TV+ Friday. Greg Kinnear and Rafe Spall co-star.
