The Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento (LOTS) put on a fantastic showing of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance” on Friday at the quaint 24th Street Theatre. Quirky and fun, the company captures the seriously silly mayhem of paradoxical and conflicting nonsense that “Pirates of Penzance” is all about. The goofy coming-of-age story follows Frederick, played by company debut Ian Cullity. As a boy, his nurse, Ruth (played by Debbie Baad), due to mishearing a command, mistakenly has him apprenticed to be a pirate instead of a ship’s pilot. Frederick fulfills his duties as an apprentice, but once his contract ends at age 21, Frederick follows his calling to end piracy altogether. Since

One local arts organization not in need of financial aid is The Sacramento Opera. In the 2008-2009 season it not only ended the year in the black, but the organization eliminated all its debt, exceeded its budget goal and grew its ticket sales by nearly 38 percent. After disappointing ticket sales in 2008, the opera was fortunate to have extra income contributed from private donors such as the Mildred Reis Estate and other corporate sponsors such as Raley's and Marriott. The organization also paid back a city loan incurred in 1992. Attendance for the season's four feature shows totaled 17,414, while the community programs saw an all-time high in participation with 6,152 audience members