Video: David Hyde Pierce Discusses Broadway Return and Passion for Live Comedy on CBS SUNDAY MORNING
The Frasier alum is currently starring on Broadway in Pirates! The Penzance Musical.
By: Josh Sharpe Apr. 21, 2025
David Hyde Pierce is back on the Broadway stage in Pirates! The Penzance Musical, the new reworking of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic. This weekend, the Frasier alum spoke with CBS Sunday Morning to talk about his return to Broadway.
In the interview, he discussed his dialed-back take on the character of the Major-General and his approach to the comedic elements of the role. "I think so much of theater, rightly, is more," said Pierce. "Sometimes, what's unexpected in theater is someone doing less."
Coming from a family of performers, the actor highlighted his longtime connection to Gilbert & Sullivan, specifically noting some of his old scores from summer camp. "It's been threaded through my life for so long," he said. Throughout his career, Pierce has appeared in a variety of roles both onstage and on screen, but he explained why he finds live comedy more fulfilling. "For example, doing a comic film is not nearly as enjoyable for me as doing a comic play. In a comic play, you feel from the audience the connection. That's what I'm in it for. That's where I started out. I love that." Watch the extended interview with the performer below.
Pirates! The Penzance Musical features music by Arthur Sullivan, libretto by W.S. Gilbert, adaptation by Rupert Holmes, orchestrations by Joseph Joubert and Daryl Waters, music direction by Joseph Joubert, choreography by Warren Caryle and direction by Scott Ellis.
The Broadway cast of Pirates! The Penzance Musical is led by Ramin Karimloo (Pirate King), Jinkx Monsoon (Ruth), David Hyde Pierce (Gilbert/Major General Stanley), Nicholas Barasch (Frederic), Preston Truman Boyd (Sullivan/Police Sergeant) and Samantha Williams (Mabel Stanley). The cast also includes Kelly Belarmino, Maria Briggs, Cicily Daniels, Ninako Donville, Alex Dorf, Rick Faugno, Niani Feelings, Tommy Gedrich, Alex Gibson, Afra Hines, Dan Hoy, Ryo Kamibayashi, Tatiana Lofton, Nathan Lucrezio, Shina Ann Morris, Tyrone L. Robinson, Cooper Stanton, and Bronwyn Tarboton.
With the tongue-twisting Major-General, the rabble-rousing Pirate King, newly-imagined young lovers, daring daughters, footloose pirates and fleet-footed police, there's a shipload of musical comedy delights on board to dazzle first-timers and G&S aficionados alike.
