An accomplished actor of Broadway, regional and touring theater will lead the cast of CU Opera's "The Pirates of Penzance," opening on July 6.
Ben Saypol, 29, one of CU-Boulder's newest graduate music students, has appeared on Broadway and in a film starring Kevin Bacon. One of the most memorable moments during his five-year stint as a professional actor came during a successful audition for the role of Tony in the touring company of "West Side Story."
"To walk in at age 23 and sing 'Maria' for Jerome Robbins, who created 'West Side Story' in 1957, I was humbled," Saypol said. "It was awe-inspiring."
Growing up in Rockville, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C., Saypol got much of his early musical experience in schools and synagogues where he sang sacred and cultural Jewish music. He studied American history and musical theater at Northwestern University outside Chicago before embarking on his performing career in Chicago and New York.
Saypol toured with "West Side Story" all over the United States and in Canada and Japan. He also sang the national anthem at a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game and at a Golden State Warriors basketball game in San Francisco.
Though exciting, life as a professional performer began to wear on him. "The business of theater is very up and down, emotionally and financially. I decided it wasn't for me," he said.
Saypol had enjoyed working with children in mentoring programs, including inner city youth in New York and Chicago, and decided to leave the theater to pursue teaching. Attracted by Colorado's beautiful environs, he moved to the Denver area and began teaching in the Denver Public School system.
He found working with the diverse student population to be very rewarding. But after three years at DPS teaching math and drama, Saypol began to miss singing. CU-Boulder's College of Music offered the opportunity he was looking for.Ìý
"CU-Boulder has an incredible program, so I auditioned, and they were nice enough to give me a full ride scholarship for the master's program in vocal performance and pedagogy," he said.
While thrilled to be back in school, Saypol plans to continue working with children during the next two or three years while he completes his graduate degree.
As part of his admission to CU-Boulder, he was offered the lead role of Frederic in "The Pirates of Penzance." Having already played Nanki-Poo in the TheaterVirginia production of "Mikado," another classic Gilbert and Sullivan musical, Saypol said he's looking forward to the 10-show run of "Pirates," July 6-25, at the Music Theatre in CU's Imig Music Building.
"Pirates is just a fun show," he said. "It's pleasantly over the top. I love playing Frederic, a classic naive tenor. The beauty of it is that even though the genre is over the top, the more truthfully you play the part, the better the farce will carry."
The musical is a lampoon of taking duty to the extreme, featuring the well-known, tongue-twisting melody "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General." In addition to Saypol, the cast includes Erin Hauger as Mabel and John Hubert as the Pirate King.
For a complete 2002 CU Opera in the Summer performance schedule, which includes "The Pirates of Penzance" and "Brigadoon," call (303) 492-8008 or visit .