Making its first appearance at NIU, the nationally renowned Gilbert and Sullivan touring repertory company Opera A La Carte will stage “The Pirates of Penzance” at 7:30 p.m. today at the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. Second St.

Tickets are $5 for NIU students; $17 for NIU faculty and staff, adults older than 65 and children ages 8 to 18; and $20 for the general public.

A band of pirates, a bevy of giggling maidens and their father, along with a dashing pirate apprentice, a fading nursemaid and a bunch of blundering policemen are the key ingredients for the plot of this Gilbert and Sullivan classic.

“It’s not very often that we’ve brought an operetta to NIU,” said Jennifer Suerth, Campus Activities Board president. “The same play was just playing in Chicago and it was a unique opportunity for CAB to bring it.”

Heading the cast is company director Richard Sheldon as the Major General, with longtime Opera A La Carte member Rollin Lofdahl as the Pirate King.

Soprano Carol Winston sings the role of the general’s daughter, Mabel, while tenor Craig Gilmore appears as the pirate apprentice, Frederic, who is in love with her. Frederic’s former nursemaid, Ruth, is played by mezzo soprano Piper Pack, who made her debut with the company this past summer, and bass Jim Brown is the Sergeant of Police.

Opera A La Carte Music Director Alexander Ruggieri will conduct the production, which is complete with chorus and orchestra.

For more information, call 753-1580.