Ramin Karimloo on Conquering Comedy as the King of Pirates! The Penzance Musical

If you’ve seen Ramin Karimloo on stage, chances are you’ve seen him capture audiences in a troubled but lovable role (Les Miz’s Jean Valjean, Funny Girl’s Nick Arnstein, The Phantom of the Opera’s title specter). Now, in director Scott Ellis’ jazzy revival of Pirates! The Penzance Musical, Karimloo is trying out a new type of leading man: the comedic relief.

In the 2025 retelling of the classic Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera, Karimloo plays the Pirate King, a goofy, often confused leader of a troupe of pirates that the actor calls “badass…until he’s not.” Karimloo makes his entrance on a massive moving ship set, which he eventually flips, kicks and jumps on and off throughout the show. It’s his most physically demanding character yet, with slapstick-style stunts, elaborately choreographed sword fights and a major musical washboard number performed by the entire cast (as seen in the company’s Tony Awards performance). As he finishes out his time in what he calls “the happiest place I’ve ever worked,” the Broadway star talks about the role that’s had him channeling comedy greats, pushing his body to the limit and preparing for a new, exciting season of his career.

Throughout your career, you’ve often found yourself in very dramatic, serious roles.

Yeah, I didn’t realize that! Even my cast this year said to me, “I don’t know how you’ve gone from this brooding, dark leading man to be able to pull off this comedy.” And it’s been great, because I’ve always thought I was funny, but no one’s ever seen that. I’m having a blast.

You just told me this is the happiest you’ve ever been in your career. Why is this playful role so joyful for you?

This is such a cliché thing, but the work I’ve done on myself has put a lot [of opportunities] in front of me. I did The Addams Family, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels—that was a lot of physical comedy. Growing up, I always loved physical comedians like Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Kevin Kline, Mike Richards. I was always goofing around—even on Phantom. Over the last 18 months, a lot more comedy has been opening up for me. But what’s great about Pirates! is that there are still moments where I can put on that muscular singing and get that sound people might be used to from me.

This also isn’t the first time you’ve participated in a production of Pirates!

That first production of Pirates! was my first proper job. When I first moved to England, I didn’t know much about the industry, but I was lucky to land a good agent. He sent me to auditions, and I didn’t know many theater songs, so I sang “Make Them Hear You” from Ragtime. Even though I couldn’t read music and I had never trained, they liked it. So, I started working at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London, not knowing it was quite a prestigious job to have. I got my first paycheck, and it said “Pirate King US,” and that’s how I learned I was the understudy. When the production went to Bath, I ended up taking over the role for that run.

For the character development process of this new Pirate King, did you find yourself calling on your past experience at all?

One hundred percent—and none of it helped! Because that experience was with the Joseph Papp version. Throughout this process, instinctively, I would find myself doing stuff from 24 years ago. I had to remind myself to break the mold. This is a different environment, a different beast. Scott [Ellis'] vision is his vision and it’s a different energy. The moment everything started falling into place was when I really let go and tapped into the freedom of physical comedy.

Did you reference any particular comedians in your preparation for this role?

There were bits of John Lithgow from Third Rock from the Sun. That sort of hurricane, big, manchild energy that was so unpredictable. For the physical stuff, there’s a lot of Michael Richards as Kramer coming into it, and also the fluidity that Kevin Kline has.

What was the moment you realized you had found your Pirate King?

It was when the athleticism really kicked in. I said to [our choreographer] Warren Carlyle, “Whatever you envision the Pirate King should do, let’s try it. If I can’t do it, I can’t do it.” Next thing you know, he’s like, “OK, just flip off this board.” I could never do a flip before. But I just had to lean in.

This role seems extremely physically taxing. What was the physical preparation like leading up to the show?

I upped my cardio, because you can’t be out of breath and doing this. I was running, trying to hit a 10K every week. I was doing my weights in the morning. Even on breaks, I’d go for runs. No alcohol. It’s painful. I’m in perpetual pain right now. But it’s so much fun. I’m a bit of a slave to the job, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is the first job where I can show up tired and still be like, “Let’s do this.”

Have you noticed your approach to this comedic character differ from your approach to past roles?

No, because the Pirate King doesn’t know he’s in a farce. We’re playing for reality. The absurdity is in the writing of the circumstances. I always think of Will Ferrell in Elf. He wasn’t trying to be funny, he was just playing an elf sitting in a chair. The more truthful we play, the funnier we are, and that’s how you’ve got to approach every role.

You’re working alongside the incredible David Hyde Pierce in this show. Have you learned anything from him about comedy? What has that partnership been like between you two?

It’s been incredible. He (as the Major General) makes a molehill out of a mountain, whereas the Pirate King makes a mountain out of a molehill, but that yin and yang works. It helps watching how he’s so true to the work, he just serves. He’s not serving himself, and that’s a lesson I’m learning every day. I like watching his process where he is constantly looking for even the tiniest moment. You can see him put the puzzle together.

What’s it like working with Jinkx Monsoon, another very funny person?

She is one of the hardest workers in the room, and she’s a lot of fun. She really wanted that role. She sought it out and earned it. We got the best artist to play Ruth.

What does participating in this show at this time in your career and life mean to you?

I think I’m in a new season for sure. I feel like everything up until now has been training and now I’m really dialed in. I’d like to do more comedy, but still do some serious stuff that I haven’t done before. It’d be nice to do something with a bit more edge for the next one. I don’t know what the future holds. All I know is I want to go towards things that I’m scared of.