It's Gilbert and Sullivan, but not as your grandparents knew it. Director Kelda McManus says Canberra Philharmonic Society's production of The Pirates of Penzance is the Essgee version first produced by Simon Gallaher in the 1990s.

"It draws upon the traditional music," she says.

"People who know the score really well will say, 'That's Poor Wandering One' or 'When A Felon's Not Engaged In His Employment' - all of the tunes will still be familar."

What might be less familiar, she says, are the more upbeat tempos and the less classical musical arrangements – at least to those who didn't see the long-running Australian touring production starring Gallaher and Jon English.

But then, Pirates has withstood different treatments before. For some, it's purely operetta, while others might recall the lively Kevin Kline-Linda Ronstadt performance that was filmed in 1983 or even the 1982 Australian-shot pop adaptation The Pirate Movie with Christopher Atkins and Kristy McNichol.

McManus says, "I performed in one and saw the Victoria State Opera do it and my husband was in one at The Canberra Theatre with Reg Livermore."

Musical director Rhys Madigan, making his solo debut in that capacity, says this version has more of a rock feel than a traditional operetta sound, with the band of eight featuring keyboard, percussion, drums, bass, trumpets, trombones, clarinet and flute.

And the hybrid feel extends to the performers on stage. Madigan says, "This is more of a musical cast than an opera cast." He says there's a lot of harmony singing in the show, done in a way that's true to the songs but that gives the singers freedom to improvise a bit as well.

But the story, whimsically comic in true Gilbertian fashion, remains the same. Frederic, played by Marcus Hurley, was apprenticed as a boy to a group of pirates led by the Pirate King (Shane Horsburgh). This was done by his hard-of-hearing nursemaid (Kate Tricks) who misunderstood his father's instructions (he said a "pilot"). Now Frederic has turned 21 and his indentureship is at an end –or so it seems. But it's soon discovered he was born on February 29, so technically he only has a birthday every four years – and thus he is in servitude to the pirates for another 63 years. What will this do to his relationship with Mabel (Maddison Lymn), the daughter of Major-General Stanley (David Cannell)?

Madigan says that instead of a full women's chorus there are three women – the Major-General's other daughters, played by Karyn Tisdell, Deanna Gibbs and Esther Ramsay – who are styled like a 1950s pop trio.

"Everything they sing is in three-part harmony," he says.

"They're working very hard."

McManus says that a 1950s retro look is something of a reference point for the show though not overdone. "The pirates are still pirates: we didn't want make the pirates into Jets and the girls into Pink Ladies", she says, referencing two classic musicals set in the period, West Side Story and Grease.

She, Madigan and Cannell have worked on an encore verse for the Major-General's song, as is traditional, but despite the changes, McManus is clear that this is still very much The Pirates of Penzance.

"We wanted to be respectful to the piece. It has stood the test of time, the jokes are funny, there's no reason to mess with that."