All Hams on Deck

With snarling pirates and swooning wenches, a shipboard staging of “Treasure Island” in Newport Beach has all the makings of high drama on the high seas. But if your attention drifts from time to time to the azure waters below, no one could blame you. The view alone is worth the ticket price.

In fact, at its premiere Saturday, the most thrilling effects in the Riverboat Players’ version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure came courtesy of Mother Nature: Seabirds wheeled overhead; the Jolly Roger snapped smartly in a crisp breeze, and, three decks below, the Pride of Newport’s wooden hull creaked and sighed on the rhythmic tides of Newport Harbor.

In contrast, the mood on the top deck was happily chaotic. Swept along by bug-eyed madman/narrator Ben Gunn, viewers joined young Jim Hawkins on a rollicking search for treasure and adventure that was liberally sprinkled with campy humor.

Written and directed by Robert Michael Conrad, “Treasure Island” continues weekends on board the Pride of Newport through June 20. Despite a script that tries to tell too much in too little time, the 60-minute show offers enough action and humor to keep school-age youngsters engaged and their parents and older siblings mildly amused or better.

Steve Avakian played Ben Gunn on Saturday (the cast varies by show). With his portly silhouette and blustery, wild-eyed manner, Avakian brought to mind Tweedledee (or maybe Tweedledum) in a particularly frazzled state. His frenzied style is funny, but it can wear on adults; the kids seemed to love him though.

Eugene Fowler was appropriately earnest as Jim Hawkins. Robert Estremo and Vic Kostrukoff measured up nicely as Jim’s kindly and oh-so-dignified mentors, Dr. Lively and Capt. Peabody.

The pirate crew is a wonderfully ragtag lot, led by Bill Westlund’s craggy Long John Silver. Conrad scores with the addition of female scalawags One-Eyed Bess (Shaelyn DeLong) and Cursin’ Kate (Mitzi Kaufman); there’s also a simpering mama’s boy (Brett Garlinghouse) and a hot-tempered but wholly inept bad boy (Joe Pierce, who, sadly, doesn’t get a chance to demonstrate another of the skills listed in his bio: fire-eating).

Costumes, coordinated by Marjorie Pringle (she also plays Jim’s mum) feature enough lace jabots and eye patches to satisfy any budding pirate. And speaking of budding pirates, they’ll no doubt delight in the extensive swordplay and fisticuffs.

After the show, the actors are happy to swap swashbuckling tips with interested viewers.

Permanently moored at the north end of Newport Harbor, the 190-foot Pride of Newport was built as a floating restaurant in the 1960s. Styled after an old-fashioned paddle-wheeler, it operated for years as the Reuben E. Lee restaurant.

In 1995, the vessel was given to the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum. Its permanent collection, which includes a wide array of ship’s models and documentation of the harbor’s history, is supplemented by changing exhibits with a maritime history theme.

Conrad, an actor, director and teacher, worked with museum director Sheli Smith to form an alliance that would present kid-friendly shows with ocean themes on the Pride’s top aft deck. In June, Conrad will launch a season of mystery dinner shows, with food by the on-board Riverboat Cafe. In August, they will begin a run of “The Little Mermaid.”

Whenever possible, Smith said, the Players’ youth shows will tie in with exhibits in the gallery. “Treasure Island” was chosen to pair with the museum’s newest offering, “California Missions: Maritime Outposts of the Pacific Frontier.”

“There was a pirate named Bouchard who raided a lot of the missions up and down the California coast,” Smith said. “ ‘Treasure Island,’ of course, has that pirate theme, so we thought it was very appropriate.”

BE THERE

The Riverboat Players present “Treasure Island” on board the Pride of Newport, 151 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Beach. 7 p.m. Sat.; ends June 29. $4-$8; dinner show packages, offered Sat. and on June 28, are $20. (714) 505-2178.