Fictional FL Pirate Jose Gaspar Star Of New Musical Comedy In St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Playwright Bill Leavengood has written a new musical comedy based on the infamous — and fictional — pirate Jose Gaspar, the namesake of Tampa's annual Gasparilla celebration.

Now, he’s seeking donors and sponsors to produce the show, “Gaspar! The Musical,” at The Palladium in St. Petersburg.

The St. Petersburg native has frequently leaned on local and Florida history and lore as the subject of some of his work, including “Crossing the Bay” and “Webb’s City: The Musical.” He’s even worked with the St. Petersburg Museum of History to bring these works to the stage, and fundraising is under way to bring the show to life.

The museum will host highlights from the show May 18 at 7 p.m.

He’s had the idea for “Gaspar!” for years and initially pitched it to the Pinellas County Millennium Committee when he first pitched “Webb’s City: The Musical.”

“I mentioned that first we could write a show called ‘Gasparilla’ and there were crickets and they said, ‘That’s Tampa,’” Leavengood told Patch. “I said, ‘OK,’ and put that concept back on the shelf.”

He decided to revisit it a couple of years ago.

The show jumps between two timelines: present-day Tampa, where a group of business leaders and politicians are on a tall ship and 1723, where Gaspar is leading the crew of his ship, the Floridablanca.

“Both Gaspar and his counterpart in the modern era are going through some trials and tribulations, and they’re not sure they want to really stay in the time and place they’re in,” Leavengood said.

They each are drawn to a siren’s call and pulled into the water, landing on each other’s ship in the other’s time period.

“So, you have this bloodthirsty pirate running a gubernatorial candidate’s ship and the candidate leading a pirate ship,” the playwright said.

He’s also careful not to get too political; no specific candidates or parties are named in the show.

Ultimately, “Gaspar!” is “a lot of fun,” Leavengood said. “There’s magic involved. It’s historical. It’s a little bit ‘Wizard of Oz.’ They both go through lots of highs and lots of lows and realize they’re in a precarious and terrible situation and have messed up each other’s lives and have to come up with a plan to get back to their own time and place.”

Packed with double entendre and plenty of laughs, he “tried to capture the feeling of Gasparilla and the idea of raucous, wild fun,” he added. “That’s the tone of the play.”

Leavengood is working with the museum again on “Gaspar!” All donations for the production should be made payable to the St. Petersburg Museum of History and mailed to the museum, Attn: “Gaspar! The Musical,” 335 2nd Ave. NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

Donations can also be made online through the museum here.

They’re accepting minimum donations, which are tax deductible, of $250. They need to raise $75,000, the entire budget for the production, by June 1 in order to fully stage it, he said.

Anyone with questions about sponsorship levels for the production can email him at 21stcenturyplayhouse@gmail.com.