f any Gilbert and Sullivan operetta bears the stamp of New York, it is surely "Pirates of Penzance," which, for all show business purposes, had its world premiere engagement at the Fifth Avenue Theater, where it opened on Dec. 31, 1879.

So little wonder that the good-natured, wisecracking, devil-may-care version running (and otherwise cavorting) through Sept. 30 on the deck beneath the towering masts and rigging aboard the good ship Peking at the South Street Seaport carries so audible a cargo of New York attitude.

Jettisoning reverence and taking all sorts of liberties with the tale of the rocky road to romance of the dutiful young Frederic, indentured to pirates till his 21st birthday, this adaptation by Michael Scheman, the director, and Steven Gross, the musical director, pays lip service to its hallowed source while injecting the high jinks with a healthy dose of early 21st-century references.

Musically, this intermissionless, roughly 90-minute show rocks, raps and resorts to swing, gospel, Latin rhythms and barbershop harmony. Choreographically, it boogies, applies Elvis to the pelvis, dances the hora and gets down on its back and kicks up its heels in tribute to Busby Berkeley. In various ways it refers to "West Side Story," "Cats," "The Sound of Music," Disney's "Aida" and "42nd Street." It costumes its cast in cheerleader outfits, jeans, biker boots, T-shirts, baseball caps, running shoes, sandals and shades.

And it fills mouths with street language, double entendres and gossip column bon bons like Madonna, Miramax, Donald and Ivana Trump and Viagra, while not ignoring Page 1 names like Bush, Cheney, Clinton and Nixon or the gossip column and front- page squire of Gracie Mansion. The show also finds time to take digs at corporate life and to pause briefly on Kosovo and the human genome, and never shies from making fun of itself or its creators, for that matter.

Colin Hanlon conveys a suitable innocence as Frederic. Montego Glover brings a winsome passion to Mabel, his love. And Jonathan Brody as the Pirate King finds the proper balance between menacing appearance and soft heart. In the hard- working cast, most of the evening's performing fun falls to Martin Van Treuren in two roles: Frederic's campy nursemaid, Ruth, played in drag, and the bushy browed Major General Stanley, whose daughters are imperiled by the pirates.

Carrying classic tunes like "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General," "When the Foeman Bares His Steel" and "With Cat-Like Tread," this "Pirates" offers the faithful some G.&S. sustenance, though purists may gnash their dentures at alterations in the lyrics and the importation of music from "Ruddigore" and "The Mikado." The uninitiated will find plenty to amuse ear and eye as the playful action and audience move around the deck.

This is definitely a "Pirates" with a difference. What it lacks here and there in overall polish is compensated by zest. The true test of the show comes when darkness falls over Lower Manhattan and eyes that shift momentarily westward from the antics on deck encounter the lighted windows staring back from the financial area's skyscrapers, engaged in the ceaseless commerce of the global economy.

The sight comes as something of a shock, and the realization follows that without leaving its berth, the Peking, from the era of sail, and this high-spirited "Pirates of Penzance," from the age of Victoria, are providing a refreshing get-away-from-it-all voyage into a warm night's fun.

PIRATES OF PENZANCE

Original book and lyrics by W. S. Gilbert; music by Arthur Sullivan; directed and adapted by Michael Scheman; musical direction, adaptation and arrangements by Steven Gross; production stage manager, B. J. Forman; costumes and properties by Dawn Robyn Petrlik; lighting by Stephen Quandt; sound by Carlos Garcia. Associate producers, Mary Ellen Ashley and Anne Bernstein. Presented by On Deck Entertainment, Diane Krausz and Brett Singer & Associates. At the Peking Ship, South Street Seaport Museum, Pier 17, Lower Manhattan.

WITH: Colin Hanlon (Frederic), Jonathan Brody (Pirate King), Martin Van Treuren (Ruth/Major General), Montego Glover (Mabel), Kevin Covert (Police Sergeant/Ensemble), Mike Lesser (Gilbert) and Sue Gilad (Sullivan).