All wings report in!

Purple Leader standing by! (Hey, we were using lots of purple paint at set shop today -- I got covered in the stuff. I looked vaguely like Trance Gemini by the time we got finished...except I don't look nearly as good in hot pants. :-) )

I'm not here.

OK, here's the complete list of parodies I have written or helped write...

Obi-Wan's Said I to Myself, Said I
Written by Padawan Nitpicker

When I came to the high council as a young lad
(Said I to myself, said I)
I knew that I would be made someone's "Jelad"
(Said I to myself, said I)
And if as a Jedi I wanted to stay
I would not use the Force in a Sith kind of way
Or hack up a droid who is walking away
(Said I to myself, said I)

NitCentral As some day it may happen
Written by Padawan Nitpicker and Lea Frost

As some day it may happen that a tell-tale is required
I`ve got a little list - I`ve got a little list
Of all those many people who could very well be fired
They`d none of them be missed! They`d none of them be missed!
There`s the person who comes over and all that he does is flames
There`s quite a few of them but I`m not naming any names
All posters who have got none, but act like they have lots of skill
And say things like "fellow nitpickers" like they`re some sort of Phil
And that singular anomaly, the anime artist
They`d none of them be missed, they`d none of them be missed!

There`s the Phantom Returns member who makes posts of letters random
(He must type with his fist) - I`ve got him on the list
And people who say "loosers" and scorn any kind of fandom
And have seen "Never Been Kissed", I`m sure THEY`D not be missed
And those wand'ring Frank Conspirators who post on every thread
All formatting fanatics who will post in blue and red
All people called "Anonymous" who spew their hateful rants
All people who post spoilers and don't warn you in advance
And that Shakespeare quote-a-holic who's a savoy parodist
I don't think she'd be missed - I'm sure she'd not be missed!

Farewell, my throne
Written by Padawan Nitpicker and Lea Frost

Picard
Farewell, my throne
My starship too, farewell!
For time unknown
I go to a new Borg shell!

Riker
Strafleet I'll phone
Them of your plight I'll tell
Here they'll have flown
When you're in your new Borg shell!

Borg Queen
A drone! A drone!
I'll make of this Starfleet fell.
Let him be shown
At once to his new Borg shell!

Worf, Data, Shelby, Troi, Wesley
If he's a drone
We won't have a chance in h*ll!
All that he's known
Is locked in his new Borg shell!

Picard/Riker/Others
Farwell, my throne/Starfleet I'll phone/If he's a drone
My starship too, farewell/Them of your plight I'll tell/{We're/You're} headed straight to h*ll!

Picard and others/Riker
For time unknown/Here they'll have flown
{I go/He goes} to a new Borg, a new Borg shell!/When you're in your new Borg shell!

(I changed some of the sequencing of your parts)

Luke and Yoda duet

LUKE: A farmboy I -
YODA: A farmboy he!
LUKE: The last Jedi -
YODA: The last Jedee!
LUKE: It's not too late -
YODA: It's late at night -
LUKE: I still could rate -
BOTH: A Jedi Knight!

LUKE/ YODA
A farmboy I/ A farmboy he
The last Jedi!/ The last Jedee!
A farmboy I/ A farmboy he
The last Jedi!/ The last Jedee!
It's not too late/ It's not too late
It's late at night/ It's late at night
I still could rate/ You still could rate
A Jedi Knight!/ A Jedi Knight!

LOL, Padawan!

My complete parody oeuvre is too long to post here, but you can find all of them at my website.

BTW, two more weeks until Sorcerer opens!

Hey, I like V-ger!

And check out "NitCentral Drama Group"!

Glad the board's back -- just in time for Sorcerer, which opens in three days! I'm looking forward to it, though the long rehearsals are pretty taxing. We did a full tech runthrough last night, and we were there until about 12:30 am. (We also had problems getting Hell to work properly!) But we have a great cast, and it'll be a wonderful production.

Oh, and I really like the way we're doing the ending -- while everyone else is reprising the rollicking bun number, Aline is off to the side looking reflective and generally rather upset. Alexis goes off to get the notary, who has the marriage contract, and the three of them argue while everyone else dances. As the final chords sound, Aline tears up the contract and strides off, leaving Alexis to pout. I cheered the first time I saw that particular bit, since Alexis is (in the words of our director, who played JWW in the previous UMGASS production of Sorcerer) a ratfaced bastard (though the actor who's playing him is a really nice guy). We all want Alexis to go to Hell and Aline to hook up with JWW, but what can you do? ;-)

(BTW, our Lady S. does not point to Alexis when everyone sings "Die thou," though she does protest, of course.)

Oh, and one other thing: check this site out -- it's quite amusing.

http://jwwells.com/

We're actually on the Upcoming Demonstrations page -- someone on Usenet pointed it out to me after I said I was doing tech for Sorcerer, and I passed the URL along to the folks at UMGASS...

Did you read Jenny's "alternative ending" to The Sorceror before Ccabe deleted it?

No, I don't think I did, though I'd like to read it. Although we had an alternative ending of our own last night, because Hell WOULDN'T OPEN! Aaaaarrrgggghhhh! The one thing that can't go wrong naturally does. Of course, we'd had trouble with Hell before, but only with closing it, never with opening it. (The cast covered for it pretty decently given the circumstances -- after a minute the actor playing the doorman escorted JWW off through the front door. "If you'll just wait in the drawing room Ahrimanes will be with you shortly...") It opened partway, and from the wings we could just see Ben (as JWW) thinking "Hmmm, could I crawl through there?"

We now have a Hell contingency plan, just in case -- we'll have our lovely crew of demon dancers standing by to run on and drag him off in case of Hell failure. This ensures that Hell will work perfectly for the remainder of the run.

Of course, everything else went spectacularly well. The worst thing to happen before the disaster at the end was that JWW's flame-shooting ring didn't work...at least, not on time. It went off backstage.

It's a great show, but it's been giving the tech crew fits...

Hey Lea... I don't know if you watched Jeopardy the other day, but they had "Shakesperian Before and After" as a catagory...

Interesting, because Jenny mentioned "stagehands dressed as devils" in it. I belive she referrerd to them as "wearing red, with oversized eating utensils."

Ours wore black and phosphorescent purple, with oversized claws. :-)

Anyway, our last show was tonight, and it was an amazing run -- I'm so proud of everyone involved. I'll tell you all about it, but first I have to attempt to do all the homework I ignored this weekend.

Now where's that alternate ending? ;-)

Last year, our G&S society (I'm in the pit) did "Ruddigore", and during the scene w/ Mad Margaret & Despard, after "I Once Was a Very Abandoned Person", MM went down on her knees to hug D's ankles, and managed to pull her skirt down when she stood up. After more dialogue, while she vainly tried to keep it on (she had on a very vibrant red petticoat under her sedate brown skirt), she went skipping off into the wings to fix it, whereupon D said his line, "Poor girl. She wanders." The whole pit barely recovered in time for the next song (quite a ways away).

LOL! That's great. :-)

There were two bits in Sorcerer that always had everyone backstage rolling:

When Alexis did this speech: "Father, I am welling over with limpid joy! No sicklying taint of sorrow can stain the lucid lake of liquid love upon which, hand in hand, Aline and I are to float into eternity!" Sir Marmaduke looked at him for a second, and says, perfectly deadpan: "Riiiiiight."

The other hysterical moment is when Lady Sangazure, under the effects of the love-philtre, sees JWW and falls madly in love with him -- one of the things she did was to let her hair down. Since Lady S refers to her white hair in one of the songs, our actress had to wear a considerable amount of gunk in her hair to make it look silvery, and when she let it out of its bun, a huge cloud of dust would rise off of it...

OK, here's a question we haven't really done yet: what are your favorite G&S songs? You can do honorable mentions, too, if you want. :-)

Here's my very long list. They're not in any order, really.

"Brightly dawns our wedding day," Mikado
"I am so proud," Mikado
The Act I finales from Iolanthe, Mikado, and Yeomen
"My Lord, a suppliant at your feet," Iolanthe
"Never mind the whys and wherefores," Pinafore
"I have a song to sing, O!", Yeomen
"Tower warders, under orders," Yeomen
The incantation scene from Sorcerer
"When the night wind howls," Ruddigore
"When the foeman bares his steel," Pirates
"Oh, foolish fay," Iolanthe (it just feels so good to sing)
"Is life a boon?", Yeomen
"Welcome joy, adieu to sadness," Sorcerer
"Carefully on tiptoe creeping," Pinafore
"If you go in," Iolanthe
"There is beauty in the bellow of the blast," Mikado
"Oh, a private buffoon," Yeomen
"Society has quite forsaken all her wicked courses," Utopia
"Eh, but oi du loike you!", Sorcerer (though luckily our chorus sang it without the goofy accents. ;-) )
"Strephon's a Member of Parliament," Iolanthe

And that's 22, which is quite enough for now. Though of all the ones I know, it's hard to think of many I don't like, except perhaps some of the tenor arias... ;-)

Hmm, I'm sure about in total, we haven't done all that many! But here are my favourites from the ones we've done...

H.M.S. Pinafore: Never mind the why and wherefore, Carefully on tiptoe stealing, Things are seldom what they seem. Honorable mention: When I was a lad, A many years ago...

Pirates
With cat-like tread, When the foreman bares his steel, When you had left our pirate fold. Honorable mention: Act I Finale, Away, away...

Iolanthe
If you go in, When you're lying awake, both finales. Honorable mention: If we're weak enough to tarry, Though p'r'aps I may incur your blame, Strephon's a member of Parliament.

The Mikado
I am so proud, Brightly dawns, Here's a how-de-do, Act I final ensemble, Taken from the county jail/behold the Lord High Executioner. Honorable mention: There is beauty in the bellow of the blast, Act II finale.

I think that about covers it. Next we'll be doing Patience and Princess Ida.

You should do Yeomen in the not-too-distant future, too -- it's one of my favorites!

BTW, pictures from Sorcerer are up now at the UMGASS website now. Though there aren't really any that do justice to our lovely set. ;-)

D'oh...omit one of the nows from that sentence. My brain does not work today.

One of my new favorites is the quartet with Colonel Fairfax, Sergeant Merryl, Dame Carruthers and Kate in Yeoman (we did Yeoman this year). Unfortunately, I can't remember the name. Our parts don't have the names of songs, just numbers and cues, which annoys me to no end. It's just after Colonel Fairfax finds out he married Elsie. The words didn't make much impression on me, but I just love the music.

"Strange adventure" -- I can't believe I forgot that one, because I love it! Yeomen is one of my favorites.

Must go to class now...

Six months since I set up the first (now sadly eliminated) G+S ramblings board on the Jedi's Sink. here's to another six! It's been a while since I made a long "to whom it may concern" post here, so...

Concerning the LC played by Rowan Atkinson, I would say character-wise Sir Joseph would be more appropriate: "Sir Joseph, Sir Joseph, you're pompous and you're mean! Sir Joseph, Sir Joseph, you don't get Josephine..."

We have a video of HMS Pinafore which has Sir Joseph played by Frankie Howerd! He does a very idiosyncratic performance, and most of the songs he does in a "Yankee Doodle Dandy"-style half-speaking, half-singing. He sometimes completely changes the musical timing (noticably in "Farewell, my own"), and even drops of in the middle of his last "And a Lord who rules the water...". He also puts in several ad-libs, and some of his less plot-important lines bear little resemblance to the original libretto. Here is a collection of various idiosyncrasies and amusing touches put into this version:
-Sir Joseph is constantly forgetting the captain's name, or getting it wrong. The captain corrects him, and is chastised for it.
-Deadeye is the first "splendid seamen" who steps forward, but SJ sends him back. He's also the first choice to be taken away to the "dungeon cell".
-Sir Joseph tells the marines to "clap him [Ralph]" and they applaud him. SJ then says he means clap him in irons.
-There is a short guy who "stands out", but SJ is not specifically looking at him during his line.
-The trio holds music books with "J.P.K.C.B." on them while singng A British Tar.
-Everyone except SJ (and maybe Corcoran) are completely "serious" with their singing, and don't take any liberties.
-The Boatswain is Scottish!!!
-There are two major performance errors, one in "Things are seldom what they seem" and one in "Never mind the why and wherefore". The first is that Cororan sings the "Though a mystic tone you borrow" verse when he should be singing the "Stern conviction's o'er me stealing" one. he never sings that verse in this production. Also, Josephine sings "Let the air with joy be laden" twice in the last bit of NMTWAW. Both songs also contain a number of minor glitches - "striving" instead of "driving," "Revel" instead of "level", etc.

As for the UMGASS production, I may suggest an Egyptian dance and a reel for Never Mind The Why and Wherefore. SJ could dance somewhat stiffly.

Iolanthe finale confusions - SW patter trio - and other stuff, next time!

Concerning the LC played by Rowan Atkinson, I would say character-wise Sir Joseph would be more appropriate: "Sir Joseph, Sir Joseph, you're pompous and you're mean! Sir Joseph, Sir Joseph, you don't get Josephine..."

Hee hee! I wrote up a few more lyrics to this, but I can't remember them -- they're on my computer at school...I'll post them when I get back. (I can't even remember my own lyrics half the time...)

I've heard about that video -- it seems to have a bad reputation among G&S fans. That's part of the Brent Walker series, right? (They also did a universally despised version of Yeomen starring Joel Grey as Jack Point...)

"Never mind..." encores -- actually, I was talking about this with the guy who played Corcoran in the last UMGASS Pinafore (he was Marmaduke in Sorcerer)...he said they had five encores planned, but then he injured his knee a week before the show and couldn't handle the dancing...

Only a couple more weeks before auditions! :-)

I hear he's been in all of your performances in some role or other, will he be Corcoran again this time or the Boatswain?

BTW, Jenny and I have put on Adventure at Cestus Castle or Count Chrum! Our parents and one set of grandparents have seen it! We'll send you some of the lyrics soon.

OK, the SW patter trio... Here's what I've written so far, see what you can do with it...

LUKE
My eyes are fully open to my awful situation
I shall go at once to Vader on his new-built battle station
I shall urge him to recover his forgotten moral senses
But I will not say a word about us lowering their defences
Some lines about not wanting to be on the station when Lando blows it up, but he must try his best it really doesn't matter!

THREEPIO
Because I am a protocol droid and considered prissy
If you back out I would not consider calling you a "sissy"
More lines
But I'm often rambling on and I am very prone to chatter
So you're probably just listening, what I'm saying doesn't matter!

LEIA
If I had been so lucky as to ahve a steady brother
Who could talk to me as we are talking now to one another
Who I could give good advice to if I thought that he was erring
You can see now clearly just to what I am referring
Now I know that this is really just an interesting notion
And if it were true I would be overcome with strong emotion
I would fall straight to the ground and everyone would hear the clatter
But it's probably not true, and my instiction doesn't matter!

OK, the Iolanthe finale confusions. See what you think - comments, more confusions, etc...

First, When Darkly Looms The Day is called a Quartet in all versions of the script... I mean... libretto... that I've seen, but it's obviously a quintet.

Next, the "To say she is his mother..." verse is inexplicably sung by both choruses (chori?) meaning some have to say things they don't mean.

Finally, the stage directions at the end say Phyllis makes an appeal to Strephon, who casts her away, yet all through the finale this has been the other way round.

Any comments?

I hear he's been in all of your performances in some role or other, will he be Corcoran again this time or the Boatswain?

Matt's basically our very own Rutland Barrington. :-) I bet he goes for Corcoran again.

BTW, Jenny and I have put on Adventure at Cestus Castle or Count Chrum! Our parents and one set of grandparents have seen it! We'll send you some of the lyrics soon.

Cool! I look forward to it.

First, When Darkly Looms The Day is called a Quartet in all versions of the script... I mean... libretto... that I've seen, but it's obviously a quintet.

Probably just one of those misprints that just never got fixed -- for the record, the libretto I have (downloaded from the G&S Archive) calls it a quartet too.

Next, the "To say she is his mother..." verse is inexplicably sung by both choruses (chori?) meaning some have to say things they don't mean.

The fact that the fairies sing this too is baffling -- I'm not sure why they don't have different lyrics as in the rest of the finale. I suppose they'd have to play these lines in a flippantly ironic way to pull it off.

Interestingly enough, this point never comes up in the Savoynet Opera of the Week discussion...anyone out there who's been in Iolanthe have any insight?

Finally, the stage directions at the end say Phyllis makes an appeal to Strephon, who casts her away, yet all through the finale this has been the other way round.

I always assumed this was more of a "call off your dogs!" type of appeal, given that Strephon's side is kicking butt and taking names. :-)

Incidentally, the libretto I have calls for her to exit after the "Should they launch terrific wonders" part -- it doesn't specify when she re-enters, but it does have her join the fairies on "Their horror they can't dissemble" and "With Strephon as your foe, no doubt," which is also sort of odd.

And as a side note, I wonder why it is that my two favorite operas (Iolanthe and Yeomen) end the first act with the soprano fainting? Being an alto means never having to swoon... ;-)

OK, here's my shot at finishing the SW patter trio. Stuff in italics is mine, except for the one line borrowed from Iolanthe (and thanks for bringing up the Act I finale -- that's why I thought of it). See what you think...

LUKE
My eyes are fully open to my awful situation
I shall go at once to Vader on his new-built battle station
I will urge him to recover his forgotten moral senses
But I will not say a word about us lowering their defenses
Now I do not want to perish in the battle and commotion,
But it's worse to join the Dark Side than to die in an explosion,
I'm afraid that I might be there when the Death Star's walls will shatter,
But I've got to do my best and so it really doesn't matter!

ALL: So it really doesn't matter, etc.

THREEPIO
Because I am a protocol droid and considered prissy
If you back out I would not consider calling you a "sissy"
There's a very likely chance that you'll be killed upon arrival,
And a visit to Lord Vader could inhibit your survival.
Now, I wouldn't say a word that could be reckoned as injurious,
But I've heard the evil Emp'ror can be nasty when he's furious.
But I'm often rambling on and I am very prone to chatter
So you're probably just listening, what I'm saying doesn't matter!

ALL: What I'm/he's saying doesn't matter, etc.

Good, very good. Jenny and I are often coming up with G+S variants, and when we need to come up with something on the spur-of-the-moment we transpose lyrics from one to another. I have often given My eyes are fully open words to tht very part of the Act I finale.

Now, some questions about UMGASS! First, did you ever use Jenny's JWWells ghost idea? Next, do you have any other "regulars"? You said some roles were given to newcomers and others to "veterans", could you be a little more specific? Finally, has Marmaduke/Pish-Tush/Corcoran/Paramount/Matt been in all of the productions? Let me guess: Arac in Princess Ida and Adam in Ruddigore. Am I right?

Well, UMGASS has been around for over fifty years, so at this point we don't have anyone who's been there the whole time! We do have some people who've been involved for ages. Two of our faculty advisers have been part of UMGASS in some way or another for more than twenty years (like Bev Pooley, who played the Mikado last year). We've got people who were introduced to the society because their parents were involved (and sometimes, in the case of one of the co-directors for Sorcerer, still are). So there are plenty of "regulars," or at the very least frequent fliers. :-) It really gives the group a feeling of being a big, wacked-out family, and it's great to be a part of it.

Oh, and what I meant about assigning of roles is just that the roles for lower voice parts are usually characters who are older, so they generally go to people who are older (i.e. not students) regardless of how long they've been with UMGASS. The soprano, tenor, and soubrette roles, being younger characters, go to students (usually voice performance majors!) more often. Of course, this isn't a hard-and-fast rule by any means: our JWW was a freshman (the guy who reviewed us for Savoynet complained that he looked too young :-) ) and our Alexis has been in UMGASS for ten years...

BTW, the two co-directors for Pinafore are students! If I get a part, that would be the first time I've ever done a show directed by someone younger than I am (they're both juniors)...

Glad you liked those SW lyrics. :-)

Hi, we've just been and seen Topsy Turvy again. (The other time we saw it was in May, nearly two months before the rambings began) I have a nit to pick, O (Jenny: Pick me your nit, O) The act 2 finale of the Mikado included "For he's gone and married Yum-Yum" but it DIDN'T in the first night performance in real life. It isn't in all the copies of the libretto and those which it is in gives the lyrics differently, i.e., the whole thing instead of "On this subject, &c". Also, The Mikado's song is comprised to one verse, probably to avoid the n-word which rhymes with figure but isn't vigour. I kinda wish some of the cast would do real recordings (except T Spall of course )

I'm thinking of my own version of "If you give me your attention" which will probably end up on PR or something. It's sung by me, about me!

BTW, did you "hear" my redshirt version of "When a felon's not engaged" on the LICC board? I've got another one coming up.

A couple of points about your last post: First, I meant all the performances when you were there. Second, reviewer for SavoyNet??? Can I se those reviews? And was I right about Matt's roles or do you not know?

I'm a relative newcomer to UMGASS. This semester will only be my third -- and last, because I'm graduating in May. (I was talking to one of the chorus guys, who's miffed because they're doing Pinafore when he's studying abroad...they'll probably do Iolanthe next year, so he won't get to do Pinafore and I won't get to do Iolanthe. Figures. :-) ) Anyway, I was only around for Mikado and Sorcerer, and I'll be involved in Pinafore in some capacity. Though I'll probably be despondent for a while if I don't get a part... :-p

Anyway. I checked the UMGASS website, which has the cast info for the most recent production of each show (and the one before that for shows since 1999), and Matt wasn't in either of those... (I wonder what he'd say if he knew about this conversation? :-) )

I didn't know that about the Mikado finale! Did it originally start with "On this subject..." or what?

One other bit related to the finale -- we actually had Ko-Ko and Katisha sing "What though the night may come too soon," / "We've years and years of afternoon!"

And yeah, I had the same suspicion about the Mikado's song, but that's OK. Incidentally, my G&S songbook (the Dover edition) retains the original lyrics there and in the list song; I immediately crossed them out and pencilled in the traditional substitutes, lest anyone think my ownership of such a book construes endorsement... :-p

(Incidentally, I'm led to understand that the use of the n-word in the list song actually refers to performers in minstrel shows, but I think that's definitely a moot point.)

I'll look for your "Policemen's Lot" parody; incidentally, a friend of mine did one apparently along the same lines. And I've done a parody of "If you give me your attention," sung by Holodoc -- I don't think it's on my website, though. Let me go and check...no, it's not. Well, here it is:

DOC:
If you give me your attention I will tell you what I am,
I'm an excellent physician (though I am a hologram).
My knowledge of all ailments and diseases is first-rate,
And the vastness of my databanks I'm happy to relate.
I know everything in every book that Starfleet doctors wrote,
And I think it's reassuring to my patients if they know't.
I love my fellow shipmates -- I do all the good I can,
Yet everybody says I'm such a disagreeable man,
And I can't think why!

My talents aren't limited to Hippocratic art;
I'm an operatic singer, and I'm great in every part.
I'll run through "Rigoletto," "Don Giovanni," "Carmen" too,
And sing Papageno's aria from "Die Zauberflöte" for you--

*ahem* "Die Vögelfanger bin ich ja..."

JANEWAY: [from offstage] Just finish this song, Doctor.

DOC: [spoken] Of course, Captain.
[sings] I'll even sing you G&S (and do it very well),
And in my own opinion I've a voice just like a bell,
I try to entertain the crew the only way I can,
Yet everybody says I'm such a disagreeable man,
And I can't think why!

I keep the sickbay running just as smoothly as can be,
And I'm always there to greet you with my witty repartee.
I'm always close at hand to give you very good advice,
And with wisdom such as mine it doesn't matter if I'm nice.
I'm a fully sentient crewman, though I'm only made of light,
And you really must forgive me if I'm frequently uptight.
I've served without complaining since our voyage first began,
Yet everybody says I'm such a disagreeable man,
And I can't think why!

CREW:
He can't think why!

ALL:
I/He can't think why!

The Policeman's Lot parody was on LICC, The Final Chapter? which isn't available here and can only be found on Kira's website: www.geocities.com/TheLICC/

The finale originally began with "The threatened cloud has passed away". We have one book with the libretti and another which has more information and some versions of the libretti with a lot of differences (It doesn't have the Sorceror waking up song, AFAIK) It doesn't have the "little list" at all!

Found it -- LOL! :-)

IIRC, the waking-up song in Sorcerer was written for the 1884 revival, which contained fairly extensive revisions. (For instance, I believe some of Constance's music had to be rewritten for Jessie Bond, who couldn't hit some of the high notes in the original. Can't remember where I read this, though -- whatever the case, our Constance was a bona fide soprano [she was also Zara in Utopia]. She has an amazing voice, too...)

Yep, the waking-up song was first in the revival seen in Topsy-Turvy. People at SavoyNet pointed out the inconsistency in the accents, as well as the "in half-an-hour".

I've also written a YJK version of the Ruddigore finale and I'm working on another redshirt song.

I realised that the versions of the libretto were the original ones, but I don't beleive the list was ever not in it. It also doesn't have the orginal two-verse duet for Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum, oddly enough, and it fact has an even shorter version.

Did they use the JWWells ghost idea? And did you hear about Henry Lytton's bit of innovation????

We didn't use the ghost thing...and what bit of innovation are you referring to?

The list thing is bizarre -- no idea why it wouldn't be in there!

And I auditioned for Pinafore tonight...but I don't think it went all that well because I was sick all week, so I sounded kind of weird. I did, however, have to do a cold reading from the script (since I decided I might as well go for an actual part this time...why not, right? No points for guessing which one), and that went all right. The cast list goes up tomorrow, so I'll let you know... :-)

Um... Josephine...

Things are seldom what they seem...

Henry Lytton stuck a sign out of the trapdoor with "Come down and see me sometime!" on it in very large writing.

Did you hear about the mystery story with the review of the SorcerEr (Finally I'm spelling it right- hey I'm turning into one of the villagers)? It refers to He11 not necessarily working properly on performances...

Next I think we're doing Patience. When Iolanthe was on Yeoman of the Guard was the other part of their repertoire. But we couldn't afford I mean didn't feel like (gulp) seeing both so we went to the one that we had already done. It had largely the same cast as Iolanthe. I wonder what they're doing this year. They did the Mikado in 1999.

Well, I didn't get a part in Pinafore. It really sucks, but I didn't think I would because (as I said before) my audition didn't go all that well, except for the reading. (BTW, the dialogue before "Things are seldom what they seem" is exactly what they had me read. :-) ) So it's back to the crew for me. At least I'll be an expert in wood-grain. :-p

Actually, two of my friends said that they forgot the words during their audition and still got in. Maybe I should have forgotten the words...

(The other thing that bugs me is that invariably half of the women in the alto section are actually sopranos. In fact, our Buttercup is really a soprano, but she does alto roles for the obvious reason. She's good though -- she rocked as Lady Sangazure last semester...)

And yes, I did see the bit on Sorcerer from the mystery novel -- it was posted on the green room bulletin board. That was funny!

I like that Lytton story, too. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go bang my head against the wall some more...

I suggest Things are seldom what they seems should be done in vein of the previous conversation, it's the way I would like to see/hear it... I mean, but are in lvoe with each other but don't say it to each other, and we have a duet about secrets. Corcoran should get more nervous as it goes on.

Speaking of HMS Pinafore productions, the other night Jenny had a dream were we (herself and I) were in a performance, she'll tell you abut it!

I was playing Buttercup and Paddy was playing Ralph. In it Ralph's introduction song was diferent. In it he was comparing (because of his not being able to marry Josephine) his work as a sailor to plough horses work and also to that of Falcons and hunting dogs and Deadeye entered then to say: What's wrong with hunting dogs? and Ralph tried to explain that that wasn't the point. Then I woke up.

I suggest Things are seldom what they seems should be done in vein of the previous conversation, it's the way I would like to see/hear it...

Absolutely! I definitely agree.

Weird dream, Jenny! I actually tend to dream about theater a lot, though it usually involves Shakespeare. I did dream, once, that I got called in as a last-minute chorus replacement for Mikado, and I was afraid I'd be late for the show, and for some reason the only way to get to the theater was by gondola. And back before the Pinafore auditions I dreamed that I tried out and they had me fill out this really huge form with lots of irrelevant questions...

BTW, construction starts tomorrow on the good ship HMS Set (as it's been dubbed) -- from what I hear the designers and TDs have something fairly impressive planned. I'll tell you how it goes! :-)

(Oh, and Padawan, in case you're curious, Matt isn't playing Corcoran this time around...)

Jenny had another interesting G+S related dream recently, but she's in bed with a cold right now so she can't tell you about it.

Next Jenny and I will be doing Princess Ida. We know a few songs from it as well as a few lines and a vague plot.

A few more musings on Iolanthe, first, this proves that off-stage characters really do break into spontaneous singing! Strephon's references to his appeals to the LC, and perhaps the mention of the LC's speeches being given a double encore (This might just mean he's a great speaker, it might be a reference to the popularity of patter-songs, though). Second, what's with all the Noah imagery? Dating from the flood, Lord Mountararat, if you should need an ark...

BTW, more on the subject of original performances... I believe the interjections in Nanki-Poo's aria were originally "Oh, willow, willow", if that book is to be believed...

Oh, and I saw the UMGASS website so I knew that... (about Corcoran)

Hmph, I don't think I'm really cut out for this, I mean sing the Pirates Act I finale, forget it. Pray observe the magnaminimininmnin... minime.

See?

Maybe I'd better go to mode modern stuff, like... Eminemineminemineminem???? Oh, ****!

Next Jenny and I will be doing Princess Ida. We know a few songs from it as well as a few lines and a vague plot.

The only ones I know are "I can't think why" and "This helmet I suppose," which is lots of fun to sing if you want to annoy people. :-)

Oh, and I also know that the alto solo in Ida is called "Come Mighty Must," and it's universally hailed as one of the worst in G&S (it was a standard cut in DCOC productions -- but then so was "Rapture, Rapture" in Yeomen, and I like that one). Apparently Sullivan wrote it while drunk. :-p

A few more musings on Iolanthe, first, this proves that off-stage characters really do break into spontaneous singing! Strephon's references to his appeals to the LC, and perhaps the mention of the LC's speeches being given a double encore

That was my sig quote for a while. :-) And yeah, self-referentiality is fun. The LC thing, btw, is just as obvious a musical reference, with its "series of judgments in F-sharp minor, given andante in 6/8 time"!

I hadn't noticed that! Or I just forgot.

OK, as for minor roles in HMS Pinafore - the one called the Boatswain's Mate in the libretto is not the same as the one given that designation in the cast. That's obviously the case.

Now, I was looking at the libretto for The Sorcerer, and I noticed a brief appearance from a page, who isn't in the dramatis personae. I believe this was a small bit-player, who played small roles, and was sort of "looked out for" by the audience. I have no proof for this, it's just a guess. Now, the "Tom Tucker" thing in HMS Pinafore, done only 6 months later, was an attempt to give him mention in the cast. His appearance seemed tacked-on to the script (the "very small midshipman") and this would also explain why some evrsions still use him but some don't! Any ideas on this theory?

So, Lea, I have a good idea what the Very First MiSTing was... Do you?

(Note: This isn't really a G+S rambling, it's just the best place to out it)

For "out" read "put".

Well, Shakespeare has his onstage audience riff on the play-within-a-play in A Midsummer Night's Dream, but I don't know if that's what you had in mind... :-)

Random UMGASS news: I heard from my friend who's on the exec board that next year's shows will be Yeomen and Iolanthe. My two favorites, and right after I graduate... :-(

Can you still watch them?

Oh, and yes, MSND is indeed what I meant. Well done! BTW, Jenny and I, as well as Reddo, are going to a performance and "workshop" of Twelfth Night today!

Well, if I'm still in Ann Arbor next year, I could actually be in them -- but I'll probably be somewhere else for grad school.

Twelfth Night is a fun show, btw. I was an assistant director for a youth-theater production once... :-)

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OK, I sent a post but it didn't show up...

From HMS Pinafore - character motivation for Hebe. Here lie the facts and assumptions:

1) Hebe joins in with the elopement plans of Josephine and Ralph.
2) Hebe wants to marry Sir Joseph
3) Hebe originally had more lines
Assumption: She wants Josephine out of the way, that's why she helps them. This is clearer in the original script.
4) Hebe seems to have a diffenret stand in Act II.
5) There were originally two main relatives to SJP.
Assumption: Some of the parts for the other relative were given to Hebe.

This could bring up a new discussion - Editing problems. Not stuff like "What, paddling in February?" or "What, Ralph and Cororan the same age?" Those have been flogged out on SavoyNet.

And what do you think of that Page theory? Do you have anything more to say on the matter?

Assumption: Some of the parts for the other relative were given to Hebe.

I believe this is actually the case: originally, there were supposed to be two contralto roles, as in Sorcerer, and Buttercup and Hebe were supposed to be played by the same actresses who played Mrs. Partlet and Lady Sangazure, respectively (obviously, Hebe was supposed to be older). However, the actress who was supposed to play Hebe apparently wasn't up to the singing, and Jessie Bond was brought in as a new character, the "First Relative," who took over Hebe's singing part. This ticked off the original Hebe, who ended up leaving the company. The dialogue was cut because Bond didn't think she could handle a speaking part (it was her first role at the Savoy), and anyway from what I know of it it didn't really work for a younger character.

Incidentally, the G&S Archive has an adaptation of some of her original dialogue -- you've probably seen it, right? I believe we're going to use it -- or at least they used it at auditions. (A lot of my friends read for Hebe, actually...)

In any case, it's not a part I'd particularly like to play, since she has no dialogue and most of her music consists of variations on "And we are his sisters and his cousins and his aunts!" Though God knows I wouldn't turn down the chance... ;-)

Oh, and I think your page theory makes perfect sense. (For that matter, we had a suitably short and skinny guy as the page in Sorcerer -- and I'd bet he ends up as the very small midshipman, too... ;-) )

Actually, all this talk about changes in Hebe's role has got me thinking about cut material in G&S -- which "lost songs" or scenes do you think should be restored? You know, stuff like "Fold Your Flapping Wings" (maybe) or "When Jealous Torments Wrack My Soul" (Wilfred's song from Yeomen -- definitely), or the Ahrimanes scene in Sorcerer (yes), or the original ending to Ruddigore or whatever...

I wish I knew what stuff was cut from Ruddigore - it sounds interesting. Do you know anywhere I can see it?

Where did "Fold Your Flapping Wings" come in, I wonder? Probably immediately after "If you go in". It seems to fit the pattern for Act Two. For Pirates, I think the "full" ending should be used, as I believe it usually is now (And we saw a performance on television recently, it had the Pirates re-enter in Iolanthe-style robes!) I don't know much about the others, though (But I'd like to hear about the Ahrimanes business). I'll check out the Reflect, My Child stuff to do with HMS Pinafore...

You're right about "Fold Your Flapping Wings" -- it comes before the line "I suppose one ought to enjoy oneself in Parliament. I can see the reasons for cutting it -- it holds up the action, and the tone doesn't fit the show, which despite its satire is very good-natured -- and for keeping it: Strephon doesn't have much to do in Act II otherwise, and even if it's a very pointed song it can be very effective. I guess if I were staging Iolanthe my decision would depend on the actor playing Strephon.

The Ahrimanes scene: it comes right after the duet between Lady S. and JWW. There was supposed to be music for it, but the setting has been lost. We just played it as spoken (and rhyming!) dialogue -- since it's all about magic and incantations, it didn't seem too weird. I wish I could remember more of the dialogue -- I checked to see if there was a copy of it on the Net, but there isn't. (And you get all sorts of weird stuff if you search for "Ahrimanes"...) I can't remember much of the dialogue off the top of my head, except that the last lines of Wells' incantation were "Spirits dark and spirits fair, listen to my heartfelt prayer!" (this was the cue for the screen) and that Ahrimanes' response was "We hear your spells, J.W. Wells! What terrors trouble you?" I was standing next to the speaker every night, and it was set really loud, so it was always a jolt to hear it.

As for the effects and whatnot -- Ahrimanes was a red latex puppet that we made a tape of and projected onto a screen, which another stagehand and I had to slide in front of the door during a two-second blackout (it took forever to get to go smoothly). His voice was recorded by the actor who'd played Pooh-Bah last year, although I think they slowed it down digitally. (It was still recognizable, though.) Matt Grace stood by on microphone in case of a snafu with the tape (we'd had a couple during rehearsals). And then we had the fog machine running and our lovely crew of demons came out, and all the chorus guys stood behind the house flats suppling demonic wailing and cackling (and the odd Sesame Street impression -- I know I heard "C is for Cookie" coming out of the pits of hell at least once. It was all I could do not to crack up). It looked really cool on the tape!

Also, I found some notes from another production that restored the scene:

http://www.ultranet.com/~larrick/Ahrimprog.html

Oh, and another thing I found while searching is the website for a production that, instead of updating, did the whole thing in medieval dress (there's a picture of Alexis in full plate armor)!

As for Ruddigore -- the G&S Archive has a first night version of the script with all the cut material, including the revival of the ghosts at the end.

I checked out "Reflect, my child" - and it's supposed to be in Act I. Funny, I had the feeling it was meant to be in Act II - if it had been I'd have been more interested, if it had provided a way of making "The hours creep on apace" the opening song instead of the irrelevant and dispensible "Fair moon, to thee I sing".

I saw the Ruddigore first night version - but it has the finale in the later version "Oh, happy the lily...". I haven't "done" Ruddigore yet, but I know the basic story and some of the songs, and... wasn't that supposed to be a chnage, with a different Act II finale originally?

Interesting about Ahrimanes - yes, I can imagine you can get some wierd stuff (I believe in Mary Worth! I believe in Mary Worth!)

Once I have fully "done" Patience/Bunthorne's Bride I intend to write a version where Grosvenor and Bunthorne are rival stand-up comedians, with Grosvenor being old-fashioned "clean" humor and Bunthorne being the new forces of double meanings and crude gags. The army people, now unpopular since the World Wars are over, become a comedy army team! The Patience character works in a restaurant.

As I was saying before - which cut material do you think it is best to restore to make the story fit? Someone at savoyNet was once saying about one operetta (I can't remember which one) that there are many points where problems are caused by changes to later performances. It wasn't The Sorcerer, although that had two mentioned on SavoyNet (concerning the revival as featured in Topsy Turvy).

I'm not sure if the music was originally supposed to be different for the Ruddigore Act II finale -- all I know is that in the original ending the ghosts come back to life, since under the terms of the curse they ought not to have died at all (of course, most of them would be long dead anyway but that's neither here nor there!)

I'm trying to think of an example of an opera with textual problems -- could it be Yeomen of the Guard? Apart from the cut songs (and one other number which wasn't cut in the original one, but was a standard D'Oyly Carte cut for years), there's the ambiguities surrounding the ending...but that's mostly a matter of interpretation (is Point dead or not, and how does Elsie react?) so I doubt that that's the one.

(You have to do Yeomen sometime soon so we can talk about this stuff! And besides, it's just a wonderful, wonderful opera.)

As for restoring things: I'd probably be rather sparing about it and only restore stuff that's really key to plot (e.g. Ahrimanes) or character (e.g. "When Jealous Torments"). Each case is different, though...

And speaking of changed endings! I found out something very interesting regarding how we're going to do the ending of Pinafore. Now, we all know it's a conclusion that causes some rather sticky problems: if they were switched at birth, Ralph and Corcoran must be approximately the same age, which means that Ralph marries a woman young enough to be his daughter, and Corcoran marries a woman old enough to be his mother. Furthermore, if there's a substantial age gap between the actors who play Ralph and Corcoran, it looks rather...well, odd. Of course, you can play it as if Buttercup made up the whole story...

Anyway, our Captain Corcoran is a twenty-year UMGASS veteran (and a wonderful actor, and he can bellow "Damme" most intimidatingly), and so a bit too old to have been switched at birth with Ralph. Our Sir Joseph, on the other hand, is fairly young. So our directors hit on an ingenious solution. The substitution of a single name will do it:

"In time each little waif
Forsook his foster-mother,
The well born babe was Ralph--
Sir Joseph was the other!"

There you are, out of your difficulty at once!

What think you? Personally, I like it: not only does it fix the age problem a bit, but since Sir Joseph is a pr*ck and Corcoran is pretty sympathetic it's fun to see Sir J get taken down a peg (or three or four). And it means Corcoran's free to go and teach the Utopians to build a navy... ;-)

And marry Buttercup?

Yeah -- though I don't remember what the new explanation is.

Also, are Sir Joseph's relatives foster relatives or something? Or are they really Rafe's sisters, cousins and aunts?

OK, on Friday we began - did the first act of - Princess Ida. I hear you haven't "done" it yet. You oughtta sometime. Tomorrow we'll proabbly do Act Two (the "string of pearls").

Recently we found a book with scores from Iolanthe, Princess Ida and Utopia Limited. I noticed something - In the Act One finale (the final ensemble, beginning "With Strephon as your foe, no doubt...") Strephon is supposed to sing with the Peers! This makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever!

Paddy Well, we've finished Princess Ida. You should become more acquainted with it... we enjoyed it a lot. We knew the basic plot beforehand, and found a get-together we were once at very reminiscent of it, so much... well, I'll let Jenny continue with this...

Jenny Thanks Pada. Well we desided to write a parody of Princess Ida called Ida, the NEW version or Two angry Neighbours, a respectfull per version of Gilbert's Operetta, Princess Ida. Hilarion and Mr. Hildebrand own a big house which they've converted into flats. Hilarion's best friends Cyril and Florian and their families have moved in. Mr Gama and his family have moved into the big house across the street. Mr Hildebrand throughs a house warming party but Mr Gama only brings his five year old sons and leaves his daughter behind as she is head girl at a school he has installed in his house. Cyril sugests that they sneak in as the idea of an all girls school appeals greatly too him. Mr Gama insists on staying the night.

Psyche works paitiently on homework while Melissa(being Melissa) is watching the three boys across the street from the common room window. Florian sticks his tounge out at her and Psyche calls him a monkey. Then Ida comes in and says she's reading greek myths but that they can't as some of the statue pictures are a little too rude. That was the wrong thing to say! The others dive on her and chase her out. The three boys sneak in.
Hilarion has truble getting the other two into there tunics and blouses. Hilarion doles out names just as Ida enters. They introduce themselves (Cyril forgeting his disguse) and then Ida mentions her two friends and goes to get them. Florian is shoked that Psyche is there as well. Psyche comes in and calls them idiots for coming in. Melissa over hears and laughs at Cyril's mad behevior and is brought down and sworn to secracy. They all leave except Melissa who is caught by her big sister Blanche who figurs she should be Head Girl as she is older than Ida and so Melissa apeals to her vanity and so she is sworn as well. The others return and they sit down to supper. Cyril drinks some irn bru and on discovering caffene in the ingredients desides to act drunk and sings a song called Cerenade tae a poodle. Hilarion beats him up and Cyril asks him whats wrong using Hilarion's real name! Ida is shoked and nearly falls out of the window but is caught by Hilarion. She is furious at them but just then Mr Hildebrand, the education staff and the triplet brats. Mr H. Says that the school should change from an all girl school to one for children in general as most schools did ages ago. Ida says it's not her choice and the grown ups threaten to beat the brats but Ida dosen't really mind. The brats wail the grown ups argue with Ida and others cry "a water fight! a water fight!"

Melissa puts up bariers on the street so that the water fighters don't get run over. She drops one on her foot and can't join in. Psyche can't find many water holders. They sugest the triplets who have a super soaker (tm) but won't part with it so they have too use them in the fight. They come out paded up so as not to get a cold when they get sprayed by water but are too hot rip it off and continue in T-shirts and shorts but are no match for Hilarion's sink which is tipped over their head Mr Gama retrives them worried about his babies. Mr Hildebrand comes in with the education staff saying they'll imalgumate the two houses to make a school. Psyche agrees to join so long as Cyril does and Melissa as long as Florian does.

Paddy Perhaps it would be better if you read the above synopsis after you knew that of the original - you should, the charcaters are very well delineated and distinctive, so it was fun fitting them to the various people from the get-together. We had to "fudge" a few times ("Arac" is actually "Psyche"'s brother in reality, but "Gama" really is his father) but it generally goes by who is most like the characters ("Florian" is the person who posts here as The Red Guy) The get-together really was very "male-vs-female" and did have a water fight, though "Cyril" and "Melissa" weren't there at the time, they are other people we know. Mr Hildebrand and Blanche are not based on anyone, however, they are just the operetta versions adjusted a bit.

By the way, these various friends don't know about this, they... ah... wouldn't appreciate it...

Lea, I had an interesting dream last night which I'm sure will apeal to you. It was a modernised version of a Gilbert and Suliven. It was set in a town which looked very like my own and was usauly from one person's point of view except for one scene. Here it is:

Jack Point and Elsie Maynard had been dating (that was the term used in it) for a while to begin with. Elsie was very musicaly inclined and Jack was a joker. Once he made a joke which offended the touchy Elsie who stopped loving him due to it. Jack mopped about and was constantly pestering Elsie. One day after six phone calls from him Elsie went for a walk and was grabbed by someone (Leonard Meryll) and dragged towards the town jail. Jack noticed this as he too was taking a walk and tried too rescue her but had been starving himself the past few days and was natuarlly weedy and couldn't rescue her. He wandered about thinking things over and then in the evening a crowd gathered in the town square and Jack met Elsie who seemed very pleased. This made Jack even more anoyed. The crowed turned out to be for an execution, of someone called Fairfax. Then it turns out he has disapeard. Jack sees Elsie looking pale and says they'll always be another execution and he dosen't see why she's so worried but Elsie explains that she married him at the police station, though she never saw him. Both of them faint. Elsie is carried by her friend, Pheobe Meryll and Jack by his friend, a police guy, Will Shadbolt.
Elsie wakes up that night on Pheobe's couch. Phoebe tells her that it's all right, Fairfax (Leonard Meryll) has been caught and will be executed tomorrow afternoon. She then, stupidly, itroduces her brother Leonard (Fairfax) to her. Fairfax realises this is his wife and asks her to come to a film across the street with him. She acepts much to Phoebe's anoyance. The young couple (though Elsie dosen't know it)walk across the square to the town hall where a comedy film is on. Hardly anyone is there as many are too dispointed at missing Fairfax(who all hate)'s execution. At a funny point Elsie and Fairfax laugh and are heard by Jack and Will who were also there. Jack drags Will out complaining about the companny. Fairfax propases to Elsie who agrees to marry him the next afternoon. She then runs back to tell Phoebe who, natuarly, is very upset as she thought Fairfax loved her. She goes and spaketh(actuall words, Lea!) her woe to the silent square. Only it isn't really silent as Will is returning from taking Jack to his flat. Will promises to keep it a secret so long as Phoebe marries him. She agrees too marry him the next afternoon.
The next afternoon Elsie and Phoebe get redy for there double wedding. They drive a short distance to the town hall in a wedding car. Phoebe has now married Will and Elsie is ready to marry Fairfax. just as they're about to get married when a newspaper boy comes in and tells them that it wasn't really Fairfax who was in the cell but someone else. Elsie is really upset but Fairfax, acting REALLY stupidly says that it was really Leonard and that he and Elsie are already married. Elsie is overjoyed but Will steps in and says Fairfax must be executed. I then paused the dream and stood in the middle of the hall and pondered how Fairfax got out of being executed. (as you know I haven't read the operetta) I then came up with an idea which sounds silly now but was perfectly natuarall at the tim and desided to put the ideas into the charactors heads an sat back and watched the consequences. Elsie asked Will what Fairfax could have posibly done to deserve execution. Fairfax shuffled his feet and watched their antics closly. Will said calmly that Fairfax had flirted with Phoebe Meryll. Elsie slapped Fairfax. "I thought you Knew!" Slap! "It's the only crime punishable by.." slap! "You see our graet Mikado..." slap!
It then cut to a scene of the square with everyone cheering. Then there was a close up of Elsie's face, wincing as a chopping sound is heard. She then turns round and kisses her husband...Jack! The car pulls away while Phoebe, Will, Leonard and someone called Kate wave. there is a scene of the back of the car as Jack and Elsie Point kiss again and THE END apears in old fasioned handwriting inside a wreath of white flowers with bells atatched to the bottom of it which ring to a joyfull version of the "Haydey, Haydey Misery Me Alakadyey" part of "I have a song to sing oh"

What do you think?

You have not been here for a month - and we have made five unanswered posts since! What's going on?

I'm just really busy, that's all! In fact, it's Pinafore tech week right now, so I haven't even been on my computer since yesterday.

The show's going to be great, though! We've got a wonderful cast. :-)

Assorted bits of info...

The set has turned out to be splendid. :-) Also, the male cast members all look adorable in their sailor costumes.

On Sir J's line "I always voted at my party's call, and I never thought of thinking for myself at all!" a giant portrait of George Bush drops down from the flys. I love it. (My dad, who's a) a staunch conservative and b) has never been to an UMGASS show but is going to this one, will hate it. Oh, well.)

Also, we did the "Sir Joseph gets Captain Corcoran's name wrong" bit, too -- he calls him "Captain Fitzbattleaxe," after the character in Utopia, Limited. (See above comment about Corcoran's cameo in Utopia -- also a recent [Fall 1999] UMGASS production.)

Ralph apparently plans to commit suicide by jumping off the rigging. Except it wasn't safe to climb during tonight's rehearsal...

We are in fact using the extra dialogue for Hebe. It's the same thing as they have in the G&S Archive (though we're not using the exchange that comes before "A many years ago").

When they do the encore for the bells trio, Ralph sneaks out onstage to sing "And the tar who plows the water!" and runs back off. Corcoran and Sir J take a look in the direction he came with a "what the hell was that?" expression.

Corcoran's new lyrics at the end include:

For I am captain of the Pinafore!
(Sailors: And a right good captain too!)
[indicating Sir J] And though before his fall he was leader of us all,
He's a member of the crew!

Then he has some lines I can't quite remember -- something about how the impending marriage of Ralph and Josephine has inspired him to act on his love for Buttercup, and then everyone sings:

Then give three cheers, and three cheers more
For the reigning captain of the Pinafore!

Oh, and they've announced the shows for next year -- Grand Duke in the fall and Iolanthe in the spring. I'll have to come back and visit.

Shouldn't it be

Then Give three chhers and one cheer more
For the faithfull captain of the Pinafore!

Because of his

I'll never be untrue to thee

And does Sir J have any other lines?

Hebe saying that he'll say goodbye to his sisters and his aunts makes more sense this way and also Hebe can marry him as they are no longer cousins.

Do the sisters, cousins and aunts go and dote upon Ralph since he's admiral now?

I can picture Ralph being brought on and Sir J talking of his admiral's jacket, showing a sailor outfit underneath and giving it to Ralph, who snathes it from him.

Paddy and I've started work on the script for a play to be performed in the summer holidays. Would you like me to tell you the plot? I've also come up with a modern Pinafore. Also I've started a film style script for the Modern Yeomen of the guard. I'll send it to you via E-mail.

Paddy and I are doing a rivival tour of Count Chrum. The first performance is after dinner tonight!

Good luck with your performance, and with your new play! :-) And yes, I'd like to see your script.

Speaking of modern Pinafores, there was a production in New York a year or two ago that set it aboard a starship, with Trek-style costumes.

Shouldn't it be

Then Give three chhers and one cheer more
For the faithfull captain of the Pinafore!

Because of his

I'll never be untrue to thee

Probably. Either the directors didn't think of it, or they're intentionally reversing the original lyric ("former captain of the Pinafore") because everyone knows how it's supposed to go...

Oh, and the revised proposal to Buttercup goes:

"Now that Josephine's a wife,
I must start a brand new life,
And take you along with me..." and the rest is the same as the original.

And yes, Sir J's relatives do start doting on Ralph once the secret is revealed. We don't do a full costume switch, though -- Josephine just snatches Sir J's hat and puts it on Ralph's head.

Actually, most of the last dialogue before the finale is the same, only the speakers are switched around. (Joseph: "Don't say that -- love levels all ranks." Corcoran: "Excepting yours.") And of course Sir J sings "I was the monarch of the sea..." in the finale.

Oh, and Padawan -- can you repost Lewis Carroll's quote about the horrible swearing in Pinafore? I want to post it on the green-room bulletin board... :-)

I can't - I lost the book I read it in!

Damme! :-p

BTW, the run is going spectacularly well. We sold out! :-) And everyone is doing an awesome job.

(As a side note, I'll finally get to act onstage -- the tech crew is putting on a highly-condensed version of the show, for the benefit of the cast, after tonight's performance. Since we don't have many guys on crew, the female roles will be played by men and the male roles by women. I'm playing Sir Joseph.)

Good for You! Have fun!
Oh and when will you coment on my post about my dream?

That's really cute, Jenny -- you're quite imaginative. Also, the bit about "there'll always be another execution" is extremely Point-esque... :-)

Well, the good ship Pinafore has sailed out of Ann Arbor. We had a splendid run -- everyone involved did a spectacular job. I was sorry to see the set dismantled yesterday -- I must admit to sniffling my way through strike. I'm going to miss UMGASS next year.

Anyway, the Ann Arbor News gave us a glowing review -- here's the link.

A few comments on the review:

Did he really have to say "Queen Victoria's virile seamen"? Eek! ;-)

Peter Christian looks nothing like George W. Bush. And though the reviewer's take on Sir J's posse of sisters, cousins, and aunts is really funny, I think seeing inadvertent Clintonian parallels is just a wee bit of a stretch. ;-) (Side note: in the Ten-Minute Pinafore, I did the "Desire that splendid seaman to step forth" line as lasciviously as I could muster... ;-) )

Josephine is supposed to be anxiety-racked. That's half the fun of the part. She's very melodramatic (I mean, look at "The Hours Creep On Apace"!), and Doreen did a great job showing that.

The sailor with the rubber chicken was Jeff Spindler, one of our wonderful tech directors.

And "Never Mind the Why and Wherefore" is always one of the hit songs! That's why we had an encore prepared! (Incidentally, "...and stupendous be his brain..." became a very popular line among the tech crew, for some reason... :-) )

More press: the Michigan Daily (our campus newspaper -- I used to work there, but I'm basically retired now :-) ) ran a review in today's paper. It's quite dippy, but there's a really cute picture of Ralph and Josephine... :-)

Remember that performance of Iolanthe we went to several months ago? I have a couple more things to say about it:

Firstly, When You're Lying Awake received a tumultuous applause, and one person called out "Encore!" Mountararat and Tolloller, who had already entered, looked at each other, and decided to resume the dialogue.

The person playing the LC, Simon Butteriss, was really good, and I hear his portrayal of Ko-Ko was also well acclaimed. All the cast were great, except Tolloller could not sing very well - that is, he didn't have the full voice required for such a role. It seems he was only the understudy, who was playing First Yeoman in their Yeomen of the Guard performance (we didn't see it) while the usual Tollolloer would be playing Leonard. (I was glad that the casting people hadn't thought "Oh, Tolloller can be anyone with a high enough voice, he isn't a main part")

Speaking of Yeoman of the Guard, I notice there seems to be some difference in the dramtais personae... sometimes there are four Yeomen, sometimes two. I haven't read the libretto, but another couple of things I have noticed concerning "Tower warders, under orders"...

First of all, I was looking at both the standard version and the first-night version, and noticed Sergeant Meryll was originally supposed to be in the song and following dialogue. This was changed to the 2nd Yeoman, making him the first to be identified but STILL called 2nd Yeoman for some obscure reason. Next, "This is the autumn of our life, this is the evening of our day", that's inconsistent, it should be "autumn of our YEAR."

So... DID you encore Never Mind the Why and Wherefore or just have it planned?

We encored it at every performance. For the encore, all three singers did their verse at once. Also, for the line "Ring the merry bells on board ship," the Captain and Sir Joseph had this pantomime bell-ringing gesture -- so they rang little tiny bells in the first verse, handbells in the second, churchbells in the third, and REALLY BIG churchbells in the encore (seeing Sir Joseph jumping up and down during this bit was quite an entertaining sight). And as I mentioned, Ralph comes out to sing "And the tar who ploughs the water!" during the encore and then runs off, getting a "what just happened" look from Corcoran and Sir Joseph. It was priceless. ;-)

On the Yeomen recording I have (the 1993 Philips recording, starring Sylvia McNair as Elsie, Thomas van Allan as Point, and Bryn Terfel as Shadbolt) Leonard and the First Yeoman are in fact played by the same actor.

The lines of the Third and Fourth Yeomen are usually cut, for time I believe. Although the New D'Oyly Carte recording from a few years back reinstates them. It also includes two songs that were cut before the original performance: Wilfred's "When Jealous Torments Rack My Soul," in which he complains about his frustration with Phoebe's rejection of his advances, and "A Laughing Boy But Yesterday," a solo for Sergeant Meryll where he sings about Leonard's exploits in war. (Though I believe it puts them at the end of the second CD as bonus tracks, rather than in the place they'd go in the opera.)

There's one other song that used to be a standard cut -- "Rapture, Rapture," a great duet for Dame Carruthers and Sergeant Meryll after they agree to get married. It's on all the recordings, though, and I'd never cut it because it's lots of fun. (And a blast to sing, too...)

Perhaps the Second Yeoman remains such because they used the same actor who did the lines in "Didst thou not, oh Leonard Meryll..." In any case, it's no harder to figure out than the ancillary sailors in Pinafore... ;-)

Oh, and just as a side note -- I think I'm always going to hear the line in "Farewell, my own" as "A drone, a drone..." I blame you, Padawan. ;-)

Another parody of "Farewell, my own," since I had it stuck in my head -- this time it's about Lord of the Rings, specifically, the part where the Fellowship leaves Rivendell...

ARAGORN
Farewell, my own!
Star of the night, farewell!
For time unknown
I journey from Rivendell.

ARWEN
You'll win your throne!
In the meantime, farewell!
And all alone
I'll wait here in Rivendell.

FRODO
Alone, alone
I'm travelling into hell;
Must I be shown
Away from fair Rivendell?

SAM, MERRY, PIPPIN, LEGOLAS, GIMLI
We'll hear no tone
Of the land that we love so well;
All that we've known
We leave here in Rivendell!

BOROMIR (mysteriously)
But when is known
The plan that I will not tell,
None can postpone
The end of the Dark Lord fell!

ARAGORN and ARWEN/ALL OTHERS
Farewell, my own, / We'll hear no tone
Light of my life, farewell! / Of lands we love so well;

ALL
Let us/them be shown
Away from fair Rivendell, Rivendell!

Jenny points out that Sir Joseph was not of noble birth but rose through the ranks!

Yeah, I know. I got that same comment from my mom after she saw it, and she didn't even know the show before! ;-) (Nice to know people are listening, though.) The changed ending clears up a couple of problems and creates a few others -- but really, the only reason for it was to accomodate the casting.

(I wonder if anyone who posts to Savoynet saw the show, and what they thought? The guy who wrote the review of Sorcerer back in December was actually in the show this time...)

BTW, you miay not know this, I am JV47 from the Delphi forum.

I didn't know that! Thanks for telling me. :-)

Oh, and apparently we got all sorts of criticism on Savoynet, which is unsurprising -- it looks like the prevailing opinion was "how could a couple of callow students [i.e. our directors] muck around with Gilbert's genius and then advertise it as the genuine article?"

I don't care, it was still a fabulous show. ;-)

Now for another of those survey/poll-type questions that are always so much fun! I can't remember if I've asked this one yet:

Out of the shows you know, which G&S roles would you most like to play?

I'm dividing my answers into two groups: roles I actually could play, and roles I'd like to play if I could.

Roles I could play:
The Fairy Queen, Katisha, Mad Margaret, Phoebe Meryll, Lady Sangazure (not much to do, but what she has is loads of fun)

Roles that I can't play, but that I particularly like...

Soprano roles: Elsie Maynard, Josephine (not many of these -- mezzos and altos get to have lots more fun ;-) )

Male roles: If I were a guy I'd love to do patter roles -- the ones I like the best are John Wellington Wells, Sir Joseph, and of course Jack Point (there's something really cool about the fact that the most tragic G&S character is a patter man!). I'm also fond of the bass-baritone parts -- Pooh-Bah, Sir Roderic Murgatroyd, the Pirate King and whatnot...

(We have a guy in UMGASS who specializes in odd and curmudgeonly roles -- King Gama, the Pirate King, Wilfred Shadbolt, and most recently Dick Deadeye, or as our S.M. kept calling him, "Deadeye Dick." ;-) Not a bad repertoire)

Let's see... Tollolloer, Cyril, King Gama, J. W. Wells, Robin Oakapple and Richard.

[T]here's something really cool about the fact that the most tragic G&S character is a patter man!

And the only one who outright dies is, also...

By the way, I think the changed ending in Jenny's Yeoman of the Guard dream was "inspired" by the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame... I think we had been talking about it the day before.

Now that you mention it, it did seem a bit familiar... :-)

And the only one who outright dies is, also...

Indeed. Unless you count J.W. Wells -- who is, of course, also a patter man. (Apparently Grossmith's Wells drank poison before descending into hell, which for some reason is a rather disturbing mental image.)

BTW, I have no idea if the Academy reviewer is some distant ancestor of mine. ;-)

G&S event of the weekend: There's a theater in Ann Arbor that's doing a series of silent movies, and last night's show was a Douglas Fairbanks movie called "The Black Pirate." As a vaudeville-style lead-in to the show, they did a performance of "I Am a Pirate King" -- and, since they asked for volunteers from UMGASS and the chorus part is perfectly within my vocal register, I was one of them. It was basically me and a bunch of guys old enough to be my father. But it was fun -- I learned that you can make money for three minutes of buffoonery, a very sweet deal, and that performing with an eyepatch on is REALLY disconcerting. (And since I was the only non-male person there, they said I had to wear one... :-p)

Lea, I MEANT J. W. Wells. Jack Point doesn't "outright die" he "falls insensible."

Point taken. If I were directing the show I'd prefer to have him die rather than swoon, but of course it can go either way.

Point wasn't taken. Fairfax was. You understand?

Oh, I forgot to list For I am a Pirate King in my list of favourites.

Point wasn't taken. Fairfax was. You understand?

Argh! I'd smite you for making a bad pun, except that that was actually pretty good... ;-)

(BTW, how do you do the smiley faces?)

Oh, and check out this bit from today's Detroit News editorial briefs -- scroll down to the article about the Swedish navy. I was amused.

(Coincidentally, my dad works for the Detroit News, but he's not on the editorial staff and doesn't like G&S anyway.)

I say we move this to the new Music board.

I Think, Jesus Christ Superstar will be the LONGEST played Musical ever! In Wr. Neustadt / Austria they will play it on March 20th, 20002 (!)

Anyone seen this take on a now famous take on G&S? I've been showing others this for a while and they like it.