Gilbert and Sullivan

[GirlinContempt]

I'm super stoked, Thursday is opening night for The Mikado. I helped with a bunch of the dresses and stuff, and am always really involved in the show since we do all the costumes and my family sit on the board of directors for the society.



I really hope it goes well. We've done the Mikado 3 times already, so this year we set it in the 1950's, in an art gallery, and the sets and costumes are all black and white. Should be really neat.

Here's hoping it goes well!

Any of you like G&S? Whats your favorite show? Clearly, Pirates is mine.

[CanuckAmok]

1. "...But I'd rather have it off with you..."

Three little maids from school are we
Pert as a school-girl well can be
Filled to the brim with girlish glee
Three little maids from school

Everything is a source of fun
Nobody's safe, for we care for none
Life is a joke that's just begun
Three little maids from school

Three little maids who, all unwary
Come from a ladies' seminary
Freed from its genius tutelary
Three little maids from school
Three little maids from school

One little maid is a bride, Yum-Yum
Two little maids in attendance come
Three little maids is the total sum
Three little maids from school
Three little maids from school

From three little maids take one away
Two little maids remain, and they
Won't have to wait very long, they say
Three little maids from school
Three little maids from school

Three little maids who, all unwary
Come from a ladies' seminary
Freed from its genius tutelary
Three little maids from school
Three little maids from school

[GirlinContempt]

7. *snicker*

*titter*
*giggle*

[yellowdogintexas]

2. WHERE????? I LOVE The Mikado!!

great satire,great music, wonderful songs, costumes etc. Is this being done in a 1920's style, like the Eric Idle one? I love that production.

But I loved the high school production my sister was in too.

As well as the other productions I have seen. Hell, I would watch a bunch of first graders do this show.

How far are you from Fort Worth?

[MaggieSwanson]

4. Alone, and yet alive...O sepulchre!

The Mikado is the greatest. I was Yum-Yum in our 6th grade production, but I was always jealous of Katisha because she got to sing that song.

Thanks for the memories!

[GirlinContempt]

8. This is 50s

And I don't know where fort worth is... I'm in Winnipeg, Canada

[yellowdogintexas]

42. Texas, just west of Dallas. nt

[tuvor]

3. I'm not a fan of musicals, but that poster looks great.

I'll bet the black 'n' white costumes do, too.

Good luck!

[GirlinContempt]

9. It's operetta

Bah, musicals :P

[tuvor]

12. I WAS gonna say 'operetta'...

...but I thought I'd look stupider than usual if I had my terminology wrong. :)

[GirlinContempt]

13. *laugh*

Fair enough :)

[Hugin]

5. Hey! Cool...

Good luck on this!

[GirlinContempt]

10. Thanks!

[crispini]

6. Nice. All G&S is good stuff!

I am the very model of a modern major general...

[GirlinContempt]

11. I've information animal vegetable and mineral

I know the kings of england and I quote the fights historical
from marathon to waterloo in order categorical

(That might be off, just like my memory)

[swag]

14. Congratulations to you on your involvement in such a production.

I'm not a scholar, but Pirates seems to me the most enticing piece of theirs.

Didn't know jack about G&S until I was an anonymous 12 year-old sailor in H.M.S. Pinafore.

Tangientially typing, have you ever read Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith?

[GirlinContempt]

15. Pirates is the best, for sure.

I have not read it, should I?
We have some copies in the clearance bin, if you think I'd like it, I'll grab it tomorrow.

Tangientially typing, I still haven't heard back from you ;)

[swag]

16. It's very funny, I think.

Thanks for the reminder that you haven't heard back from me.

Just got back into town. Need some sleep and vitamins.

And some content to my character.

[GirlinContempt]

17. You have plenty of content

And great texture.

Sleep. Pop pills. I'll check out the book :D

[GirlinContempt]

33. So I bought the book

And I also made a boo boo :(

[swag]

34. What was the boo boo.

Here's why I recommended the book in a Gilbert & Sullivan thread:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Grossmith

George Grossmith (December 9, 1847 - March 1, 1912) was an English actor and comic writer, best remembered for his work with Gilbert & Sullivan and for writing the comic novel Diary of a Nobody.

George Grossmith was born in London, the son of a lecturer of the same name. After working some time as a legal reporter and a journalist with no great success, Grossmith took to the stage in 1870. He soon became well known in London as a comedian. He was noted for his ability to get laughs, often improvising comic business in roles—although he sometimes tended to do this too often, even at the expense of portions of productions that were supposed to be serious, and the main criticism often directed at Grossmith was that he seemed unable to content himself with playing any scene straight.

George Grossmith became a regular member of Richard D'Oyly Carte's Savoy Theatre company, and created most of the lead comic light baritone roles in Gilbert & Sullivan's famous operettas. He also toured with the D'Oyly Carte Company around Britain and the United States of America. The actor is depicted both on and off stage in the acclaimed film, Topsy Turvy.

. . . more

[GirlinContempt]

35. Oh, awesome

:D

The boo boo is, I just discovered the thing I thought I mailed to you in my room. I had a big batch of mail and I guess it didn't make it in :\

[swag]

36. It has been good exercise walking up to the PO every day during lunch.

Thanks.

Really, I thought the dumbshits had mistakenly sent whatever it is back as undeliverable, just as they do with my beefy brokerage statements.

[GirlinContempt]

38. Ack! I'm so sorry hon

I'll mail it out ASAP :( Sorry

[swag]

39. Is it my brokerage statement?

[GirlinContempt]

40. If you really want it

Wish REAL hard and I'll see what I can do

[theophilus]

18. I love G and S. I grew up listening to WRR in Dallas when I was young.

They would play G and S in the summer. I like the Mikado the best. Have you seen Topsy-Turvy? I like The Pirates of Penzance, The H.M.S. Pinafore, and Iolanthe. These are my faves but I like all the others, too. I really love to see them done live. I wish I could see your production. Break a leg!

[GirlinContempt]

23. Yeah, I've seen Topsy Turvey

Thanks for the good wishes :)

[bridgit]

19. cool, G&S are good stuff - fun to stage...

:thumbsup:

[GirlinContempt]

24. Yeah, always lots of fun

I'm glad to see a nice number of people that enjoy it :)

[CBHagman]

20. The first thing I saw was Princess Ida.

In Ridgewood, New Jersey, in the early '70s (Yup, feminism's second wave). For those not in the know, the plot concerns a woman who, rather than marry the man to whom she was engaged in infancy, forms an institute of higher learning for ladies and withdraws from all male society. Guess how her fiance and his two best friends gain admission to the grounds.

Princess Ida is not one of the more popular G&S works, but it does have men in drag and one of the meanest, most misanthropic kings ever. What's not to like?

http://math.boisestate.edu/GaS/princess_ida/webop/pi_06.html

If you give me your attention, I will tell you what I am:
I'm a genuine philanthropist — all other kinds are sham.
Each little fault of temper and each social defect
In my erring fellow-creatures, I endeavour to correct.
To all their little weaknesses I open people's eyes;
And little plans to snub the self-sufficient I devise;
I love my fellow creatures — I do all the good I can —
Yet ev'rybody says I'm such a disagreeable man!
And I can't think why!


To compliments inflated I've a withering reply;
And vanity I always do my best to mortify;
A charitable action I can skillfully dissect;
And interested motives I'm delighted to detect;
I know ev'rybody's income and what ev'rybody earns;
And I carefully compare it with the income-tax returns;
But to benefit humanity however much I plan,
Yet ev'rybody says I'm such a disagreeable man!
And I can't think why!

I'm sure I'm no ascetic; I'm as pleasant as can be;
You'll always find me ready with a crushing repartee,
I've an irritating chuckle, I've a celebrated sneer,
I've an entertaining snigger, I've a fascinating leer.
To ev'rybody's prejudice I know a thing or two;
I can tell a woman's age in half a minute — and I do.
But although I try to make myself as pleasant as I can,
Yet ev'rybody says I'm such a disagreeable man!
And I can't think why!

Chorus.
He can't think why!

Gama & Chorus.
I/He can't think why!

[GirlinContempt]

25. We just did Princess Ida

two years ago. Good show :)

[Elidor]

21. The Mikado fucking rocks

Oh, never shall I
Forget the cry,
Or the shriek that shrieked he,
As I gnashed my teeth,
When from its sheath
I drew my snickersnee!

...Now though you'd have said that head was dead
(For its owner dead was he),
It stood on its neck, with a smile well-bred,
And bowed three times to me!
It was none of your impudent off-hand nods,
But as humble as could be;
For it clearly knew
The deference due
To a man of pedigree!
And it's oh, I vow,
This deathly bow
Was a touching sight to see;
Though trunkless, yet
It couldn't forget
The deference due to me!

[CanuckAmok]

22. I somehow can't imagine G&S "fucking rocking".

Perhaps genty swaying, temples greying, clever verses they are braying.

[kwassa]

26. Merely corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude

to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.

(says Pooh-Bah)

(my favorite line from the show)

Pitti-Sing: Corroborative detail indeed! Corroborative fiddlestick!

Koko: And you’re just as bad as he is with your cock-and-a-bull stories about catching his eye and his whistling an air. But that’s so like you! You must put in your oar!

Pooh-Bah: But how about your big right arm?


Pitti-Sing Yes, and your snickersnee!

Koko: Well, well, never mind that now. There’s only one thing to be done. Nanki-Poo hasn’t started yet — he must come to life again at once. . . .

[GirlinContempt]

27. I am, in point of fact, a particularly haughty and exclusive person

of pre-Adamite ancestral descent. You will understand this when I tell you that I can trace my ancestry back to a protoplasmal primordial atomic globule. Consequently, my family pride is something inconceivable. I can’t help it. I was born sneering.


In the first place, self decapitation is an extremely difficult, not to say dangerous, thing to attempt; and, in the second, it’s suicide, and suicide is a capital offence.

[kwassa]

30. Some of the funniest comedy writing ever created

It is easy to trace the lineage down to Monty Python in the absurdist silliness of the humor.

[tjwmason]

28. G. & S. is wonderful.

though I don't think that one should take it too seriously (obviously).

My favourites are probably the Mikado and Pirates - though I want to have "He is an Englishman" from Pinafore at the end of my funeral.

[billyskank]

29. Cool!

:bounce: :yourock:

[Bridget Burke]

31. Our elementary school music teacher had us learn songs from The Mikado

Because of a TV production starring Groucho Marx. So I've got a soft spot for that play--helped along by "Topsy Turvy."

But I also love Pirates. Ah, Kevin Kline--why has he had to play so many yuppies with mid-life crises in the movies--when he sings so well & can buckle a swash with the best of them? And sweet Linda proving she can sing almost anything.

Haven't seen many live productions, although Houston does have a Gilbert & Sullivan Society. Hmmm--ticket sales begin June 1st for Trial By Jury & Pinafore...

[CBHagman]

32. Thanks for mentioning Topsy-Turvy.

That's a must-see for any fan of Gilbert and Sullivan. It's the story of how G&S came to write The Mikado, and I understand the research was pretty solid, at least so far as the personal lives of the composer and lyricist are concerned.

There's a wonderful cast, many selections from the operettas, and plenty of backstage drama.

I don't know if Shirley Henderson does her own singing (she plays the actress creating the role of Yum-Yum and is quite effective), but the great and unappreciated Timothy Spall is the Mikado and is in top form.

[yellowdogintexas]

41. I remember watching the Groucho Marx as KoKo production

and I so wish I had a video of it. I was probably about 9 or 10...maybe?
My mom had a fierce love for "Mikado" and instilled it in her children. We had the sheet music, learned the music on piano, sang along and also had her old 78 recordings from the 40's which we played until they were no longer playable.

Years later when I acquired a modern LP, I had a friend copy it to cassette, which I gave her for Christmas, unlabled, with instructions to just plug it into her tape player and put on her headphones and then I pushed "play" and when the first opening notes played I thought she was going to come unglued!!!! The expression on her face was priceless!!!

I do have the ERic Idle video, taped from TV so not very good quality but I love it. And "Topsy Turvy" too.

Saw a high school production back in 1978 (my sister was in the chorus), and have since seen it twice here in Fort Worth: once w/Denton Light Opera Company (awesome production) and later with Tarrant County College's Opera Club. All were fun.

[henslee]

37. Pirates is good fun. HMS Pinafore was a good one, too.