Precious Nonsense

Issue 56

By the mystic regulation Of our dark Association,

Ere you open conversation with another kindred soul,

You must eat a sausage roll!

Happily, the Midwestern Gilbert and Sullivan Society is not a dark association, and we certainly have no requirements about hot dogs. But the Revolution is on the march, as it was in The Grand Duke, in a manner of speaking, at least. For starters, the last issue used up the last of our pre-printed envelopes. So we're taking advantage of word-processing technology and using mailing labels with our return address on them. Also, S/A Cole is in the process of moving MGS operations out of a dark corner into a separate room where the "makings" can be left sitting out, and where our newsletter editor can type comfortably. This coming office is due to be wired for modern computer equipment, too, so there may be changes in the Nonsense coming (changes like timely distribution, we trust). Due to these renovations, this Nonsense is likely to be a short one, so we can have a longer one next time: we have some interesting "makings". It's also short, so we can get the word out on Savoyaires' upcoming Patience and the G&S Opera Company's Trial by Jury. But more on that later.

In the meantime, Arthur Robinson has a synopsis of Gilbert's play The Fortune Hunter, and we have a postcard drawing this time around. So let's see what's new.

Oh, Members, How Say You, what is it you've done?

If you go to the Savoyaires' upcoming production of Patience (see below for the details), be sure to look for Member David Michaels as Colonel Calverley. Best wishes to him for a fine performance.

He also report that his sister and niece recently made their debut in a Gilbert and Sullivan opera: as Stanley girls in the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society's production of The Pirates of Penzance. We hope to hear more of their, and the Seattle group's, work.

What Cheer! What Cheer! {Midwestern}

The Savoyaires will be presenting Patience this season! It'll be at the Chute Middle School Auditorium again this year October 16-18 and the 23-25. Performance are at 8:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and at 3:00 pm on Sundays. Chute Middle School is at 1400 Oakton in Evanston, and is quite easy to find. Executive producer this year is Lilias Circle; with Walter Stearns as stage director, and Danie Robinson as music director. For more information, contact the Savoyaires at P.O. Box 126, Evanston, IL 60204. On the announcement we received, ticket prices were not mentioned, but they've always been quite reasonable. They generally run abou $10 to $12. For more information, contact the company.

The Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company (at the University of Chicago) is trying something unique with the Law School of the University of Chicago. They are going to present Trial by Jury November 12, 14, 15, 20, and 21st, at the Weymouth Kirkland Courtroom at The Law School fo the University of Chicago (at 1111 E. 60th St., Chicago). Performances are at 8:00 pm. The audition announcement we received didn't mention ticket prices, but Ruth Lidecka (see below) might be able to tell you what they'll run.

Auditions are going to be at the Weymouth Kirkland Courtroom on October 10 (2:00 to 4:00 pm) and 11 (4:00 to 6:00 pm). All roles except the Judge are open. Applicants are requested to prepare a suitable song in advance, but an accompanist will be provided by the Company. For more information, contact co-producer Ruth Lidecka at (773) 728-5510, or e-mail ruthlidecka@hotmail.com. Incidentally, if you've seen the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Comapny's productions before, you will recognize Ruth Lidecka as their principal contralto. For other information about what's going on musically at the University of Chicago, try calling their Concert Hotline at (773) 702-8069. If you prefer making Internet contact, the Department of Music can be reached at http://humanities.uchicago.edu/humanities/music.

The Sorg Opera Company (63 S. Main St, Suite 205; Mideletown, OH 45044 / (513) 425-0180, Fax (513) 425-0181) and The Whitewater Opera Company (Old Richmond Court, 211 S. 5th St., Richmond IN 47374 / (765) 962-7106, Fax (765) 962-7451 / wocop@infocom.com) will be presenting HMS Pinafore during their upcoming season. Sorg Opera Company will present it April 9-10, 1999, at the Sorg Opera House (57 S. Main St., in Middleton, OH), and Whitewater Opera Company will have it April 16-17, 1999 at the Civic Hall Performing Arts Center (380 Hub Etchison Parkway, in Richmond, IN). For more information, and individual ticket prices, please contact the respective companies.

Other operas in their subscription seasons include The Barber of Seville (October 9-10, 1998/Sorg, October 16-17, 1998/Whitewater), and Rigoletto (February 12-13, 1999/Sorg, February 19-20, 1999/Whitewater). Sorg Opera Company, and the Ballet de Jeunesse of Dayton, will also offer The Nutcracker December 5-6, 1998 (performances at 7:30 pm on Saturday, and 2:00 pm on Sunday). Tickets for this production are $20 for adults, and $15 for students. Again, for more information, contact the company.

Where Can it Be?

If your company produces Gilbert and Sullivan operas regularly, you will be interested to know that Theodore Presser Co. (1 Presser Place; Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 / (610) 527-4242) has available new, corrected, editions of the orchestra parts for Iolanthe, Trial by Jury, Yeomen of the Guard, Gondoliers, Mikado, Pinafore, Princess Ida (available in November), and The Zoo. While I've never played in the orchestra for one of the operas, I understand the scores typically used have a lot of mistakes. William V. Dorwart, Jr., Ph.D has gone to the effort of justifying the scores to get rid of those mistakes. In a letter dated July 22, 1998, he states,

To give some idea of why I think my efforts are important, as I did the final proffint for Princess Ida I Kept track of hte errors I found in the Kalmus orghestral parts that I used as source material. I found 194 wrong notes and 27 places in which one or more parts had extra or missing measures. In one place the second trumpet part was missing nine measures.

All of the scores mentioned above, except for Yeomen and The Zoo have received, or will soon receive, performance testing. A justified score of The Merry Widow is slated for release in March, 1999.

John Tugwell is in the process of coming out with a book called The Gilbert & Sullivan Times, which, if I read the announcement correctly, features newspaper articles about Gilbert and Sullivan and the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company that appeared in the Portsmouth Mercury over the last 102 years. This sounds like it'll be an interesting work, but as of August 15, 1998, there were some delays in its publication. If you're interested in more information in the meantime, drop a note (and a couple of international response coupons would be welcome!) to John Tugwell (2, Deacons Close; Worle; Weston-super-Mare, Somerset BS22 6EF England). The book runs 209 pages, is 12" x 8", illustrated, and is expected to cost £20.85 (he mentions that "cheques in U.S. dollars can be accepted, for the equivalent of £17.85 plus £3 [shipping, for] a total of £20.85). When we get a copy, we'll tell you more; but in the meantime, do get in touch with Mr. Tugwell.

It's been a while since we've had one of these, so we're about due. Enclosed with this issue is a self-addressed postcard. Just send it back with your name and address by November 1 (1998), and the one whose card is drawn will win an interesting G&S-related prize. I don't know what it'll be yet, but it should be a pleasant surprise.

As you'll notice later, we're hoping to compile a new Gilbert and Sullivan Shopper (a list of sources for G&S-related merchandise, and what merchandise they handle). In order to assist in compiling this list, plus do a little market research, the postcard drawing question is:

What sources for G&S-related merchandise do you know of, and what do they handle?

or, if you don't know of any,

What kind of G&S-related merchandise would you be interested in buying?

Just answer one of these questions on the postcard, and, again, send it back by November 1, 1998. Not only will we know more about G&S merchandise, but somebody will win a nice prize. We'll look forward to hearing from you!

Let the Welkin Ring with the News

Ronald B. Daniels has been able to provide more details about the incident mentioned in the last Nonsense, in which a Springfield, Illinois, high school ended up cancelling its production of Pinafore, basically because a girl had been cast as Ralph. At that time, the Coalition for Human Dignity was going to protest the case to the State School Board, on grounds of sex discrimination. Well, the opposing sides seem to have come to an agreement. Although the articles in the May 28 and May 29, 1998, State Journal Register (Springfield, IL), don't indicate precisely what the settlement involved, the May 29 article, "Casting change reasoning explained", does give more information about how the controversy began in the first place.

Lisa Kernek, staff writer for the newspaper, says "[The high school principal and the choir director] discussed three concerns over having a female play the part. . .The first was the goal of having more boys involved in the school choir. The second was the possiblity that fellow students would cause problems for Zinzilieta [Sara Zinzilieta, the girl cast as Ralph] and for the girl playing the female lead. . .Finally, 'there would be some members in the community that would be concerned about two females playing a male and female lead roles in a school musical,' [the principal's] written testimony said." The altered cast list would have had Miss Zinzilieta as Buttercup instead.

But the issue seems to be settled, and the school district is seeing that procedures are in place for student complaints of discrimination.

Incidentally, it had been remarked in the last Nonsense that the director was apparently using an old burlesque technique of trouser-role leading roles in casting a girl as Ralph. Typically, a trouser-role is used to emphasize the femininity of the woman playing it. The pictures included with these articles seem to indicate that the director was not considering a trouser-role Ralph: Miss Zinzilieta is a statuesque young woman. But we certainly wish her all the best for her future career.

Gilbert and Sullivan's Other Works

Synopsis by Arthur Robinson

Gilbert's play The Fortune-Hunter celebrated its centenary last year. It opened in Birmingham on 27 September 1897, but never made it to London.

The major characters are: the Vicomte Armand de Bréville, a young and impoverished French aristocrat; his friend Sir Cuthbert Jameson, a "middle-aged Baronet"; Diana Caverel, an Australian heiress; the Duke of Dundee, an "octogenarian peer," and his much younger bride, the Duchess ("née Euphemia S. Van Zyl of Chicago"); Mr. Barker, the Duke's courier; Mr. and Mrs. Dudley Coxe-Coxe, two British tourists; Armand's parents, the Marquis and Marquise de Bréville; and his lawyer, M. Lachaud.

Act I takes place on the ship "Africa." As the play begins, two passengers, Sir Cuthbert Jameson and his friend Armand de Bréville, are fencing; the latter is impressed with the former's skill. The ship is awaiting the arrival of two new passengers: the Duke and Duchess of Dundee. The Duke's courier, Barker, appears; Mr. Coxe-Coxe, an accomplished snob, carefully cultivates his acquaintance, believing that he is the Duke. Barker persuades Coxe-Coxe to give him money so that he can play for him at the tables at Monte Carlo (he claims he has such an infallible system, it would be unfair for him to profit by it himself). Armand confides to Sir Cuthbert that he once proposed to a wealthy American woman for her money, but after accepting him, she left him for another man--the elderly Duke of Dundee. He claims he has learned his lesson and will not marry for money. But he seems interested in Diana Caverel, an Australian heiress who is also on board. He is not alone; Sir Cuthbert proposes to Diana, but she turns him down, although informing him he is "the best, the truest, the most valued friend I have ever possessed."

The doddering Duke arrives, accompanied by the Duchess, who embarrasses the Duke with her lack of dignity and grammar. After the Duke leaves she encounters Armand, and apologizes to him for having treated him badly. He does not seem too crushed; within minutes of the Duchess's departure, he proposes to Diana, who accepts him.

Act II takes place a year later, in Armand's apartments in Paris, where Armand is meeting with a money-lender and breaking to him the sad news that Diana's fortune has vanished. He promises that within a year he will repay his debt. Later, he informs his lawyer, Lachaud, that he is planning to nullify his marriage. When he had married Diana he was 24; by the French Civil Code of the time, a Frenchman under the age of 25 could not marry unless he had obtained the consent of his parents (if living), and if he married without their consent, either the husband's parents or the husband himself could "apply to the Courts for a decree of nullity." Armand tells Lachaud that he is convinced his poor but aristocratic parents will refuse their consent, and that they will apply for this decree; to spare them this burden, he says, he will do so himself. He then leaves for Naples, telling Diana that if "a calamity" should occur while he is away and she should find herself "husbandless," she should remember that he is "not worth weeping for." Diana, who has believed her husband does not love her, is overjoyed at this apparent evidence that he does.

After Armand leaves, Sir Cuthbert arrives, and happens to mention that the Duchess of Dundee is in Naples. Diana is convinced that her husband is having an affair with her. Sir Cuthbert protests that the Duchess would never have an affair with a married man, but Diana points out that she might not know of their marriage--in fact, her husband has only recently sent news of it to his parents.

At this point the parents in question, the Marquis and Marquise de Bréville, arrive and begin to interrogate Diana about her background. On learning the shocking news that her father was an Australian merchant who actually worked for a living, the Marquis declares that he would have forbidden their engagement had he known of it. He reveals that Armand was under the legal age at the time of his marriage. Then a letter from Armand to Diana arrives, informing her that he was not of age when they married and, since he is convinced his parents will apply to have the marriage decreed null and void, he is doing it himself. Armand's parents then declare that, although they have the legal right, they never had any intention of compassing "the ruin of an honourable lady"; that they will disown their son for his infamous act; and that as they no longer have a son, they will accept Diana as their daughter.

Act III takes place six months later, in the Duchess's villa at Monte Carlo, eight months later. She is planning to return to Chicago and marry Armand. Mr. and Mrs. Coxe-Coxe appear; he hopes to get back the money that he entrusted to the "Duke," whom he describes as an old friend. Instead the Coxe-Coxes find themselves arrested for attempting to obtain money on false pretenses, until Armand appears and confirms Coxe-Coxe's story, explaining to Coxe-Coxe that his old friend the Duke was actually the Duke's courier.

Alone with the Duchess, Armand confesses to her that he is already married; he explains that he has begun proceedings to nullify his marriage but has now regretted this and is staying the proceedings. She is upset, but offers to pay Armand's debts.

After the Duchess departs, Diana appears, to Armand's surprise. To his even greater surprise he learns that she has just had a son, and has come to plead with him to stay proceedings to save their child from the stigma of illegitimacy. He is moved, and tells her that he has already taken steps to stay proceedings, then implores her to take him back. She refuses scornfully and leaves.

Lachaud arrives, and Armand instructs him to stop his application for a decree of annulment, which is scheduled to come up in a few days. Lachaud informs him that his application will in fact come before court that day, and it is impossible to stop it, even by telegram. Armand points out that there is one way to stop it--by his death. He attempts to drink from a small phial, but Lachaud intervenes, and the phial breaks in the struggle.

As Armand tries to break away from Lachaud, a servant announces the arrival of Sir Cuthbert Jameson. Armand declares that his old friend will "help me out of this." Sir Cuthbert treats Armand coldly and charges him with having lied about his parents' intention to nullify his marriage, but offers to satisfy his creditors "to facilitate an understanding between Madame Bréville and yourself." De Bréville produces swords and challenges Sir Cuthbert to a duel because of his insult in charging him with lying. Sir Cuthbert refuses, until Armand insinuates that he has had ulterior motives in accompanying Diana, and is "compromising her good name." Enraged, Sir Cuthbert duels Armand; as the former lunges, the latter deliberately puts himself in the path of the blade. As he dies, Armand tells the others who have appeared that it is he himself, not Sir Cuthbert, who is responsible for his death; as he dies, he asks Sir Cuthbert to "take good care of Diana."

After all the talk of the last several years, we will actually make progress toward getting caught up. Two priorities are going to be an updated G&S Shopper (a list of places that handle G&S-related merchandise) and an updated list of theater companies that regularly perform Gilbert and Sullivan's works. If you would like to help work on these updates, please let me know.

Part of the delay in getting anywhere with them was the lack of space to spread out responses, and part was the lack of a comfortable typing place. The space problem is being remedied now, and S/A Cole recently bought a real office chair that doesn't irritate her back. So that's a step in the right direction.

We have several articles that need to be typed, so look for them in upcoming issues. Even so, we can certainly use more (and if you wouild like some ideas about what to write on, I'll be happy to share some with you). After all, the Nonsense is only as good as the things we get to put in it.

In any event, please do keep in touch!

Midwestern Gilbert and Sullivan Society

c/o Miss Sarah Cole -- 613 W. State St.

North Aurora, IL 60542-1538