Precious Nonsense

NEWSLETTER OF THE MIDWESTERN GILBERT AND SULLIVAN SOCIETY

Issue 58

Rising early in the morning, we proceed to light the fire

Then our Majesty adorning in its workaday attire. . .

Since then, we've embarked without delay on the duties of the day. The trouble was, the duties didn't leave time (or more importantly, energy) for working on the Nonsense. But we have high hopes, what appears to be a respite at work, and material that needs compiling. As far as the immediate issue is concerned, we do have the Big Quiz! We hope you'll try your success at it: it's unlike any that we have had before.

Don's forget, the Nonsense is only as good as what we have to put in it. Do keep us posted. And don't forget, give me a thrill and e-mail some material to me (sarah@nemrt.com, or, if you feel ambitious, try midwestgs@yahoo.com. My brother set it up for us, and he'd be pleased to know it's being used.) If you want to send something for the Nonsense that way, that'll be great: the big delay in getting it done is working up the energy to retype the information.

Oh, Members, How Say You, What is it You've Done?

We were saddened to learn of the death, on February 12, 1999, of longtime member Winfield Smith. He was one of the original organizers of the Midwestern Gilbert and Sullivan Society, as well as one of the mainstays of the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company in Chicago. Both organizations will miss his encouragement and his enthusiasm for the operas.

We owe Dr. Andre Moul Ross an apology. It seems we fell into the trap of assuming that those who use professional titles are men. Well, as she explains in an entertaining article from the January 1, 1999, issue of Blue Stone Press (p. 21), when SHE was born, her startling resemblance to a grandfather called Andrew, that her mother modified it to Andre. She goes on to describe the trials that children with whimsical or unusual names have to endure. She herself has been enduring them since the early 1920s. We apologize for our error, but trust she will be an advocate for well-thought-out names for children for a long time yet.

In honor of Norman Vogt, the DeKalb Public Library (DeKalb, IL) received a donation of a recording of Patience and Ayres' Complete Annotated Gilbert and Sullivan. We hope the citizens of DeKalb (and probably the students at Northern Illinois University on occasion) find the materials useful! By the way, one of the MGS's functions is to donate materials to midwestern libraries: in an upcoming issue we'll list what we currently have available for donation. In the meantime, if there is anything in particular in the G&S area that your public library could use, let us know. Maybe we could help it out.

What Cheer! What Cheer! {Midwestern}

The Savoy-Aires celebrate their 35th year in 1999, and this year's production will be The Pirates of Penzance. They will present it on two week-ends - Friday, Saturday and Sunday October 15, 16 and 17, and October 22, 23 and 24 - at Chute Middle School Auditorium (1400 Oakton Avenue, Evanston). Performances are at 7:30 pm for the Friday and Saturday performance, and Sunday matinees are at 2:30. Children get a $5.00 discount, so tickets are $15.00 and $10.00 for main floor seats, and $10.00 and $5.00 for balcony seats. The Savoy-Aires have a voice mail box for reservations: (847) 604-4673. They are also accepting Visa/MasterCard for tickets and memberships (And this may be interesting for other small non-profit organizations: they're working with a service that specializes in this sort of thing for small non-profit organizations. The charges will come billed as "Charities fund", instead of the organization's name.)

The cast includes: Mabel: Amy Conn (last year's Patience); Ruth: Kara Chandler; Edith: Yvonne George; Kate: Anna-Marie Jene; Isabel: Pat Ruck; Frederic: Wayne Davis (his third tenor role); Pirate King: Henry Odum (back after a 4-yr. absence); Major General Stanley: John Shea (back after a 7-yr. absence); Samuel: Douglas Steppes; Sergeant of Police: Chris Diez. Lilias Circle reports that five of those who put together last year's show are all back: Stage Director, Walter Stearns; Music Director, Daniel Robinson; Choreographer, Pamela Fox; Executive Producer, Lilias Circle; and Associate Producer, Jeanne Zimmer. In recent years, they Savoy-Aires have been known for their "topical" productions (last year's Patience had a 1960's "hippie" motif; several years before that, their Mikado was set in the 1890's). It will be interesting to see what theme, if any, they have chosen for this production of Pirates.

Also giving Pirates this year is the Music Department of North Central College (in Naperville, IL). Performances are October 29 and 30, and November 4, 5, and 6 (all, evidently, 8:00 pm performance times). The notice in the September 1999 alumni news magazine mentions that it will be directed by Instructor of Theatre Bryan Lynch, with musical direction by Professor of Music (and MGS member) Jeordano Martinez. Tickets are $10.00 ($5.00 for students, seniors and children). Call (630) 637-SHOW for tickets. Performances will be at Pfeiffer Hall (on the corner of Benton St. and Brainard St., in Naperville).

The Mikado will be Light Opera Works' 1999 season (and more-or-less century) finale. Mikado will be presented December 26-January 2, 2000. Performances are at Cahn Auditorium (on the corner of Emerson and Sheridan Road, in Evanston, IL). They also have reduced-price tickets for those aged 21 and younger. For more information, the business office can be reached at 927 Noyes St., Evanston, IL 60201-2799 or by calling (847) 869-6300. Or look at their web site at WWW.light-opera-works.org.

What Cheer! What Cheer! {National}

The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Chester County (Pennsylvania) is going to be busy. According to their Summer 1999 newsletter, they are going to be performing Trial By Jury at the Chester County Courthouse, as part of West Chester's Old Fashioned Christmas, on December 2-4, at 7:45 pm each evening (plus other occasional performances). They will also be giving Patience January 13-16, 2000, at Swope Hall Auditorium (West Chester University). For more information, contact the society at P.O. Box 195; West Chester, PA 19381-0195. They're sure to be delighted to hear from you.

Where Can it Be?

First of all, there are some things people are looking for that maybe you can help them find. One is Ken Hewitt who is looking for a copy of the Colson Gilbert and Sullivan Concordance. I've heard rumors that it might be reissued, but so far I haven't seen anything definite. If anyone has one he or she would like to part with, let me know and I'll pass the information on to him.

I recently got a call from Ruth Bassett, in the St. Louis (Missouri) area, who is looking for some G&S performing group in that area. If you know of any such group, please let us know. This is something we would all like to know of.

For some time, one of the MGS's occasional projects has been to get Dover Publications to reissue W.S. Gilbert's children's retellings of Pinafore and Mikado. They (and no one else, so far as we can tell) haven't done that, but they have issued The Mikado in Full Score (ISBN 0486406261 / $19.95). The description in the Dover Catalog says "Now available in a newly edited, newly engraved full-score publication based on Sullivan's autograph and the first edition of the full score, this new performing edition by Ephriam Jones and Carl Simpson corrects many errors and incorporates Gilbert's later libretto changes. Now you have something to look for next time you go to the bookstore. Or, if you would like a complete catalog, drop Dover Publications (31 E. 2d St.; Mineola, NY 11501-3582) a note, requesting a complete catalog. Its item number 59069-0.

By the way, for the less musically inclined, Dover also has available the libretto of Mikado for $1.00, among their Thrift Editions (ISBN 0486272680).

If you had wanted, but never got around to buying copies of the Brent Walker G&S productions for television, now may be a good time to get them -- that is, assuming you would want them by the set. The Fall Preview 1999 issue of the Signals Catalog ("for fans and friends of public television": (800) 669-9696 or P.O. Box 159; Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-0159 for orders / (800) 570-1004 (U.S. addresses only) for catalog requests. I don't see any web page listed.) included the two sets of videos for $99.95 each (plus shipping). Set 1 (#55129) includes Pinafore, Pirates, Iolanthe, Patience, Gondoliers, and Mikado. Set 2 (#57217) features Ruddigore, Yeomen, Sorcerer, Trial By Jury/Cox and Box [Cox and Box, by the way, was beyond improvement. It's the best production in the series! Ed.], and Princess Ida.

In April (I'm embarrassed to notice), Harry Benford announced that the Third Edition of his Gilbert & Sullivan Lexicon is now available. If you don't have one, believe it or not, you really do need one. It explains the now-obscure references in the operas, gives interesting background, and the last edition included the libretto of The Zoo. I'm not sure what new items have been included it this latest edition, but it's an extremely informative thing to have around. This one is also hardcover. They are available for $28.45 ($25.95 plus $2.50 shipping) from The Queensbury Press; 13507 Queensbury Lane; Houston, TX 77079-6017. We'll look forward to hearing more about this useful publication.

A reminder of for piano players, or associates of piano players, that the Madison Music Company (414 State St., Madison, WI 53703 / (608) 257-5877) has available five volumes of G&S overtures arranged as piano duets. Volume 1 includes overtures for Pinafore, Gondoliers, and Princess Ida; Volume 2: Patience and Pirates of Penzance; Volume 3: Sorcerer and Mikado; Volume 4: Grand Duke and Iolanthe; and Volume 5: Ruddigore and Yeomen. The list price for the books is $9.95, but when you call, ask about the price.

Let the Welkin Ring with the News

This news comes regretfully late, but the September 4, 1999, broadcast of Those Were the Days (a Chicago-based program that plays recordings of vintage radio broadcasts) included the Chicago Theater of the Air's 1949 production of H.M.S. Pinafore. While it wasn't anywhere near as good as their rendition of Gondoliers (and nowhere near as funny as Fred Allen's Brooklyn Pinafore), it's always a pleasure to hear G&S on radio.

For those of us who weren't around in 1949 to know about it, The Chicago Theater of the Air was a radio program out of the WGN Studios in Chicago that used a dual cast (one to read the lines and one to sing) to present dramatic versions of grand and light operas, and popular musicals (such as Rose Marie). This way, listeners could be part of the best productions possible: the characters came across as singing and acting equally well, and, as is the case with radio performance, the sumptuousness of the setting was limited only by the listener's imagination. That's one of the joys of radio. In a theater, you only see people milling around on a stage pretending to be a ship. On radio, you're right there on deck!

Here's a piece of trivia for you. You may be familiar with the current superstation WGN, available on dish and cable. The call letters "WGN" stand for "World's Greatest Newspaper", because it was sponsored by The Chicago Tribune. I mention that fact because, before the performance or between the acts of The Chicago Theater of the Air, the editor of the paper, Col. Robert R. McCormick would deliver some kind of editorial of a historical/topical nature. The drawback was that he would occasionally ramble, which would interfere with the production's completeness (parts would have to be cut at the last minute). On the whole, though, the program was able to bring quality music to people who wouldn't have been in a position to hear it otherwise. I've enjoyed the productions I've heard.

By the way, although it's too late to hear this latest broadcast of The Chicago Theater of the Air's Pinafore, I have a tape. If you would like to hear it, just let me know. If you would like to hear more vintage radio (and live in the Chicago area), WNIB (on or about FM 97) broadcasts Those Were the Days on Saturday afternoons from 1:00 to 5:00 pm. The programs are always a lot of fun!

The 1999 MGS Big Quiz

It's coming about three months later than usual, but Big Quiz time has finally arrived. This year's was not compiled by Arthur Robinson, so he can have a chance to play, for a change. As soon as you see the questions you'll know he had nothing to do with this quiz, because this is probably one of the strangest quizzes you've seen. It's certainly the strangest the MGS has had. But it's meant to be educational and fun to answer, so be truthful and enjoy it: that's why it is what it is.

As always, the rules of the big quiz are simple. The member who answers the most questions correctly wins a prize. You can refer to any reference sources you like, but all responses must be received by the Midwestern Gilbert and Sullivan Society by December 1, 1999. The answers will be checked and winners will be notified. In case of a tie, the response received first will take precedence, and decisions of the quiz correctors are final. This year's big prize winner will receive something nice--I don't know what he or she will win yet, since a lot will depend on what kind of memorabilia or recordings participants already have, but what we do find for a prize will be certain to satisfy.

Now, if you feel intimidated, you need not. The Society's founding fathers, in their wisdom, knew that many members would be novices in matters G&S-ical, so they saw to it that the member who makes an honest effort to answer the questions correctly and answers the fewest correctly will also win a nice prize. All are welcome to participate, even if you won a prize in the last quiz. We'll look forward to hearing from you (before December 1, don't forget). Any Questions?

Then let the Revels Commence!

1. With what or whom is Captain Corcoran supposed to exit to his cabin?

2. Who brags about his whistling ability?

3. Can you whistle all the airs to that "infernal nonsense Pinafore"? [I told you these were crazy questions. Ed.]

4. How many times are the words "moon" and "June" rhymed in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas?

5. Can you name the invocations that appear in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas?

6. Name the Chinese characters in The Gondoliers.

7. Name someone you know (or know of) who reminds you of a G&S character, and explain why.

8. Name your favorite G&S opera.

9. Name your favorite G&S song.

10. Can you name all the G&S tunes quoted in the ballet suite Pineapple Poll?

11. Name the G&S operas you have not seen in live performance.

12. Find an allusion to a G&S opera in another literary work, and cite it.

13. In what year was the first G&S collaboration presented?

14. How many Gilbert and Sullivan-related books does your public library own?

15. Who is described (metaphorically) as an Oak?

16. Who is described as a duck?

17. Who is described as an owl?

18. Name the G&S operas in which the comic baritone does not, or is not, married to the contralto.

19. Name the paired comic baritones/contraltos.

20. Name the last G&S opera you saw performed live.

21. Who is described as "the fairest flower that blows"?

22. Who characterizes herself as a violet?

23. Something is described as "a very daisy". What is it?

24. Who was "the fairest flower that ever blossomed on ancestral timber"?

25. Who is said to be "as fair as a peach blossom"?

26. Make up a G&S-related riddle, and tell it here. (For instance, How does Frederic return to civilization? Ruthlessly.)

27. How many G&S operas involved switched babies?

28. Name the operas and the switched babies referred to in Question #27.

29. "If you're anxious for to shine in the high aesthetic line", what "must excite your languid spleen"?

30. Name the mothers that appear in the G&S operas.

31. How did Major General Stanley acquire his ancestors?

32. How are the thespians punished in Thespis? Can you think of a more appropriate punishment? If so, pretend you're the Mikado and name it.

33. Name the love triangles you can think of in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

34. How long was Despard Murgatroyd Baronet of Ruddigore?

35. Without peeking, name the first sentence of The Mikado's opening chorus.

36. What is the first sentence of H.M.S. Pinafore's opening chorus? (Go ahead and peek.)

37. Who sings the opening chorus of Utopia Limited?

38. W.S. Gilbert wrote numerous plays that were not collaborations with Arthur Sullivan. Name up to five of his plays that you have read.

39. Arthur Sullivan wrote many pieces of music without the influence of W.S. Gilbert. Name up to five of his works that you have heard.

40. Children's books based on the G&S operas are published every so often. Find one through your public library, name the book and the author here, and the opera that is being retold.

41. In The Mikado, how does the throng their joy advance?

42. If you couldn't locate the book described in Question #40, name the G&S opera you would like to see as a children's story, and why. If you did find a story, name one anyway.

43. Pick one of the banquets described in the G&S operas, and name its menu.

44. A number of story songs (songs that tell stories) appear in the G&S operas. Name the operas in which someone sings a story about 1.) an egalitarian king, 2.) a love-sick monkey, and 3.) a despairing bird.

45. Prove your answer for Question #3, and tell us how you made out.

46. How does Alexis expect Aline to prove her love for him? Do you agree with his reasoning?

47. Who is described as a "Broken Flower"?

48. Name the names of two other G&S-organization newsletters.

49. Name all the sets of brothers and sisters you can think of in the G&S operas.

50. How many G&S operas are set in England?

Bonus Question: (and this is a real bonus, because I don't even know the answer!) Jimmy Durante performed a song called "I'm the Guy Who Found the Lost Chord". Name the notes that comprise that chord.

In the Wonder-Working Days of Old

{It seemed like a good name for a section devoted to interesting old references and information}

In a note (that is even older than that from Harry Benford), member Quentin Riggs writes about his collection of old records. One in particular caught his attention. He writes:

Around 1908, George M. Cohan wrote a song called "Sullivan" for the play The American Idea, in which he, I assume, played a character names Sullivan.

I have a 1908 record of this song by Billy Murray, the leading singer of comic songs on recordings during that period. In the song, the Sullivan character extols the virtues of all the great people of that name in history. In the second verse there is the line, "Who was the man who wrote the comic opera Pinafore? Sullivan!" The last line of the refrain is "There never was a man named Sullivan that wasn't a d*** fine Irishman!"

Mr. Riggs suggests that there may be other references to G&S in the popular songs of this period. We'll look forward to a report on his findings.

(Incidentally, he also remarks that he was startled at the use of "damn" in a song in 1908, especially considering the furor over Rhett Butler's usage in 1939. Well, for what it's worth, there wasn't a Hayes Office in 1908. Also -- if you've read C.S. Lewis's book The Magician's Nephew from the Narnia series, you may recall this appearance -- the word "dem" may have regularly been substituted for the profanity. It meant the same thing, but wasn't the actual word, so evidently one could get away with it. Mr. Riggs also speculates that perhaps, because the word was used in a comic song by a singer using a broad Irish accent, it didn't offend anyone.

When you think of it, isn't it refreshing that, in these days when many people can't seem to open their mouth without every fourth word being an obscenity, that the most shocking word in the G&S operas is Captain Corcoran's reprehensible yet understandable "Damme"? Ah, those were the days!

In any event, please do keep in touch! The Nonsense is only as good as the material our members provide!