Precious Nonsense

May 2001 -- Issue 62

On your allegiance, we've a stronger claim!

We charge you yield in Queen Victoria's Name!

(It was either that, or "Say, why is everything either at Sixes or at Sevens?" because things in the Cole Household have been at multiples of 13 all over the place. But be that as it may.) Recently, during a discussion of drama with someone marginally familiar with the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, he remarked that they were too smart for their own good; that, from what he had read, the Jesse Helms-types would never have let them be performed. I responded that, I don't know about the ultra-conservatives, but these days, when a parody of Gone With the Wind is legally mistaken for a sequel, two (and possibly three or four) of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas would never have made it to the stage at all. There's Princess Ida ("A respectful per-version of Tennyson's The Princess"), Yeomen of the Guard (which had a lot of similarity with an earlier opera Maritana), possibly Sorcerer (with themes similar to those in L'Elisir D'Amore). And then there are the "digs" at well-known personalities in Pinafore and Patience. And, of course, there's the well-documented fears of "political incorrectness" at various times with Mikado. So isn't it great that Gilbert and Sullivan produced their work when they did: just think of all the joy that work wouldn't have been able to provide if they had tried to present it before or after Queen Victoria's Glorious (and what appear to be artistically generous) Days.

Otherwise, we just heard that the U.S. postal rate is due to go up again on July 1, for postcards and overweight letters, in any event. So June would be a great time for a heavy Nonsense. If you have any interesting G&S-related material that might help fill it out, this'd be a great time to send it. Or e-mail it (which saves my having to retype it, which is a good thing!) Our address is currently midwestgs@pdqlink.com. As far as compatibility goes, I use WordPerfect 9 to put the newsletter together. We'll look forward to hearing from you. And let's see what we have to look forward to in this issue.

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

The well-known costumer and soprano Lisa Beth Bower recently appeared in the Park Ridge Gilbert and Sullivan Society's production of The Pirates of Penzance. We'll look forward to hearing more of her singing, and seeing more of her costumes, in the near future.

What Cheer! What Cheer! {Midwestern}

The Ohio Light Opera includes two G&S offerings in their summer season. This year, their performances will include:

Rogers and Hammerstein's Carousel (June 14, 17*, 23, 28, July 6, 15*, 28, 20, 28, and August 11).

Victor Herbert's The Red Mill (June 15, 21, 24*, 30, July 7*, 11, 21*, 26, August 3, and 11*)

Johann Strauss's The Merry War (June 16, 23*, July 1*, 5, 14, 18*, 27, 31*, and August 9*)

The Gondoliers (June 19*, 22, 30*, July 8*, 11*, 21, 36*, August 1, and 9)

Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld (July 29, July 3*, 7, 12, 14*, 19*, 25*, August 5*, and 7*)

Kalman's Sari (July 10*, 13, 19, 22*, 28*, August 1*, 4, and 8)

The Yeomen of the Guard (July 24*, 23, 29*, August 2, 4*, 8*, and 10)

(Translations of the foreign-language operas were evidently made by James Stuart (The Merry War and Sari) and Richard Traubner (Orpheus in the Underworld).)

Performances are at 8:00 pm, with matinees (indicated by *) at 2:00. Individual tickets for all performances are $30.00 for adults, and $15.00 for students. They offer pre-performance lectures at 7:00 pm at the Friday and Saturday performances. For more information and tickets, call Ohio Light Opera at (330) 263-2345 / www.wooster.edu/OHIOLIGHTOPERA/ . Or e-mail OH_LT_OPERA@wooster.edu. And their address is The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691.

(An interesting side note about which you can draw your own conclusions. At the time of the publication of the flyer we got, six performances had already been sold out. The sold-out shows were Carousel and The Red Mill. From what I gather, the shows do generally sell out, but it's interesting to see what has sold out first.)

Another interesting side note that belongs in the Where Can it Be department: according to the flyer, CD recordings of ten of OLO's performances are now available "in finer record stores". I haven't investigated this angle (and S/A Cole is not known for shopping at "finer" any kind of stores), but other ordering/information options listed, aside from visiting the theater lobby during a performance, are Newport Classic ([401] 848-2442), Albany Records ([518] 436-8814), or OLO itself ([330] 263-2345). The recordings available are Victor Herbert's Eileen (NPD 85615) from 1997, Andre Messager's Veronique (NPD 85635) from 1997, Emmerich Kalman's The Bayadere (NPD 85655) from 1998, Oscar Straus's The Chocolate Soldier (NPD 85650) from 1998, Lionel Monckton's The Arcadians (NPD 85665) from 1998, Princess Ida (NPD 85675) from 1999, Johann Strauss's A Night in Venice (NPD 85661) from 1999, Herbert's Naughty Marietta (TROY432) from 2000, and Utopia Limited (NPD 85659) from 2000.

Although Light Opera Works isn't presenting any G&S this season, they do have an interesting program for youth, featuring, among other things, an opportunity to work on a production of The Pirates of Penzance. Their Musical Theater Summer Workshops ("for kids 8 to 18") this year include Annie (July 9-14, 2001), Pirates of Penzance (July 16-21, 2001), and Guys and Dolls (July 23-28, 2001). A typical day of the workshop week starts at 8:30 am, with time for networking, 9:30 is vocal and dance warm-ups, 10:00 is music instruction, 11:00 is dance instruction, Bring Your Own Lunch at Noon, 1:00 is acting instruction, 2:00 is show rehearsal, and the day winds up at 3:30 pm. The fee per workshop is $325.00, with the program taking place at the Lake Street Church (607 Lake St., in Evanston, IL). Registration is limited to 40 students per workshop, paid when submitting the registration. For more information, you can call Light Opera Works at (847) 869-7930. And if the classes are full, it might be fun to see if non-family members can come enjoy their finished product. It sounds like a great idea, and we hope it goes well for Light Opera Works (and their students)!

By the way, the shows Light Opera Works itself is presenting are Countess Maritza (June 2-10, 2001, at Cahn Auditorium, Evanston), Kismet (August 18-26, 2001, at Cahn Auditorium), Cole Porter's You Never Know (September 30-November 4, 2001, at the McGaw YMCA Child Care Center), and The Student Prince (December 22-31, 2001, at Cahn Auditorium). For more information, you can call them at (847) 869-6300, or check their website at www.light-opera-works.org. And their address is still 927 Noyes St., Evanston, IL 60201-2799.

Although Light Opera Works isn't giving any stages G&S performances this year, we just got an advertisement for a dinner theater-concert sort-of-a-thing they're going to be putting on July 25 and July 26, 2001. Here's a How-De-Do! An Evening of Gilbert and Sullivan Favorites will be presented July 25 at Allgaur's, at the Northbrook Hilton (2855 N. Milwaukee Ave., Northbrook, IL), and on the 26th at the North Shore Hotel (1611 Chicago Ave., Evanston, IL - catered by Malone Jaicomo Caterers). Cash bar starts at 6:00 pm, Dinner is at 6:30, with a concert at 8:00 (which should be concluded by 9:00 pm). Tickets are $45.00 per person (plus a $4.00 service charge per order). For more information, call them at (847) 869-6300 for a reservation form, or you can reach them by mail at 927 Noyes St., Evanston, IL 60201-2799.

The Madison Savoyards, Ltd. will be performing Iolanthe in Madison, Wisconsin at the Wisconsin Union Theater Friday, July 20, Saturday, July 21, Saturday July 28 (all at 7:00 PM) and Sunday July 29 at 4:00 PM. Tickets are $25.00 ($23 for seniors and students, $10 for children under 13) and will be available from the Union Theater Box Office, (608) 262-2201.

Member Evan E. Richards of the group reports that the Madison Savoyards have been producing fully staged productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas with orchestra for over 25 years. Over this period, they have produced all all of them (but Thespis!) (Yes, including Utopia Ltd. and Grand Duke!). Their productions are faithful to the tradition and are usually excellent. This year's cast is particularly strong and promises to be a wonderful Iolanthe.

(Needless to say, there have been a whole slough of events that we've missed; flyers for which are sitting in a pile on my desk. Rather than hold up the works reporting on them now, we'll save that for next time. If you do have any news, this is a great time to e-mail the information to midwestgs@pdqlink.com: about half of these announcements came in that way, and did that ever save work!)

What Cheer! What Cheer! {International}

We were delighted to hear from Barbra Edson Lewis that The Ridgewood (NJ) Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Co. will present Trial by Jury, The Zoo and the overtures to Pinafore, Pirates and Mikado at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, 335 North Van Dien Avenue, Ridgewood, New Jersey, on Saturday, June 2 at 3:00 and 8:00 PM and Sunday, June 3 at 3:00 PM. Tickets at the door are $15 ($12 for seniors and students). Children under 12 with an adult are admitted free. Tickets purchased in advance are discounted by $2.00. Send stamped return envelope to 43-21 Williams Street, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410 or phone 973-423-0300 for more information.

We hear from Lamplighters in San Francisco, CA, that they will be giving Mikado and Patience during their 2001-2002 season, in addition to their annual Gala. Performances of Mikado will be July 27-29 and August 1-4 at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center, and August 23-25 at the Dean Lesher Center at Walnut Creek. Patience will be at the Yerba Buena Center February 8-10 and 13-17, 2002, and at Walnut Creek January 24-26, 2002. The Champagne Gala will be November 2-4 at San Francisco's Gershwin Theater, and November 17 at the Walnut Creek Dean Lesher Center. For more information, the Lamplighters Music Theatre can be reached at 1766-A 18th St., San Francisco, CA 94107 / (415) 227-4797 / Fax (415) 227-0332 / www.lamplighters.org, or e-mail lampliters@aol.com. We've heard nothing but excellent reports of their work (especially their Galas).

A little later in the issue is a list of the events planned for this year's G&S Festival in Buxton. They sound like they'll be going on for almost a month, from July 28 through August 19. So keep a look out for more information.

We hear from the Stanton Taylor of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Shreveport, Louisiana, that their season for 2001-2 will consist of Annie by Charles Strouse & Thomas Meehan, Oct 12, 13 at 7:30PM and Oct. 14 at 2:30PM, and Sorcerer, by W.S. Gilbert and A. S. Sullivan on March 14,15,16 at 7:30PM and Mar. 17, 2002 at 2:30PM. Prices: Adult $15.00, Senior $12.00, Youths (17 and under) $9.00. Both shows will be at The Performing Arts Center. For reservations or further information, call (318) 868-1429, or mail to: Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Shreveport; 205 E. Southfield Rd.; Shreveport, LA 71105-4325. If you're going to be in the area, it'd be worth looking into

The Contents of Pineapple Poll, as recalled by Sarah Cole

The 6th Annual Biq Quiz in Precious Nonsense, the newsletter of the Midwestern Gilbert and Sullivan Society, asked the question "Can you name the tunes from the Gilbert and Sullivan operas Sir Charles Mackarras used in his ballet suite Pineapple Poll, in the order of their appearance?" It was a trick question -- the answer was either Yes or No. However, many people turned in lists, and the following list was compiled from these reader submissions. As you probably know, the story of the ballet is based on the Bab Ballad "The Bumboat Woman's Story". Of course, it's difficult to find ballerinas of "barely sixty", so the ballet's "Poll Pineapple" is young and charming, instead of "dissembled well". I've never actually seen the ballet, but according to the sleeve of the EMI label recording, this is what happens.

Incidentally, last year we got a nice letter from somebody from Australia who pointed out a melody we missed. In the course of human events as they are played out in the Cole household, I not only forgot what he said we left out, but mislaid the letter before I could thank him for his interest! So, as soon as it turns up, I'll let you know what he said (not to mention thank him for his patience!).

The Characters in Pineapple Poll are, in order of appearance:

Sailors, townspeople, and Village Maidens;

Jasper, something of a waiter at a local tavern, who has an eye for

Pineapple Poll, a pretty, young peddler, with an eye for the handsome

Captain Belaye, a Navy man, who has an eye for his cousin

Blanche, who is attended by her chaperone

Mrs. Dimple.

Scene One: OPENING DANCE:

(The Scene is Morning at the Portsmouth docks. The H.M.S. Hot Cross Bun is in port, and the sailors and townspeople meet each other. Jasper, the pot-boy of the "Steam Packet" Tavern serves drinks.)

1. Mikado, Opening Act 1.

2. Trial By Jury, "Hark, the hour of Ten is sounding".

3. Mikado, "So please you, sir, we much regret" ("But youth, of course, must have its fling. . .").

4. Patience, "The Soldiers of our Queen".

5. Trial by Jury, "He will treat us with awe" ("Trial-la-la").

6. Gondoliers, "Good Morrow, Pretty Maids" (orchestral back-ground to the song)

7. Trial By Jury, "Hark, the hour of Ten is sounding".

8. Mikado, "So please you, sir, we much regret".

POLL'S DANCE AND PAS DE DEUX:

(Pineapple Poll bursts onto the scene - at least judging from the music that's what she does - offering her ribbons and laces and whatnot for sale. Jasper "has got it bad" where she is concerned, and they dance together briefly. She rudely rejects his shy advanced because she, like all the other girls in the port, has a big crush on Captain Belaye of the Hot Cross Bun.)

1. Gondoliers, Introduction to "Here is a Case Unprecedented".

2. Princess Ida, Introduction to "The Woman of the Wisest Wit".

3. Gondoliers, "Here is a Case Unprecedented".

4. Patience, "Twenty Lovesick Maidens We" ("Go, breaking heart").

5. Gondoliers, "Here is a Case Unprecedented" and Patience, "Twenty Lovesick Maidens We" counterpoint.

6. Gondoliers, "Here is a Case Unprecedented".

7. Princess Ida, End of "The Woman of the Wisest Wit".

BELAYE'S SOLO:

(Belaye's appearance sets all the girls to swooning. He obliges them by dancing a "brilliant" - that's what the record sleeve says - hornpipe. The sailors are understandably jealous, and drag the girls away.

1. Cox and Box, "Rataplan".

2. Patience, "In a Doleful Train".

3. Cox and Box", Rataplan (...rataplan, I'm a military man. . .)"

4. Cox and Box, "Rataplan" (second appearance in the work, when it is the only lyric).

5. Cox and Box, conclusion of overture.

PAS DE TROIS:

(If the girls in port were aware of this, it might cool their ardor: Captain Belaye is engaged to his cousin Blanche. They meet, but their tete a tete is interrupted by Blanche's chaperone aunt, Mrs. Dimple. Objecting to her presence would be "contrary to etiquette", so they make the best of it. But finally, although two may be company, Captain Belaye has had enough and escorts the "crowd" away.)

1. Mikado, Introduction to "Braid the Raven Hair".

2. Pirates of Penzance, "How Beautifully Blue the Sky".

3. Pirates of Penzance, "Did ever maiden wake from dream".

4. Pirates of Penzance, "How Beautifully Blue the Sky" (naturally).

5. Ruddigore, "If somebody there chanced to be". (Refrain)

6. Pirates of Penzance, "How Beautifully Blue the Sky".

7. Pirates of Penzance, "Did ever maiden wake from dream".

FINALE TO SCENE ONE:

(The Portsmouth girls, blissfully miserable (and blissfully unaware of Belaye's unavailability), continue to sigh after the captain, which only antagonizes the sailors. Belaye's entry into the scene only makes things worse, and, as the record sleeve describes, the scene ends in anger and confusion.)

1. Patience, "Twenty Lovesick Maidens We".

2. Pirates of Penzance, "The Pirates! Oh Despair!" (Orchestra introduction).

3. Ruddigore, "Deny the Falsehood, Robin, as you should. . ." (first act finale).

4. Iolanthe, "To You I yield my heart so rich. . ." (First act finale).

5. Patience, Overture/"Oh list, while we a love confess"

6. Iolanthe, "To You I yield my heart so rich".

7. Patience, Overture (end).

Scene Two: POLL'S SOLO:

(Poll follows Belaye back to his ship, and upon finding a stray sailor uniform on the wharf, decides to disguise herself as a sailor to be near him. Several other sailors board the ship as well.)

1. Iolanthe, Invocation.

Transition to JASPER'S SOLO:

(Jasper finds Poll's clothes on the wharf and concludes that she must have drowned herself. He sadly dances alone with the clothes.)

1. Iolanthe, Overture (transition between "Welcome to Our Hearts Again" and "He Loves").

2. Princess Ida, Overture ("Oh Goddess Wise" to the end).

Scene Three: BELAYE'S SOLO AND SAILOR'S DRILL:

(The next day aboard the Hot Cross Bun, Captain Belaye drills the crew. They (and Poll in disguise) prove to be much less able-bodied than they were the day before. When he shoots off his cannon, Poll faints.)

1. Princess Ida, "When Anger Spreads His Wing".

2. Princess Ida, "For a Month to Dwell in a Dungeon Cell".

3. Gondoliers, "Two Kings of Undue Pride Bereft".

4. Ruddigore, "When a Man Has Been a Naughty Baronet"/Theme from the original Ruddigore overture.

POLL'S SOLO:

(After Poll faints, Belaye attempts to revive this weak-hearted sailor, but distant clock chimes remind him of a previous engagement. He takes a wedding ring from his pocket, and rushes away. The crew is most despondent about his departure.)

1. Trial by Jury, "That She is Reeling is Plain to See".

2. Iolanthe, (motif)

3. Patience, Overture (before the music for "Turn oh Turn in This Direction").

4. Princess Ida, "The World is But a Broken Toy".

ENTRY OF BELAYE WITH BLANCHE AS BRIDE:

(Presently, Belaye returns, and presents his new wife Blanche to the crew. They are thrown into an uproar, because, upon removing their false beards and uniforms, they turn out to ALL be women in disguise! The sailors return to the ship as well, and are angry about the girls' fickleness.)

1. Yeomen of the Guard, Flourish for Fairfax's Entrance to Claim his Bride.

2. Trial by Jury, Entry of the Bridesmaids.

3. Iolanthe, First act Finale (the Peers' "Oh Horror" and Fairies' response).

4. Iolanthe, "Once Again Thy Vows are Broken" ("Bow Thy Head to Destiny").

5. Iolanthe, First act "Horror".

6. Iolanthe, "Once Again Thy Vows are Broken".

7. Trial by Jury, "I Love Him, I Love Him, with Fervor Unceasing".

8. Iolanthe, "Go Away Madam" (First Act Finale).

RECONCILIATION:

1. Ruddigore, "The Battle's Roar is Over" (from Overture).

FINALE:

(But ruffled egos are soon smoothed. Belaye is promoted to Admiral, Jasper gets his uniform, and Poll is much taken with the "new" captain. The scene ends in a tableau of sorts, with Mrs. Dimple as an ersatz Britannia.)

1. Mikado, Introduction to "The Threatened Cloud Has Passed Away".

2. Trial by Jury, "Oh Joy Unbounded".

3. H.M.S. Pinafore, "Never Mind the Why and Wherefore".

4. Patience, Overture ("So Go to Him, and Say to Him").

5. Princess Ida, "Gently, Gently. . ." ("We've Learned that Prickly Cactus").

6. Pirates of Penzance/Thespis, "Climbing Over Rocky Mountain ("Let us Gaily Tread the Measure").

(7. Pirates of Penzance, "Sighing Softly to the River" (in counterpoint to above) [I still can't hear it, but it's supposed to be there. Ed.])

8. Patience, Overture ("So Go to Him, and Say to Him").

9. Trial by Jury, "Oh Joy Unbounded".

10. Overture Di Ballo, Galop theme.

11. Yeomen of the Guard, Overture (Tower Theme)

12. Patience, Overture.

13. H.M.S. Pinafore, Overture/Ruddigore, Overture (very end).

14. Mikado, First act Finale (very end).

Behind Grains Among the Chaff

by Geoffrey Shovelton

[Have you wondered what the well-known tenor Geoffrey Shovelton does when he isn't singing? Among other things, he draws pictures. Some of us are already familiar with his charming illustrations, which have appeared, among other places, in Harry Benford's G&S Lexicon, numerous greeting cards, and the New York Society's newsletter The Palace Peeper. He recently reported that one of his latest endeavors is to illustrate a mentor's book of verses. And this is how he came to do it.]

When the threads of life's tapestry weave together as a clear pattern one has to be glad and thankful. Grains Among the Chaff - a book of comic verse by Jay Appleton - represents such a pattern for me.

For three of my student years I enjoyed Jay's witty lectures. I was delighted when I discovered that he was to be my Finals Year tutor. Our one-to-one tutorials were spent in joyous pursuit of facts and ideas, philosophical or quirky, in the name of learning. Thus began the long friendship which is the first thread of the tapestry.

The second thread is Music, especially opera, and most particularly the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. On the evening I went with a party of fellow undergraduates to see my very first opera, (the Carl Rosa Opera Company's production of Rigoletto), we spotted Jay and his wife, Iris, in the audience. Fifteen years later they heard me sing the title role of Faust in the same theatre. Our friendship was thus renewed and we kept in regular touch ever after.

The D'Oyly Carte did not perform in Hull during the years I sang for them, but The Magic of D'Oyly Carte (the post-closure concert group) did visit the city. Jay was there to cheer us on.

My interest in humorous drawing, from my schooldays, is the third thread. I became Staff Cartoonist for the university's student newspaper, and contributed to Hullaballoo - the student 'Rag' Magazine. Jay remembered this interest and, in 1988, approached me with a project he had in mind.

He was writing comic verses on topics ranging from updated productions of Shakespeare to women priests, from speculations about the Pied Piper of Hamelin to The Church of England plc. Would I be interested in illustrating them?

The years I had spent interpreting phrases from Gilbert, in cartoon form, made the task straightforward. I had only to read the poems to find illustrations leaping to mind. Jay Appleton's fondness for the works of Gilbert is reflected in his satirical style and in his use of metre; his verses have the same ready appeal. The process was fun!

Thank you, Jay.

[I checked on WorldCat (a library database) and Amazon.com, and didn't find a listing for this book yet, so keep your eye out. It sounds charming - and we know the illustrations will be delightful! Ed.]

Let the Welkin Ring with the News

Ronald Daniels reports that Garrison Keillor, in his Writers' Almanac poem for Monday, January 15 [2001] recited Sir Joseph Porter's "I am the monarch of the sea" as his poem for the day. He did not mention if he was a Gilbert and Sullivan fan but Scott Simon's enthusiasm for G&S is abundantly evident at times. It might be interesting to look further into the matter.

8th G & S Festival Programme

Phocion Park had asked about the plans for the upcoming G&S Festival in Buxton, England. The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive has a link to its website. And when I got there. . .Oh BOY! The festival is being billed as "A G&S Odyssey", and they aren't kidding! When the website was last updated, the festival was expected to run from July 28 through August 19 (though the festival planners are expecting people to come and go during the course of the month, rather than stay for the whole thing. For more information, visit the Festival website (or let me know: I have copies of the registration forms and such, printed off the website). In the meantime, the following is a list of the things a visitor can expect. (And if anyone gets to "Reviewing the Situation - Ian Bradley discusses G & S Today" on August 4, I'd love to hear what he has to say! Ed.)

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY LATE CHANGES TO THE PROGRAMME WILL BE PUBLISHED HERE. THESE WILL BE INDICATED BY AN ASTERISK .

Star Trek Pinafore

As recalled by Richard Rames

[I belong to a radio drama listserv, and in passing on some information to another participant, learned that he had an idea about presenting an outer space version of The Mikado. I thought I had heard of one, but after asking around, learned that one evidently had not been presented. But an "outer space" Pinafore had been done, and Richard Rames, of the Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company, which recently presented a production of Pinafore, remembered having seen it. It was such an interesting idea (for good or for bad) that we thought we'd include it. Richard Rames says:

[The Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company] did not stage such a production [I had thought they had. Ed.[, but I had the good luck to stumble across it in Maine a few years ago at a summer theater near Skowhegan. The company was called "Maine Opera Theatra" shortened to "MOTHRA" -- as you can tell, a rather whimsical troupe. The chorus was made up of locals but the soloists were from New York City. I think they'd produced it in New York earlier. I think the company was the NYGASP (New York Gilbert And Sullivan Players). The music director and mastermind of the Star Trek adaptation is named Stephen Quint.

The production not only used Star Trek set, costume & blocking, but changed many of the words (unlike our upcoming Cruise-liner staging). I asked Mr. Quint for a script, but he said he didn't have one, so I listened to the videotape he sent, and wrote down what I could understand of it (which was almost all of it, surprisingly). I have that in a Word for Windows document, if you'd be interested. Of course, I don't know what sort of permission I have to disseminate it -- it would be best to consult with Mr. Quint.

Some tidbits I can remember: The men's opening chorus starts out "We sail the Milky Way, and our Saucer ship's a beauty..." Buttercup is an Orion Slave-girl, with green make-up (the Captain's aside was changed to "A green and graceful person" and she leads into "Things are seldom what they seem" with "The Orion Slave-girl has Betazoid blood in her veins, and she can read destinies."). The Captain delivered all his dialogue in a parody of William Shatner's style. Sir Joseph Porter was half-Vulcan and "half-English" while Hebe was all Vulcan. The Captain says "This cloaking device will afford me ample disguise." Tribbles gradually increased throughout the show. The chorus contained many Star Trek characters (for example, the ones whose faces are white on one side, black on the other; and there was a Borg character, too). Some of the purists here in our group felt that it should have been consistently "original Star Trek" without any Next Generation references, or (gasp) the Princess-Leia hairdo which Josephine wore.

We thought the production was a hoot, though some of the audience was mystified, since it wasn't advertised as anything but "H.M.S. Pinafore" and I suppose not everyone in the world watched Star Trek.

So, for more information, you could track down Stephen Quint.

If anyone is interested in following up on this, it might be fun to see what can be learned. Incidentally, as for that outer-space Mikado idea, does anyone else remember the radio program The Chicago Theatre of the Air? We've talked about it occasionally: it was a 1940s radio program that presented radio versions of grand and light operas. One of the convenient things about it, aside from the fact that the producers used separate dramatic and vocal casts, was that, since it was on radio, they didn't have to spend any money on costumes or scenery: the listeners' imaginations filled in those details. If one must give an outer-space Mikado, radio would be an inexpensive way to present it. The radio afficionado I was conversing with had the technical ability to put together such a thing. SO! If you hear of a radio version of Mikado set in outer space, you heard about it here first!

Midwestern Gilbert and Sullivan Society

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

North Aurora, IL 60542-1538

(630) 859-2918 Work: (630) 896-8860, x 108

E-Mail: midwestgs@pdqlink.com