"It's not piracy, it's LUNACY!" ~ Lord Thomas

Nothing like Gilbert & Sullivan for a light-hearted, inconsequential evening. We had a wonderful time. Tom started out saying, "If you had told me this was a murder mystery on the high seas, I'd have believed you." But he did do some research online - Wikipedia has a pretty good synopsis - so he some idea what he was getting into.

"I don't understand why it's just a single show," I whined. "Is this a traveling production?" He nodded soberly and said, "They're eighth graders. They've been working really hard." <erupting in giggles>

They were actually the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, or NYGASP, and they were immensely entertaining. A lot of physical humor on top of the absolutely silly lyrics. For instance, after the pirates have met the girls and paired off, the Major General (the girls' father) asks what the pirates want. "We propose," announces the pirate king; and the Major General shrinks into Demure Bathing Beauty Pose No. 3. 

Speaking of the Major General, I assured Tom that he had heard references to the song, "The Very Model of a Modern Major General," but had so far always missed the allusion. He swore he hadn't; where would he hear such a thing? "In newspaper columns,  on TV, anywhere," I said. " They'll say something about 'the very model of a modern such and such.'" He grudgingly admitted this could happen. But the song itself delighted him, of course.

I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,

I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,

About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news,

With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.

At the last line of this, the girls held their arms up aslant to the raised arms of the pirates - forming the hypotenuse. And I don't know if this is a standard delivery of the following lines, but after

Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore,

the Major General paused and puzzled. "I'll NEVER come up with a rhyme for 'din afore,'" he muttered. "What, never?" asked the pirate king; and the answer, of course, was, "Hardly ever!" followed by the inevitable

Then I can hum a fugue of which I've heard the music's din afore,

And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.

***

When the house lights dimmed, the conductor on his way to the pit took a long, spotlighted bow; turns out he's the artistic director of NYGASP. Then the overture ran so long that Tom whispered, affecting a lisp and fake sincerity, "Is this a CONthert?" I smacked him and hissed, "You idiot! I'm looking for the bassoon." He murmured, "I hear it ... there it is! Behind the flute!" (Of course.) An old lady in front of us glared because this time WE were the cretins talking during the music, but later on that same lady's hearing aid malfunctioned and hissed like a balloon deflating until her companion turned it off.

        And the percussionist had a starring moment late in Act 2. I had been thinking about how much fun it is to watch percussionists because they get up and move around - I saw her put down the cymbals and grab a triangle during the opening pirate number - and then I got distracted by the unfolding idiocy. The policemen's performance of "When a Felon's Not Engaged in His Employment" was probably the comic highlight of the show, with the little round Lou Abbott-like guy always marching in the wrong direction and the tall, skinny sergeant marching like he'd taken Ministry of Silly Walks lessons from Monty Python. Eventually the sergeant sings,

"... And listen to the merry village chime."

The bass drum went BOIINNNGGGG. The sergeant glared, then strode over to the pit, saying, "Here, you, in the orchestra" - then stopped and looked back at his cohorts, saying, "It's a lady!" Addressing her: "Hello, how are you? Good. You know, just now, when I said 'the merry village chime?' What you hit was a drum. I'd like to hear a chime, please. Could we just do that part again?"

This time she hit the triangle very carefully, and he thanked her, and the silliness continued.

I was ready for the Rockettes-style dance-line kicks during a later number, but I was not ready for them to reprise that number, this time with glittering silver top-hats held aloft and shaking.

And what about the singing, you ask? The pirate king - played by David Wannen, if you care - had a creamy baritone voice that played well with Frederic's Irish tenor. Ruth was quite good, but it's a good thing she wasn't onstage when we finally met up with Mabel. That girl could SING! She did some vocal calisthenics that were very funny but also very HARD; Thomas and I stared in wild wonder, slack-jawed. She had been hiding behind a book, silent, while her sisters sang and flirted with Frederic, but then burst into our consciousness with perfect pitch and control.

Mabel was played by Michele McConnell, and I was impressed enough to check out her credentials. She has also played Josephine, Yum-Yum, and Patience with NYGASP. Hmmm, the diva of the company, obviously. But, you know, Ruth wasn't half bad ... <getting an idea> ... I wonder if she gets the part of Buttercup? ... Yup!

I rustled up a BRAVO! for the police sergeant during the curtain calls, but my voice wasn't needed for the Pirate King's bow - he was the audience favorite, as well as mine. (Tom said, "The Dread Pirate Roberts!") I tried to decide why he was so much more charismatic than Frederic. Was it the part? Was it the costume? I mean, there's certainly something about a red frock coat, a ruffled cravat, rakish sash, long, dark hair ... But no, he also had enormous stage presence. He filled up whatever space he was occupying. Made me wonder why I've never really liked the theater people I've known, if the essence of acting is to project this charisma.

Comments

[David Wannen]

Thanks for the wonderful review! It is now up on the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players website: nygasp.org

[Nina]

I love that the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players website is NY Gasp! Properly done, Gilbert & Sullivan causes much gasping (from laughter - along with tears, and fits of choking) in the audience.