Comments on: HMS Pinafore http://www.andrewklavan.com/2010/03/06/hms-pinafore/ Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:50:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: W Krebs http://www.andrewklavan.com/2010/03/06/hms-pinafore/#comment-330 W Krebs Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:25:34 +0000 http://www.andrewklavan.com/?p=282#comment-330 Hmmm. I don't know. I don't get the impression that Gilbert and Sullivan are much performed these days. Of the Gilbert and Sullivan book, I would be surprised if anything other than "H.M.S. Pinafore" and "The Pirates of Penzance" is much performed. Even "The Mikado" has become rather politically incorrect. Forget about seeing "Iolanthe" or "Patience" or the impossibly politically incorrect "Princess Ida." In any case, "Pinafore" is only 132 years old. Maybe it will take another couple of centuries before comparisons with Shakespeare can validly be made. After all, Broadway producers in the '30s made good money by revamping Shakespearean comedies as musicals, and Kenneth Branagh managed to make money off of "Much Ado About Nothing" in the '90s. Comedy is just hard, I guess, and part of the difficulty is to catch the moment. That, I believe, is why comedy doesn't age well. Hmmm. I don’t know. I don’t get the impression that Gilbert and Sullivan are much performed these days. Of the Gilbert and Sullivan book, I would be surprised if anything other than “H.M.S. Pinafore” and “The Pirates of Penzance” is much performed. Even “The Mikado” has become rather politically incorrect. Forget about seeing “Iolanthe” or “Patience” or the impossibly politically incorrect “Princess Ida.”

In any case, “Pinafore” is only 132 years old. Maybe it will take another couple of centuries before comparisons with Shakespeare can validly be made. After all, Broadway producers in the ’30s made good money by revamping Shakespearean comedies as musicals, and Kenneth Branagh managed to make money off of “Much Ado About Nothing” in the ’90s.

Comedy is just hard, I guess, and part of the difficulty is to catch the moment. That, I believe, is why comedy doesn’t age well.

]]> By: Lars Walker http://www.andrewklavan.com/2010/03/06/hms-pinafore/#comment-275 Lars Walker Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:59:33 +0000 http://www.andrewklavan.com/?p=282#comment-275 I used to do community theater, and I was in one Gilbert & Sullivan production--The Pirates of Penzance. One of my most vivid memories is of the auditions, where I heard one of the local "stars," a guy who had a good, trained voice, and did all the musical shows, looking at the script, saying (loudly), "This doesn't even make any sense!" And he walked out. Because, for all his vocal talent and high self-esteem, he was an idiot (I knew this from working with him in Camelot), and didn't have the brains to appreciate satire. I used to do community theater, and I was in one Gilbert & Sullivan production–The Pirates of Penzance. One of my most vivid memories is of the auditions, where I heard one of the local “stars,” a guy who had a good, trained voice, and did all the musical shows, looking at the script, saying (loudly), “This doesn’t even make any sense!” And he walked out.

Because, for all his vocal talent and high self-esteem, he was an idiot (I knew this from working with him in Camelot), and didn’t have the brains to appreciate satire.

]]>