A Beginner’s Guide to Gilbert & Sullivan | Lamplighters Music Theatre

Ever wonder what Gilbert and Sullivan is all about? Want to introduce your friends and family to the granddaddies of modern musical theater? Let Lamplighters Music Theatre take you through the whys and wherefores of our favorite music-and-lyrics duo!
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Produced by LMT Multimedia
Lamplighters Music Theatre
Team Basingstoke: Nika Cassaro (Head Writer, Narrator), William McNamara (Asst. Writer, Narrator), Paul Zawilski (Asst. Writer, Narrator)
Video Editing by Paul Zawilski
Videos clips presented under “fair use” guidelines of copyright laws
“Star Trek: Insurrection”, Feature-Length Movie by Paramount Pictures, 1998.
“Family Guy”, Television Series, Fox Television Network, Pilot Episode, “Death Has A Shadow”, 1999.
“The West Wing”, Television Series, NBC Television Network, Season 2, Episode 5, “And It’s Surely To Their Credit”, 2000.
“Car 54, Where Are You?”, Television Series, CBS Television Network, Season 1 Episode 15, “Christmas at the 53rd”, 1961.
“Obama! A Modern U.S. President (Musical Spoof)”, Directed, produced and starring Ron Butler, 2010.
Video excerpts of Lamplighters’ productions are used with permission of Lamplighters Music Theatre.
We thank the AFM Local 6 and IATSE Local 16 for their cooperation in the production of this video.
Musical Excerpts from Lamplighters’ Orchestra
Overture, “HMS Pinafore”
Overture, “Iolanthe”
Overture, “The Sorceror”
Overture, “Ruddygore”
Overture, “Princess Ida”
Overture, “The New Mikado”
Excerpt from Lamplighters’ 2011 production of “HMS Pinafore”
Lindsay Thompson Roush as Josephine
Michael Belle as Ralph
Stage Director
Music Director
Costumes
Peter Crompton, Set Design
Excerpt from Lamplighters’ 2017 Gala “Patterday Night Live”
Based on “I Am The Very Model of a Modern Major-General” from The Pirates of Penzance
Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan
New Lyrics by Mike Dedarian
Shelley Lynn Johnson as Woman
Phil Lowery as Man
Paul Zawilski as Dr. Patterman
Bridget Maguire-Colton, Rose Frazier, Kristen Tansey, Kelley Powers as Tone Definite
Lary Byler, Videographer
Barbara Heroux, Stage Director
Baker Peeples & Monroe Kanouse, Music Directors
Historical photos are in the Public Domain and/or are used under Creative Commons License
Photos of Lamplighters’ 2016 production of “Ruddygore” taken by Lucas Buxman

[@nikacassaro2345]

I love the Star Trek bit!

[@krobson4849]

I live in SW Ontario, and have seen several G&S performances at the Stratford Festival. Always a treat, I saw Pirates twice.

[@woop123457]

Sideshow Bob singing sweet little buttercup brought me here

[@thomasewing2656]

There is a magic about G&S which trancends the Earthly plane!

[@LeonoraBassisty104]

I am french and I love Gilbert & Sullivan especially when it is sung by the great John Reed. I am currently training to be an Opera singer and Alongside other Opera arias I also got my teacher to make me learn G&S arias such as Tit Willow (my favourite), When I was a lad, I have a song to sing O! and more. It's really a shame that Gilbert & Sullivan is not that much known in France. I asked a lot of music teacher and only one knew (because he played in an orchestra in UK). For myself, I discovered it via the Simpsons's parody ( <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="68">1:08</a> ) But I enjoy spreading G&S works (and also Other works by Sullivan only) to everyone I know in France. (sorry for my bad english)

[@liamvnbw]

Where I live, there’s also very few people that know of G&S, so we never see any performances of theirs. I’m not a trained musician, so I don’t have the privilege of performing their aria’s professionally, as you do. I so envy British highschools and amateur-society’s where regular enthousiasts can join together to put on these delightful operetta’s! For now, I’ll have to settle for youtube-recordings, messing around with piano-adaptations and spreading the music to as many people as will listen! I’m so grateful for the internet, which gives access to music that I would otherwise never have discovered…

[@LeonoraBassisty104]

This summer I go to Buxton to see 5 G&S Operas (The Mikado, Patience, HMS Pinafore, Iolanthe and Utopia Limited). Also I am getting some more people involved a soprano, a mezzo and an alto (my mother). We are currently learning: "There is beauty in the below of the blast" from The Mikado "I have a song to sing O!" from the Yeomen of the Guard "There grew a little flower" from Ruddigore "Three little maids from school" from The Mikado "So please sir we much regret it" (but without Pish-Tush :((( ) from The Mikado

[@benoitpellet1657]

I am American but have lived in France for over 40 years. My dream is to see a G&S production here. If Offenbach and Les Mis can be produced successfully internationally I don’t see why G&S can’t.

[@LeonoraBassisty104]

@@benoitpellet1657Sullivan is almost unknown to France and each time I tried presenting it they called it " just Offenbach but british". Though I think Offenbach and G&S are similar but also very different in some ways, and what is expected of Light Opera and Operetta by french people is different than anglo-saxon people. Also may I add, that G&S opera have very british references than some french people might not just get. I want to produce a G&S here and may have found a very unexpected ally: a Wagnerian Society that seemed very interested in G&S since they didn't know about it at all. I may be able to give a conference at one of their meeting and may present them 'Iolanthe' as we think it might be the most appealing to them, probably followed by 'The Yeomen' and 'Ruddygore'. We have experimented a bit by presenting G&S to other french people and they didn't seemed very moved by 'The Mikado' or 'HMS Pinafore', I guess each country has different taste, though I need to experiment more in order to know what G&S operas french people would like to see the most. Overall I think G&S can export internationally (which has been proven successfully in other french speaking country such as Belgium, look at Brussels's light opera company for instance).

[@davidmburgess]

John Reed is amazing! I wish someone would make a documentary about him. I know he was a gay and I'd love to know more about his life. There is a biography called, "Nothing Whatever to Grumble At" that I just ordered.

[@jillbowers2456]

Finally got to watch the whole thing--it was very well-done!

[@tiroa3267]

This is so good! I'll share it with our HMS Pinafore cast!

[@janesokolow9948]

Great! I know several people who will enjoy this!

[@melindacohen6826]

Very informative and well done! A lot of info presented in a fun manner! Looking forward to tomorrow's performance.

[@138hamid]

Hi Melinda ,actually 7 month passed from your comment) I just wanted to know have you watched that performance ?

[@janinewilkinson4894]

Success: the Gilbert & Sullivan suite is suitable for COMMUNITY, that is all communities are capable of performing this with success! Selah

[@NoOne-kr4jc]

Thanks for this.

[@DurandGarcia]

Thank you, this is great.

[@juliadagnall5816]

In addition, D’Oyly Carte had built the perfect theater to showcase their productions. Victorian theaters didn’t have the best reputation. Aside from the usual complaints about the moral character of actresses and the theatrical reliance on the sensational and crude, they could be genuinely unpleasant experiences- hot and crowded and dingy. Richard D’Oyly Carte set out to build a theater people could bring their grandmothers to. Seats were spacious and patrons were expected to queue for tickets and sit in assigned seats. The theater was the first public building to be lit entirely by electricity. Program booklets were free and high quality and there was no need to tip the staff. The Savoy theater helped set a standard and introduced many ideas we take for granted today.

[@missasinenomine]

I'll never never never never never never never never never never never never never go to sea again! (The Gondoliers)

[@merledoughty5787]

Of course this brings us to the 3 productions for Austrailian/New Zealand audiences were brilliant especially the way the late John English played the 3 parts in those operettas

[@DJDarkDarsi]

The Pirates one is THE Definitive Rendition of Penzance, it was only a couple years ago I found out there isn't ANY repeats to Cat Like Tread, let alone 7!

[@brandontownsend6955]

Excellent video! Thanks

[@inspiron96]

I am the very model of a scientist salarian.

I love their work but there's nowhere to watch it where I live. if only there were any good movie adaptations ....

[@LamplightersMT]

We are streaming one show every month! Go to lamplighters.org/tickets/ for more information :-)

[@antigonemerlin]

Sullivan's music was always the highlight of a G&S operetta, and his peers often lamented that Sullivan wasted his energies on comedies instead of something more serious (which is why it is ironically fitting that his comedies are the best known; where is Wagner or Offenbach now?) Gilbert and Sullivan often had disagreements, not only about the plot, but also the tone of certain songs. For example,

[@juliadagnall5816]

I would argue that Gilbert’s brilliance was in having his ridiculous characters played with a straight face. He and Sullivan were both very consistent in ensuring that the performers didn’t ham up their parts but played them as they were written and as if everything they said (or sang) made sense even if it didn’t. The goal isn’t pathos, it’s comedy.

[@keithjones7171]

Pity about the subtitles,which seem to have been generated by a faulty speech generation programme.

[@ZJStrudwick]

I'm sorry but you yanks really can't impersonate a British accent lol

[@colonelfairfax]

Which British accent did you have in mind? RP? Cockney? Sheffield? Liverpool? Scots? Irish?

[@thomasw.eggers4303]

Check this out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJy7ZIOQlN6hqdU