#I bet Cap played Cousin Hebe at school and got a huge thrill from it
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You know what show I really hope the ghosts put on while they were all together? HMS Pinafore. Everyone from Fanny onwards most likely knew it reasonably well already, either by cultural osmosis or from being a theatre gay, and for the rest it's probably the easiest operetta to pick up that's ever existed.
I imagine it would have gone down something like this:
Josephine Corcoran- Kitty
Ralph Rackstraw - Thomas
Absolute no-brainers for the lead soprano and tenor. Ralph scores extra points for being one of the most dramatic and flouncy tenors Gilbert ever wrote. At one point he has a speech that's so flowery it's genuinely incomprehensible. Unfortunately his big aria is terribly dull (still in-character tbh) but both of Josephine's are brilliant. Especially "The hours creep on apace", where, having secretly accepted Ralph's proposal, she does waver a bit since, after all, he is a bit of a pleb.
Captain Corcoran - The Captain
Keeps the Pinafore ship-shape and Bristol-fashion. Would have a lovely father-daughter relationship with Josephine. Gets to be in lots of bangin' numbers, especially "I am the Captain of the Pinafore".
Captain: I do my best to satisfy you all -
Crew: And with you we're quite content!
Captain: You're exceedingly polite and I think it's only right to return the compliment.
Sir Joseph Porter - Julian
Marvellously smug and superior patter baritone who got to his lofty position via flattery and luck rather than merit. No direction needed.
Little Buttercup - Fanny
I think she would struggle playing someone who's meant to be lowly, but on the other hand she'd probably really get into every other aspect of the character, especially when she gets to drop mysterious hints all the way through, and dramatically reveal the twist at the end. (She also really reminds me of the mature student who played Little Buttercup for my university's Light Opera Society once, who was very definitely another repressed middle-aged horndog. Get it, girl.)
Cousin Hebe - Mary
Not much of a part, but I suspect getting Mary to concentrate on something like this for any length of time without going off on a tangent would be... tricky. Would be enthusiastic about helping Josephine and might have to be held back from headbutting Captain Corcoran when he tries to stop the elopement.
Dick Deadeye - Robin
Hunched, triangular bass Dick Deadeye growls his way through the opera causing chaos just... 'cos. Is far more perceptive than the Captain and has to really spell out that Josephine and Ralph are planning on running away together.
Bosun's Mate - Humphrey's head
Carpenter's mate and director - Pat
This probably required slightly delicate handling, since Pat is the better singer (and He is an Englishman is harder than it looks), but a) keeping rehearsals from descending into anarchy probably took all his energy and b) Humphrey might have been slightly grumpy being relegated to a really tiny role again. At least they both get to be in A British Tar is a Soaring Soul.
Chorus of sisters, cousins, and aunts - Humphrey's body
Carries the whole show on his back.
#bbc ghosts#gilbert and sullivan#G&S#posts I made instead of doing actual work#and which will be of interest to absolutely no-one but me lol#I bet Cap played Cousin Hebe at school and got a huge thrill from it#sometimes to make the role bigger they'll put in When Maiden Loves from The Yeomen of the Guard for her#and that is a very lovely yearning song that probably really appealed to him for no reason in particular; definitely not#I imagine Lady B suddenly getting into it would be quite alarming for the Captain but that sounds hilarious so#also I imagine that everyone does all the chorus numbers#trying hard not to imagine what Julian does during We Sail the Ocean Blue on the line 'as the balls whistle free o'er the bright blue sea'
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