Ten-Finger Exercises

first night on the Pinafore

The first night of H.M.S. Pinafore went surprisingly well. I hadn't ever seen the whole thing before.

"What, never?"
"Hardly ever."

That's a piece of dialog (sometimes lyrics) that comes up several times. Another is, "What was that?" "It was the cat," meaning the cat of nine tails, the whip that the captain intends to use on the 'lowly tar,' the seaman who is in love with his daughter.

The tale, for those of you unfamiliar with this Gilbert & Sullivan epic, is about the sailor, Ralph (pronounced Raif,) and the captain's daughter, Josephine, who are in love but cannot be together because of their very different stations. Josephine is pledged to the admiral, Sir Joseph, played by Bill.

This intended marriage is what the captain wants. It will be good for his own career, as well as give Josephine the life she has been born into. When he hears that she does not like Sir Joseph, he is very distressed, and he pours out his heart to Buttercup, a woman who comes aboard to sell trinkets to the sailors. He is charmed by her understanding, and wishes he and she could be together, but, of course, their stations are also too different, alas. It is all very melodramatic, and funny.

My pictures from last night turned out well, and I'm going again in a few minutes to sit in a different place and take more. I was in the second row last night, and I kept cutting off people's feet, so I need to aim a little higher. Oh my! That didn't sound good, did it!

I've spent much of the day today trying to fix the part of the costume Bill spilled lemonade on. It made a big stain on the gold satin, but I finally got it taken care of. Then we had time for a little plane ride, a few touch and go landings at a nearby airport, and then to a winery to pick up our monthly club member bottle, then home. He really needed a nap before last night's performance, and even more tonight; but each time he tried, the phone rang four or five times, after a whole day of silence. Maddening!