Tag Archives: Gilbert & Sullivan
TMoTM S04E06: Pirates!
Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty premiered on December 31, 1879, where it was well received by both audiences and critics. Yet even as far back as that opening, the show has been a harbinger of change — blurring the lines between light comic operetta and musical comedy. The recent Broadway re-imagining Pirates! The Penzance Musical pushed those boundaries even further.
In this episode of The Magic of The Musical, Host Caledonia Skytower explores this Gilbert & Sullivan classic’s remarkable history and its role in making the once vaunted exclusive realm of the “savoyard” accessible over 140 years after its premiere.
The Magic of The Musical: Ghostly and Spooky!
THE MAGIC OF THE MUSICAL — Saturday, October 19th @2pm Pacific/slt. This Month: “Ghostly & Spooky: The Haunting Side of Gilbert & Sullivan”
Also on the air today: tune in at 12 noon or 4pm SLT for the latest edition of “Where Have You Been?”. Plus “Engines of Our Ingenuity” from the University of Houston, every four hours from 4am. Featured Music today will, of course, be “On Broadway!”.
TUNE IN at main.vcradio.org, or “Play Virtual Community Radio” on your smart speaker*!
(*If this doesn’t work first time, say “Enable Skill” and when asked what skill to enable, say “Virtual Community Radio”)
The Magic of The Musical: Ghostly and Spooky!
THE MAGIC OF THE MUSICAL — Saturday, October 21st @2pm Pacific/slt. This Month: “Ghostly & Spooky: The Haunting Side of Gilbert & Sullivan”
This episode is now available on Mixcloud — click here to listen
For this month’s episode we return to the Gold Hall at the elegant Angel Manor Estate. Join our live audience in Second Life or on-the-air!
Also on the air today: tune in at 12 noon or 4pm SLT for the latest edition of “Where Have You Been?”. Plus “Engines of Our Ingenuity” from the University of Houston, every four hours from 4am. Featured Music today will, of course, be “On Broadway!”.
TUNE IN at main.vcradio.org, or “Play Virtual Community Radio” on your smart speaker*!
(*If this doesn’t work first time, say “Enable Skill” and when asked what skill to enable, say “Virtual Community Radio”)
The Magic of The Musical: “With Cat-Like Tread” Now On Mixcloud
“With Cat-Like Tread” focuses on the influence of the distinctive operettas of W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan on American musical theater’s evolution years later in the 20th C. Host Caledonia Skytower is joined by guest Elrik Merlin as they compare and contrast with views from both sides of “the pond.”
At the height of the Victorian era in England, a partnership developed between dramatist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan that resulted in a form of operetta so unique that it is regularly referred to as its own genre: “G&S” – Gilbert and Sullivan. Their dozen musical shows directly influenced musical theater in the 20th C, introducing innovations in content and form that are still part of the language of musicals today. They’ve stood the tests of time, politics, and parody – oftentimes encouraging the latter. Their shows are still widely performed in the English speaking world, and Gilbert and Sullivan societies abound in North America.
The Magic of The Musical explores the blending of music and drama — featuring the songs, history, and lore that make up the musical theater canon. Learn more about some of your favorite shows and composers as we cue the orchestra, and the overture begins.
NOTE: The actor mentioned in this episode who portrayed the Police Constable in the 1980 New York Public Theater production was actually Tony Azito, not Tony Anselmo. Azito was an American eccentric dancer and character actor. Anselmo is an American voice actor, best known as the voice of Donald Duck.
