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Pirates of Penzance
I've just had a very enjoyable evening watching the Pirates of Penzance at Poole Lighthouse with my friend Daniel (WINOLJ). An amateur show, but still great fun and well-produced.
I do so love the scene where the pirates are coming for General Stanley.
'With catlike tread' the pirates make their way through the 'deserted' churchyard. As the pirates sing enormously loudly about how quiet they are, the terrified policemen are hiding behind the gravestones (occasionally, once the General appears and all the pirates start hiding as well, you can even get a pirate and a policeman behind the same gravestone each trying very hard to pretend the other isn't there).
The policemen, of course, add in loud chorus lines with trumpet noises (to try and keep their morale up) that harmonise perfectly with the pirates singing.
The fun is kept up by the little details (a skeleton hand waving in time to the music, the policemen waving white gloves in time to the music, a pirate banging a tin pan in time to the music) and everyone is still being exaggeratedly obvious about how hard they're trying to avoid being seen by these people they're singing alternate lines in harmony with.
The overall effect is intentionally hilarious. Pure Gilbert and Sullivan!
And, of course, after the pirates yield in the name of Queen Victoria, what better way to finish the show than with the entire audience (a full house) standing to sing the National Anthem.
I do so love the scene where the pirates are coming for General Stanley.
'With catlike tread' the pirates make their way through the 'deserted' churchyard. As the pirates sing enormously loudly about how quiet they are, the terrified policemen are hiding behind the gravestones (occasionally, once the General appears and all the pirates start hiding as well, you can even get a pirate and a policeman behind the same gravestone each trying very hard to pretend the other isn't there).
The policemen, of course, add in loud chorus lines with trumpet noises (to try and keep their morale up) that harmonise perfectly with the pirates singing.
The fun is kept up by the little details (a skeleton hand waving in time to the music, the policemen waving white gloves in time to the music, a pirate banging a tin pan in time to the music) and everyone is still being exaggeratedly obvious about how hard they're trying to avoid being seen by these people they're singing alternate lines in harmony with.
The overall effect is intentionally hilarious. Pure Gilbert and Sullivan!
And, of course, after the pirates yield in the name of Queen Victoria, what better way to finish the show than with the entire audience (a full house) standing to sing the National Anthem.
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There is but one important question,, was THE song done well, done clear and done fast, (and don't argue about that being three)
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Some G+S songs have midi karaoke files on the web. You might want to see if that one is among them.