''Sullivan and Gilbert'' is a jukebox musical by Ken Ludwig with music and lyrics by

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

. ''Sullivan and Gilbert'' features over 15 Gilbert and Sullivan songs. It examines a fictional day in 1890 when the Victorian era composer and dramatist, while embroiled in their 1890 " carpet quarrel", are requested by Queen Victoria to present a revue of songs from their operas on short notice. The musical premiered in 1983 in

Milford, New Hampshire Milford is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States, on the Souhegan River. The population was 16,131 at the 2020 census, up from 15,115 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauU.S. Census website 2010 Census figures. Re ...

, and it has been revived several times in various places in North America.

Production history

''Sullivan and Gilbert'' premiered in 1983 in

. It then had several more regional productions in the 1980s.Ludwig, Ken, W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
''Sullivan & Gilbert''
Samuel French, 1983 (1990 edition) In 1988 it was mounted at

National Arts Centre of Canada The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of p ...

, where it won the Ottawa Critics' Circle award for Best Play of the Year. It then was produced at the Kennedy Center opening in September 1988. The cast starred Fritz Weaver and Noel Harrison. It was directed by

Leon Major Leon Major (born 1933, Toronto) is a Canadian opera and theatre director. He is the Artistic Director of The Maryland Opera Studio for the University of Maryland, College Park. From 1998-2003 he was Artistic Director of Boston Lyric Opera and from ...

and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. The play was produced by the Phoenix Theater Company at the Performing Arts Center of the

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was fo ...

in September 1993. The cast starred George Grizzard, Tim Jerome and Donna English. Subsequent productions followed. This is not the only show about the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership. A 1938 Broadway show, ''Knights of Song'', tells the story of the partnership,"Knights of Song"
at the IBDB database as do the musicals ''The Savoyards'', by Donald Madgwick (1971) and ''Tarantara Tarantara'', by Ian Taylor (1975), and the films '' The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan'' (1951) and '' Topsy-Turvy'' (1999).

Synopsis

In December 1890, near the end of their collaboration, and still estranged by their famous carpet quarrel, W. S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan have neither seen nor spoken with each other in months. Now they must supervise a rehearsal for a revue of songs from their comic operas, a command performance for Queen Victoria at the Savoy Theatre. The underprepared show is set to open in about eight hours. Sullivan has been ill and has missed most of the rehearsals; he is in love with pretty Violet Russell, a young

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

of whom Gilbert disapproves. To make matters worse, Sullivan has invited Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh (a son of the Queen), to join the cast. The eager duke can't sing, dance or remember his cues. When Gilbert finds out, he's furious. With a company of temperamental actors to manage, and their producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte, micromanaging everything, the two men have much to argue about. But their admiration for each other as collaborators and friends triumphs.

Roles and 1988 cast

* W. S. Gilbert – Fritz Weaver *Sir

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

– Noel Harrison *Lucy Turner "Kitty" Gilbert –

Kate Trotter Kate Trotter (born February 5, 1953) is a Canadian film, television and stage actress. Career Her television roles have included appearances in '' Wild Roses'', ''Covert Affairs'', ''Lost Girl'', '' The Newsroom'', ''Paradise Falls'', '' Earth: F ...

* Durward Lely – Daniel Marcus * Courtice Pounds – Greg Bond * Rutland Barrington – Philip Booth * Sybil Grey –

Lisa Vroman Lisa Vroman (born 1956) is an American lyric soprano and stage actress. Vroman's mother and stepfather teach music, and her father was a singer. She graduated from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in 1979. She earned a master of fine ...

* Jessie Bond – Leslie Toy * Rosina Brandram – Christina James * Richard D'Oyly Carte – Graham Harley * Francois Cellier – Glenn Morle *Violet Russell – Donna English * Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh – Edward Duke * George Grossmith – Walter Hudson *Master Carpenter – Timothy Cruickshank *Mistresses of Wardrobe – Susan Cuthbert and Alicia Jeffery *Master of Properties – David Playfair

Notes

References

1996 revivalDescription of a 2006 California production of the musical
{{Gilbert and Sullivan Plays by Ken Ludwig Works about Gilbert and Sullivan 1983 musicals Jukebox musicals Musicals set in England Musicals set in the 1890s