H.M.S. Pinafore on PBS.com

[dexter3]

Posted: 10/17/11 at 11:29pm

http://video.pbs.org/video/2153897416/#

Anyone else catch it?

I'm not familiar with the show at all...but I couldn't get through it. The musical arrangements threw me..everything else is so campy and of the time/style...and then boogie woogie and pop (with the original melodies) seemed so tacked on...

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 10/18/11 at 12:06am

Just watched snippets of some of my favorite parts of the first act on the streaming video of the website. I don't want to poo-poo a production that I've seen about ten minutes of, but I think the fact that after ten minutes I've had enough kinda says something.

H.M.S. Pinafore is one of my top ten favorite musicals/operettas and I like my classics delivered straight-up, thank you very much. There's a big difference between the clever retouches, genuinely funny bits and modern orchestrations that the Public Theatre did with the famous Kevin Kline Pirates of Penzance (which was very funny) and the campy crap I just watched. And what's with the slow tempos and excessive dance breaks?

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/18/11 at 12:20am

We saw it live at the Guthrie theatre and it was an incredible evening. It's a small thrust stage - and we were in the front row. The energy was amazing. The cast pulled you along - perhaps it just doesn't come through that way on TV. It's not your typical Pinafore - I mean, really, a big tap number? But, it all worked when we saw it.

(But, what do I know. Phantom leaves me cold...)

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 10/18/11 at 12:46am

When you do a classic, no matter how you do it, there are gonna be people who love your interpretation (or re-interpretation) or hate it. I've done Pinafore twice and have also enjoyed hearing/seeing other versions on CD and YouTube over the years, so obviously I encountered this version as someone who already has an opinion on "how it should be done." So my view is tainted. And as I admitted, I only watched about ten minutes of it

[Renart]

Posted: 10/18/11 at 8:58am

My wife and I also saw it at The Guthrie this summer and we really liked it. From the first number you know that it isn't your father's Gilbert and Sullivan. But if you just sit back and accept it for what it is, it's a fun version. We were about halfway up the slope and had a great view (every seat at The Guthrie is a good seat). I will say that I was hugely disappointed with the claustrophobic filming for PBS. I kept wanting to yell, "Pull the camera back!" The TV audience really didn't get a good feel for the staging because of the horrible horrible filming and editing.

After seeing it on TV, I realized how unnecessary some of the "additional material" was, especially Barbara Bryne's obligatory appearance as the special visitor. (She did the same schtick in Guthrie's Penzance a few years ago.) But that didn't really detract from our overall enjoyment of the show.

Live Show: A-
PBS Video: B-

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 10/18/11 at 12:04pm

I lasted 10 minutes. I hated the orchestrations and found the entire thing just bad over all. I have too many things to do to waste my time watching something this awful.

[erwhite313]

Posted: 10/18/11 at 12:44pm

As a Gilbert & Sullivan enthusiast, I also pretty much despised this production, as it was presented on TV. I think it was obvious that the Guthrie was trying to "dumb down" or make this musical more palatable for contemporary ears, i.e. those who don't really like classical music. I can understand that. But some things perplexed me. Like the fact that they changed Ralph's "A Maiden Fair to See" from 3/4 to 4/4?!?! Did it make that much difference?

[ChiChi]

Posted: 10/18/11 at 9:08pm

I am not the least bit pleased. What nerve and arrogance.

Updated On: 10/18/11 at 09:08 PM

[peerrjb]

Posted: 10/21/11 at 3:41am

This production reminded me of Emma Goldman's comment upon seeing all the rich folks's houses in NYC 100 years ago, which was (if memory serves) "Not only are they overly gaudy and extravagant...but they're in such bad taste!". It seemed to be a show which had taken a cue from the "Pirates" of the PapPeriod70's, but without any kind of clear-cut framework for its musical sensibility.
Oh, yeah, and it was REALLLLLY badly sung.

[lynnespocktoo]

Posted: 10/21/11 at 8:30pm

I liked it.

Posted: 10/21/11 at 9:03pm

Weid things are always being done to G&S so it doesn't really surprise or upset me too much. However, i agree that the music is kinda a mess and all over the place--why change some songs and not others? Why use such weird sounding "pop" arrangements? (UI've heard much ebtter updated versions of G&S shows--or as others have said about the Papp Pirates, that was still musically valid I felt).

[MarkieSunshine]

Posted: 10/23/11 at 1:02pm

I haven't seen it, but I gotta ask, does Josephine belt?