''Hollywood Pinafore, or The Lad Who Loved a Salary'' is a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

in two acts by

George S. Kaufman George Simon Kaufman (November 16, 1889June 2, 1961) was an American playwright, theater director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and others. ...

, with music by

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 ...

, based on

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 ...

's ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which ...

''. The work premiered on May 8, 1945, at

Ford's Grand Opera House Ford's Grand Opera House was a major music venue in Baltimore, Maryland, located on West Fayette Street between North Howard and Eutaw Streets. It was founded by theatre manager John T. Ford (also the owner of infamous Ford's Theatre in Washingto ...

in Baltimore for tryouts. It opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the

Alvin Theatre The Neil Simon Theatre, originally the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 250 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for ...

on May 31, 1945, and closed on July 14, 1945, after 52 performances. It was directed by Kaufman and starred

Annamary Dickey Annamary Dickey (April 11, 1911 – June 1, 1999), also known as Annamary Dickey Laue, was an American soprano and actress in operas, operettas, musicals, night clubs, and concerts who had an active performance career from the 1930s through th ...

as Brenda Blossom,

Shirley Booth Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of only 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awa ...

as Louhedda Hopsons,

Victor Moore Victor Fred Moore (February 24, 1876 – July 23, 1962) was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, play ...

as Joseph W. Porter,

George Rasely George Rasely (October 27, 1890, St. Louis, Missouri – 3 January 1965, Lawrence, Kansas) was an American tenor who had an active career in operas, concerts, and musicals during the first half of the 20th century. He was also a frequent perf ...

as Mike Corcoran,

William Gaxton William Gaxton (né Arthur Anthony Gaxiola, December 2, 1893 – February 2, 1963) was an American star of vaudeville, film, and theatre. Gaxton was president of The Lambs Club from 1936 to 1939, 1952 to 1953, and 1957 to 1961. He and Victor ...

as Dick, and

Mary Wickes Mary Wickes (born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser; June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995) was an American actress. She often played supporting roles as prim, professional women, secretaries, nurses, nuns, therapists, teachers and housekeepers, who made ...

as Miss Hebe. The costumes were designed by

Mary Percy Schenck Mary Percy Schenck Cosgrove (July 16, 1917 – August 30, 2005) was an American costume designer who won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design in 1948 for her work on Ruth Goetz's ''The Heiress''. Mainly active as a designer during the 1940s, she d ...

. The adaptation transplants the maritime satire of the original ''Pinafore'' to a satire of the glamorous world of 1940s Hollywood film making, but Sullivan's score is retained with minor adaptations. According to

Howard Teichmann Howard Miles Teichmann (January 22, 1916 - July 7, 1987) was a Broadway playwright and biographer. Teichman was born in Chicago in 1916 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1938. He first went to work for Orson Welles on his The Merc ...

's 1972 biography ''George S. Kaufman: An Intimate Portrait'', Kaufman had the inspiration for ''Hollywood Pinafore'' during a poker game with his friend

Charles Lederer Charles Davies Lederer (December 31, 1910 – March 5, 1976) was an American screenwriter and film director. He was born into a theatrical family in New York, and after his parents divorced, was raised in California by his aunt, Marion Davies, ...

. While Lederer was arranging his cards, he idly sang a few bars of "When I Was a Lad" from ''Pinafore'' while ad-libbing a new lyric: "Oh, he nodded his head / and he never said 'no' / and now he's the head of the studio." Kaufman insisted on paying Lederer a token fee for the idea of transplanting ''Pinafores setting to a Hollywood studio. Although Kaufman's lyrics are witty, the book is static for a musical. However, it has been revived a number of times in recent years, including a 1998 "Lost Musicals" staged concert production at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

in London.Bradley (2005), p. 170History of Lost Musicals
lostmusicals.org, accessed June 1, 2009

Synopsis

Starlet Brenda Blossom, pining for a lowly writer, Ralph, is promised in marriage by her father (a director looking to advance his own career) to the studio head, Joseph Porter. If she marries Ralph, she'll be tossed out of Hollywood and forced to make a living on the stage. Everything turns out for the best when it is discovered that a mix-up in Louhedda Hopsons' gossip column was responsible for Ralph's fall from grace. In reality, it was Ralph who was meant to head the studio instead of Porter.

Roles and Broadway cast

*Joseph W. Porter, ''head of Pinafore Pictures'' –

*Mike Corcoran, ''a director'' –

*Ralph Rackstraw, ''a writer'' – Gilbert Russell *Dick Live-Eye, ''an agent'' –

*Brenda Blossom, ''a star'' –

*Louhedda Hopsons, ''a columnist'' (a combination of the names of

Louella Parsons Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger; August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was an American movie columnist and a screenwriter. She was retained by William Randolph Hearst because she had championed Hearst's mistress Marion Davies and su ...

and

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

) –

*Bob Beckett, ''a press agent'' – Russ Brown *Miss Hebe, ''Mr. Porter's secretary'' –

*Miss Gloria Mundi – Diana Corday *Miss Beverly Wilshire – Pamela Randell *Little Miss Peggy – Ella Mayer *Doorman – Daniel De Paolo *Secretaries, Guard, Actors, Actresses, Assistant Directors, Cameramen, Technicians, Singers and Dancers

Musical numbers

;Act I * Simple Movie Folk - Miss Gloria Mundi, Miss Beverly Wilshire, Little Miss Peggy, Girls, Ensemble * Little Butter-Up - Louhedda Hobson * An Agent's Lot Is Not a Happy One - Dick Live-Eye * A Maiden Often Seen - Ralph Rackstraw, Miss Beverly Wilshire, Ensemble * I'm a Big Director at Pinafore - Mike Corcoran, Ensemble * Here on the Lot - Brenda Blossom * Joe Porter's Car is Seen - Male Chorus, Ensemble * I Am the Monarch of the Joint - Joseph W. Porter, Miss Liebe, Ensemble * When I Was a Lad - Joseph W. Porter, Ensemble * A Writer Fills the Lowest Niche - Bob Beckett, Ralph Rackstraw, Guard, Ensemble * Never Mind the Why and Wherefore - Dick Live-Eye, Ensemble * Refrain, Audacious Scribe/Proud Lady, Have Your Way - Ralph Rackstraw, Brenda Blossom, Miss Liebe, Ensemble * Can I Survive This Overbearing? (Finale Act 1) - Dick Live-Eye, Brenda Blossom, Miss Liebe, Ralph Rackstraw, Bob Beckett, Ensemble ;ACT II * Fair Moon - Mike Corcoran * I Am the Monarch of the Joint (reprise) - Joseph W. Porter, Miss Liebe, Ensemble * Ballet Interlude: Success Story - Chief Maid, Other Little Maids, Talent Scout, Her True Love, Two More Boys, Armand, the Movie Hero, Director, Studio Assistants * Hollywood's a Funny Place - Louhedda Hobson, Joseph W. Porter * To Go Upon the Stage - Brenda Blossom * He Is a Movie Man - Joseph W. Porter, Dick Live-Eye, Ensemble * The Merry Maiden and the Jerk - Dick Live-Eye, Joseph W. Porter * Carefully on Tiptoe Stealing (music brazenly taken from ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'') - Brenda Blossom, Ralph Rackstraw, Dick Live-Eye, Mike Corcoran, Ensemble * Pretty Daughter of Mine - Mike Corcoran, Ralph Rackstraw, Miss Liebe, Joseph W. Porter, Dick Live-Eye, Ensemble * Farewell, My Own - Ralph Rackstraw, Brenda Blossom, Miss Liebe, Joseph W. Porter, Louhedda Hobson, Bob Beckett, Ensemble * This Town I Now Must Shake - Louhedda Hobson, Ensemble * Finale Act 2 - Entire Company

References

* *Kaufman, George S, ''Hollywood Pinafore or the Lad Who Loved a Salary'', Dramatists Play Service (1998)

External links

*
Synopsis, roles and musical numbersBrief descriptionKathryn Kuhn and Mary Percy Schenck costume designs for Hollywood Pinafore, 1945.
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{Gilbert and Sullivan Broadway musicals 1945 musicals Adaptations of works by Gilbert and Sullivan Musicals based on operas Musicals set in California Musicals set in Los Angeles