Hollywood Pinafore
or The Lad Who Loved a Salary
A Musical Comedy in 2 Acts. Based on W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. Book and lyrics revised by George S. Kaufman, with deepest apologies to William S. Gilbert. Music by Arthur Sullivan
Alvin Theatre, Broadway - May 31, 1945 - (53 perfs)
Story:
Joseph Porter heads Pinafore Pictures amid a swirl of recognisable Hollywood types: Louhedda Hopsons, a gossip columnist a veritable chain gang of imprisoned screen writers and dumb blondes looking to become famous; a devious agent, and Brenda Blossom, a love-struck starlet pining for a lowly writer, yet promised in marriage to the studio head by her father (a director looking to advance his own career).
What's Brenda to do? If she marries the poor, starving screen writer, Ralph, she'll be tossed out of Hollywood and forced to make a living on (gasp!) the stage. It's too much to be endured. Fortunately, everything turns out for the best for everyone when it is discovered that a mix-up in Louhedda's column was responsible for Ralph's fall from grace. In reality, it was Ralph who was meant to head the studio instead of Porter. Upon this classic turnaround, happiness befalls each of the characters in turn - just what you'd expect from a Hollywood picture.
Cast:
10 men, 10 women
- Joseph W. Porter, head of Pinafore Pictures
- Mike Corcoran, a director
- Ralph Rackstraw, a writer
- Dick Live-Eye, an agent
- Brenda Blossom, a star
- Louhedda Hopsons, a columnist
- Bob Beckett, a press agent
- Miss Liebe, Mr. Porter's secretary
- Miss Gloria Mundi
- Miss Beverly Wilshire
- Little Miss Peggy
- Doorman
Secretaries, Guard, Actors, Actresses, Assistant
Directors, Cameramen, Technicians, etc. Singers and Dancers
Musical Numbers
ACT 1
- 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 2
- 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, Directorm 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 Pirates of Penzance)- 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
Scenes and Settings
- Scene: The Pinafore Pictures Studio, Hollywood.
- Act 1 : Morning.
- Act 2: Night.