The Stripper - based on Princess Ida by Gilbert and Sullivan

The opera company is "taking five" at the rehearsal of Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida,
and Arac's little sister Anita has come into the theatre from her job at the strip joint next door.

She has already heard her brother Arac practising that song in which he gradually removes
all his cumbersome armour, and she decides it is also a song for her.
Arac and his fellow guardsmen stand back and watch in great amusement as she performs her version of the song for them.
The mp3 is available at CD Baby:
http://www.cdbaby.com/dwschorale6
The score is available at
http://dwsolo.load.cd/sheetmusic/sm-85715_the_stripper_after_gilbert_and_sull...

Performed by the dwsChorale in one of its sillier moments....

[Images of the guardsmen with thanks to the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive
of Betty Howard with thanks to the Prelinger Archive
and of the Scene from the Princess with thanks to Adam Cuerden]


For comparison, the original words in "Princess Ida" were:

This helmet, I suppose,
Was meant to ward off blows,
It's very hot
And weighs a lot,
As many a guardsman knows,

Chorus.
Yes, yes, yes,
So off that helmet goes!

Arac.
This tight-fitting cuirass
Is but a useless mass,
It's made of steel,
And weighs a deal,
This tight-fitting cuirass
Is but a useless mass,
A man is but an ass
Who fights in a cuirass,
So off, so off goes that cuirass.

Chorus.
Yes, yes, yes,
So off goes that cuirass!

Arac.
These brassets, truth to tell,
May look uncommon well,
But in a fight
They're much too tight,
They're like a lobster shell,

Chorus.
Yes, yes, yes,
They're like a lobster shell.
Arac.
These things I treat the same
I quite forget their name
They turn one's legs
To cribbage pegs —
Their aid I thus disclaim,
Their aid I thus disclaim,
Though I forget their name,
Though I forget their name,
Their aid, their aid I thus disclaim!
All.
Yes, yes, yes,
Their aid I thus disclaim!

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• gilbert and sullivan
• princess Ida
• guardsmen
• dwschorale
• david solomons
• stripper
• parody
• multitracking
• Gilbert And Sullivan
• Princess Ida
• excited
• men's chorus

[pyglett]

....I s'pose we couldn't plug this on classic FM/Radio3???....

[dwsolo]

@pyglett By all means do, if you have the contacts :-)

[mayssm]

Focus! Focus!

[kateandphoebe]

Best laugh I've had in ages!!! Really a very appropriate adaptation--you didn't have to change either the lyrics or the concept all that much!!!

[cicero1453]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

[erzbet07]

Witty! I could see this on the old Monthy Python program. Great diction too! Thanks!

[pyglett]

This should be released as a single!

[garybeer]

Very cute and expertly written and sung. Thanks!

[Owdfolkie]

Brilliant!!

[grayforester]

a man is just an ass