# Have they stopped making the HMS Pinafore? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-stopped-making-the-hms-pinafore/540708 "2010-05-25T15:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-stopped-making-the-hms-pinafore/540708/41 "2010-05-27T19:04:22Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > There was a big splash recently about the [first High School production of “Phantom of the Opera”](http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-phantom_09met.ART.State.Edition2.3706394.html). It made headlines because if it went well then the Really Useful Group might allow more High School productions, and that would energize youth around theatre. But that’s by far the unusual case. Most schools, if they do musicals at all, tend towards easier shows with lower licensing costs. If they just do a single song from a musical, do they have to pay anything beyond the normal ASCAP/BMI/SESAC performance fees? My niece performed two Phantom songs in school variety shows. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-stopped-making-the-hms-pinafore/540708/42 "2010-05-27T19:18:17Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Heh, I was reading a book that discussed the life of Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, and it mentioned he specifically was the person parodied in that song - so I looked it up. It is indeed a mighty earworm. 😃 It’s been going strong all day as I worked in silence except for what was in my head. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-stopped-making-the-hms-pinafore/540708/43 "2010-05-27T19:22:31Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I’m in Los Angeles, so Milwaukee’s a little far for me ☹ The Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland will be doing _Pirates of Penzance_ next year, and they’re usually very good. Don’t know if that’s too far for you. It should be relatively easy to find productions of the three well-known G&S shows (_Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore,_ and _Mikado_) if you keep your eyes open for the next few years; those shows (as noted above) are popular because they’re fun and in public domain. The rest of the G&S canon are much more rarely performed, partly because they’re rarely performed-- people don’t know them, and so don’t buy tickets, so they don’t know them… It’s a vicious cycle, and kind of a shame. I’m a G&S fan (a young one, which is kind of rare) and I’ve never seen a stage production of any but the big three. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-stopped-making-the-hms-pinafore/540708/44 "2010-05-27T21:03:40Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > If they just do a single song from a musical, do they have to pay anything beyond the normal ASCAP/BMI/SESAC performance fees? My niece performed two Phantom songs in school variety shows. Single songs are different from the whole show. The show includes things like the book, the orchestral arrangement, etc. Single songs may be licensed through ASCAP/BMI/SESAC but I didn’t find “Phantom of the Opera” in any of their repertoires, so it may be licensed differently. They don’t normally require licenses for things like a variety show. The Performing Rights Organizations(PROs) license their repertory by the hundreds of hours, not by the handfuls of minutes. I’d guess your niece is ok. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-stopped-making-the-hms-pinafore/540708/45 "2010-05-28T04:34:16Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I once saw a production of HMS Pinafore set on the USS Enterprise (the NCC 1701 one). Unsurprisingly awful. That wouldn’t have been the Deep Ellum Opera Theater, would it? I was in one of their other G&S productions (of _The Mikado_ and I remember seeing a review of their starship-based version of _Pinafore_. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-stopped-making-the-hms-pinafore/540708/46 "2010-05-28T14:35:35Z")
It was in the UK back in 1985 or so. Probably not a Dallas based Theater. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-they-stopped-making-the-hms-pinafore/540708.md?page=2)