fuckyeahgilbertandsullivan:

english-history-trip:

The Sordid Truths of HMS Pinafore

So I’m in the chorus of a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pinafore. Classic G&S, their first big hit, standard to their formula. Short plot rundown: Lowly sailor Ralph Rackstraw falls for his captain’s daughter, Josephine. His class prevents him from marrying her until it is revealed by his old nurse that he and the captain had [PINAFORE SPOILERS] been switched at birth, and Ralph was in fact the high-born one. Ralph marries Josephine, the captain marries the nurse, much twittery song.

But wait. Back up. So this means Josephine’s dashing young tenor… is the same age as her father. 

Moreover, the captain’s new wife… was his old nurse as a baby. Was she his wet nurse? Dear god was she hIS WET NURSE

In their next big hit, Pirates of Penzance, this same nurse/tenor marriage scenario is proposed and immediately nipped in the bud as being WEIRD (I like to think this was Gilbert picking up on the weirdness he had allowed to sneak into his last show and calling himself out on it.) 

The point is, Ralph is NEVER played as anything but Dashing Young Tenor, and someone needs to look into it.

It’s a fair cop.  I’ve seen it addressed (by the fandom) in terms of Evil Time Travel…

There’s also a Captain Corcoran who shows up years later in Utopia Ltd., and no one’s sure if it’s
Ralph (since he turned out to be the real Corcoran who had been swapped as an
infant) or the original Captain (since he falls back into the “what never?”
gag).