Review: Ages Ago / Mr. Jericho
As I've mentioned before , the German Reed Entertainments are a curious little lot. A series of short "musical entertainments" produced and performed by Thomas German Reed, his wife Priscilla, and assorted others, from about 1855 to 1895. These were, for the most part, not grand spectacles of great significance, and little care was taken to preserve most of them. Today, they are all but forgotten. All but six, that is. A half-dozen which retain historical interest, because their libretti were created by William Schwenk Gilbert, who has gained enough fame and historical regard that even his less significant works are considered worth preserving, if only for the sake of maintaining a complete archive. It is certainly interesting, years after the fact, to read through these musical entertainments to see how Gilbert began to explore the themes and devices he would later more fully develop. Our Island Home would give way to H.M.S. Pinafore and The Pirates Of Penzance . Ele...