Tell me, does this image do anything for you?

I am guessing not. Unless your name happens to be Kevin, Khaliel, Cameron, Summer, Ian, Brynn, Chas, Bette, Tess or Parker Kelly.

For me it means an awful, awful lot.

When I was a young’un my siblings and I spent hours and hours listening to the Broadway recording of Pirates of Penzance. And when we could get our hands on the VHS tape we would watch it over and over and over again. While I longed to be Mabel, Brynn was plotting how she could be cast as the Pirate King. Mom used to let us take the cushions off the sofa so that we could “climb over rocky mountains” just like General Stanley’s daughters.  Ah me! Playing Pirates is one of my favorite childhood memories.

So you can imagine how I felt this past Friday when Millie fell in love with it herself.

Here is how it all came down: Millie wanted to put on this dress. She did and began dancing around the room. I told her she reminded me of one of the “maidens” in Pirates of Penzance. We’d watched this movie for the first time last week. She decided that we all needed dresses and that we should head down stairs to watch it again!

“I’m DOWN!” said the mom, aka me.

And during this second viewing, something really CLICKED with Millie.The first time she watched she was mildly interested but this time SHE WAS INTO IT!! Perhaps being in FULL costume had something to do with it?

In fact we were all in full costume (as per Millie’s request)

Maiden #1:

Maiden #2:

Clara wore this pink dress

Matron #3:

And I wore this skirt

and this hat

Aren’t we DAAAARLING?

Millie had an absolute BALL!

I would like to send a shout out to a certain man, who currently resides in some celestial realm, whose name is Joseph Papp.

Mr. Papp,

You did many extraordinary things in your life – Shakespeare in the Park, that is some serious “good action” thanks for inventing that. Way to go there!  But of all the amazing things you did I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your brilliant & buoyant adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. You took it in the shorts from those “purists”/scholar types who thought you’d defiled Gilbert & Sullivan’s masterpiece — Seeing as the three of you are all in a celestial realm I would imagine you have had a good laugh about this together by now. (I would love to see what they have been working on these days!)  I may not be a fancy critic – or a person of influence or opinion or power – but I tell you what, I love your show. It has brought me so much joy. And now, as you can see, one generation later the JOY carries on.

I love you, dear sir and feel so grateful for the gift you’ve given me and mine!

P.S. And way to go discovering that dashing young actor, right out of Juilliard – KEVIN KLINE! Props to you for that one. He was my first “movie crush”. One of his leading ladies, Meryl Streep once said of him, “Kevin is heaven” and to that I say, “AMEN!”

For all you Pirate of Penzance enthusiasts – please enjoy the following photos I yoinked off IMDB.

Me LOVES!