I have decided that trying to explain Gilbert and Sullivan plots to my children is undoing any work we've done on learning logic. Nope, really, they don't make sense. But, they are a lot of fun.

John is a big Gilbert and Sullivan fan and decided this was the year we were going to take the kids to the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan society production. Maybe three other parents had the same idea. The rest of the audience were octogenarians. I'm thinking the G S society needs to reach out.

John taught the kids the plot (as well as one can) and ran through all the names. I don't think he played them any of the songs, but Rose said she recognized several of the tunes. I recognized way more than I thought I would. I've seen The Mikado a couple times, but I would not say I'm an aficionado.

We all had a great time. (Well, I did have a nap or two in act I. Maybe that was why the plot made no sense. Nah). Even though it is an amateur production, it was all well done. The acting, costumes, staging, and definitely the singing were great. We loved how they used the fans to punctuate the songs. David liked the slapstick the best. I've always liked "Three Little Girls from School Are We," but this time my favorite song was "For He's Going to Marry Yum Yum."

I recognize the significant racist and sexist problems with this opera. This production addressed some of them, and we talked about how this was Japan seen through the eyes of a British humorist who actually knew nothing about real Japan. We haven't talked about how he was making fun of British politics. We'll get there. Right now we are just trying to sing along very quickly.