Another Dream is a show written for Musical and Operatic Societies who enjoy the G&S repertoire and are looking for something similar but different that has great music and is great fun for both the performers and the audience. Finding good alternatives to G&S can be difficult to come by and this "triumphant success" meets that need.

 

This 'Dream' arose from the desire of The Three Counties Musical Society (Derby, UK) to take a short break from G&S, which was their staple repertoire, and perform something else that suited them and had all the usual musical forms and characters of G&S so that they could reinvigorate the company with a fun and different show before returning to the G&S repertoire, but the company could find nothing outside the G&S repertoire that  met all their needs, there were many great shows to choose from but none that had all the elements they wanted.

 

This show has "superb" music with all the choruses, double-choruses, patter songs, solos, duets, quartets, dances, dialogues and comedy that are found in G&S operettas, and has a modern feel to the music too (the spirit of G&S runs through its core but it is not a G&S pastiche). It has plenty of parts so that no one will feel left out, and has lots of very singable chorus work, which is something that is difficult to find outside of G&S. As it also needs to appeal to an audience that might not have seen this show before, A Midsummer Night's Dream was the perfect play to base it on (already G&S like in its twists, its humour, its structure) and is well-known and well-loved, and the language is not Shakespeare but much more Gilbertian in style ("lyrics twist into tortuous Gilbertian rhymes" as one journalist wrote). Not least, the chorus's version of  'Pyramus and Thisbe' is "hilarious"  and will have the audience laughing out loud.

 

But above all, the rehearsals and the show are fun! That is why societies meet every week, to sing together and have fun together. This 'Dream' was born out of love of G&S and in particular out of love for the wonderful companies that are the operatic and musical societies who meet every week to sing, have fun and be part of a community, and also for the Three Counties Musical Society for whom it was written back in 1998.

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Following the first production (when it was simply called 'Dream'), another three productions took place in the years immediately afterwards, and then it lay dormant for a while. But in 2018 The West Bridgford Operatic Society revived the show and it was still great fun, it still worked incredibly well. So, the whole show is now up on this website for other Musical and Operatic Societies who find themselves in the same position; wanting something very G&S whilst having a break from the usual repertoire.  

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The following pages on this site contain all the musical numbers in the show, as well as the libretto, dramatis personae,  audition  suggestions and links to some recordings by the original cast.   And...

It's FREE 

Societies can download and perform any or all of this for free (but please don't think that because it's free it can't be good, if that's your idea you're wrong). It took a long time to write. It was written for love not for money. It is a pleasure to see other companies enjoying rehearsing and performing this fun show. 

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