Plays / H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor

H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor: who’s in each scene

W. S. Gilbert (libretto) and Arthur Sullivan (music) · 1878

Plan this showLoads this breakdown into the free planner. Add your cast and their conflicts; get a schedule and call notices.

Scenes

Speaking roles

Groups / ensemble

Scene × character grid

● speaks · ○ on stage, no lines. Weight compares each scene’s length to the play’s typical scene.

Scene	Weight	Bill Bobstay	Bob Becket	Tom Tucker	Sailors	Little Buttercup	Dick Deadeye	Ralph Rackstraw	Captain Corcoran	Josephine	Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B.	Hebe	Sisters, Cousins and Aunts	Sergeant of Marines	Marines
No. 1 — We sail the ocean blueQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	light	○	○	○	●
No. 2 — Hail, men-o'-war's men / For I'm called Little ButtercupQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	normal	○	○	○	●	●
Dialogue (Buttercup, Boatswain, Dick Deadeye)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	normal	●	○	○	●	●	●
No. 3 — But tell me who's the youth / The nightingaleQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	normal	●	○	○	●	●	○	●
No. 4 — A maiden fair to seeQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	normal	○	○	○	●	○	○	●
Dialogue (Boatswain, Dick Deadeye, Ralph)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	light	●	○	○	●		●	●
No. 5 — My gallant crew, good morning / I am the Captain of the PinaforeQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	heavy	○	○	○	●		○	○	●
No. 6 — Sir, you are sadQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	light					●			●
No. 7 — Sorry her lot who loves too wellQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	light								○	●
Dialogue (Captain, Josephine)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	fuller								●	●
No. 8 — Over the bright blue sea / Gaily trippingQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	normal	○	○	○	●		○	○	●		○	○	●
No. 9 — I am the monarch of the seaQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	light	○	○	○	●		○	○	○		●	●	●
No. 10 — When I was a ladQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	fuller	○	○	○	●		○	○	○		●	○	●
Dialogue (Sir Joseph, Captain, Ralph) / For I hold that on the seasQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	heavy	●	○	○	●		○	●	●		●	●	●
Dialogue (Boatswain, Ralph, Dick Deadeye)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	normal	●	○	○	●		●	●
No. 11 — A British tar is a soaring soulQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	light	●	●	○	●		○	●
Dialogue (Josephine, Ralph)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	fuller							●		●
No. 12 — Refrain, audacious tarQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	normal							●		●
No. 13 — Finale, Act I: Can I survive this overbearingQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (noon)	heavy	●	○	○	●		●	●		●		●	●
No. 14 — Fair moon, to thee I singQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	light					○			●
Dialogue (Buttercup, Captain)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	normal					●			●
No. 15 — Things are seldom what they seemQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	heavy					●			●
Dialogue (Captain, Sir Joseph)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	normal								●		●
No. 16 — The hours creep on apaceQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	fuller									●	○
Dialogue (Sir Joseph, Josephine)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	light								○	●	●
No. 17 — Never mind the why and whereforeQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	heavy								●	●	●
Dialogue (Captain, Sir Joseph, Dick Deadeye)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	light						●		●		●
No. 18 — Kind Captain, I've important informationQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	normal						●		●
No. 19 — Carefully on tiptoe stealing / He is an EnglishmanQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	heavy	●	○	○	●	○	●	●	●	●	●	●	●
Dialogue (Sir Joseph, Ralph, Josephine)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	normal	○	○	○	●	○	○	●		●	●	○	●	○	○
No. 20 — Farewell, my ownQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	normal	●	○	○	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	○	○
No. 21 — A many years agoQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	fuller	○	○	○	●	●	○			○	●	○	●
Dialogue (Sir Joseph, Ralph, Captain, Josephine, Hebe)Quarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	fuller	○	○	○	●	●	○	●	●	●	●	●	●
No. 22 — Finale, Act II: Oh joy, oh rapture unforeseenQuarter-deck of H.M.S. Pinafore, off Portsmouth (night)	heavy	○	○	○	●	●	○	●	●	●	●	●	●

Cast size and doubling

9 speaking roles plus 3 groups.

No two speaking roles are always apart scene by scene, so there’s no clean doubling.

Heaviest scenes

Work these early and often:

No. 13 — Finale, Act I: Can I survive this overbearing — 7 speaking, about 99 lines
No. 19 — Carefully on tiptoe stealing / He is an Englishman — 9 speaking, about 102 lines
Dialogue (Sir Joseph, Captain, Ralph) / For I hold that on the seas — 7 speaking, about 67 lines

Characters

Bill Bobstay — Boatswain's Mate (the Boatswain)
Bob Becket — Carpenter's Mate
Tom Tucker — Midshipmite (non-speaking)
Sailors — Crew of H.M.S. Pinafore
Little Buttercup — A Portsmouth bumboat woman
Dick Deadeye — Able Seaman
Ralph Rackstraw — Able Seaman
Captain Corcoran — Commanding H.M.S. Pinafore
Josephine — The Captain's daughter
Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B. — First Lord of the Admiralty
Hebe — Sir Joseph's first cousin
Sisters, Cousins and Aunts — Sir Joseph's female relatives
Sergeant of Marines — Non-speaking
Marines — Marines on board

Edition: Project Gutenberg eBook #59685: W. S. Gilbert, Original Plays, Second Series (London: Chatto & Windus, 1899), libretto text only. Musical numbers are numbered in the order they appear in this text, not by a vocal score. Breakdown derived from this text. Public domain in the United States. Breakdown only — no text of the play is reproduced here.