A Parody on Princess Ida

Gilbert and Sullivan meets the Iron Horse in this gleefully absurd 1885 parody. When Princess Ida declares she will have nothing to do with men and retreats to a female-only kingdom, her royal fiancé Prince Hilarion is having none of it. What follows is a train wreck of mistaken identities, ridiculous posturing, and Victorian gender warfare as two royal families squabble over love, duty, and who gets to sit in the dining car. But the real star is the Chicago and Alton Railroad, whose dashing officials apparently possess an irresistibility that no princess can deny. Written at the height of railway mania, when trains were the internet of their day, this piece skewers the opera it mocks while reveling in the era's peculiar obsession with progress, punctuality, and the proper handling of suitcases. The ending arrives via impromptu wedding, because of course it does. For fans of Victorian humor, obscure Gilbert and Sullivan deep cuts, and anyone who has ever been stuck on a delayed train with nothing but a parody to read.