G.& S. Sullivan's "Iolanthe" at the Burns Wharf Theatre in Manitowaning

Hey, hey, hey! (say that like Dwane from "What's Happening")

The Canadian posts are back (temporarility). So where did we leave off?  Oh yes, we just arrived on the island and had dinner at C's place. The meat for the burgers came from their cattle farm. It was a bit of a whirlwind because once we arrived, we barely had time to settle down. That was fine with me because I got to meet C's friends: her university friend S (of the blog Your Shenanigans Will Not Be Tolerated), his lovely and expectant wife E, as well as a college student (whom hereafter will be known as TCS, "the college student") who was staying there for the summer. I also got to meet C's parents who live just down the road, next to the Garden's Gate Restaurant. Tonight was also a performance night for C; she'd been practicing like mad along with the other island folk for this play:

The photo of the playbill was actually taken at the ferry visitor's center in Tobermory. Bert saw it and said, "Isn't this the play we're going to see?" and yes it was. I don't know too much about musicals since I'm not really into them, but here's a little info about Iolanthe by Gilbert and Sullivan.

(excerpted from wikipedia's entry on "Iolanthe"):
"Iolanthe, or The Peer and the Peri, is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert...


The story concerns a band of immortal fairies who find themselves at odds with the House of Peers. The opera satirises many aspects of British government and law."

That's it in a very small nutshell. It's too damn long to explain. But basically these Iolanthe, a fairy falls in love with a mortal. The fairy queen isn't too happy and forces her to leave her mortal husband instead of being put to death. It is illegal for fairies to "consort" with humans. Twenty five years later, the fairy queen lifts her punishment on Iolanthe. You find out that Iolanthe has a son who is half-fairy and half-human. I guess those fairies slutted around eh. Fast forward to the end, and you find out that she herself gets a human boyfriend while the other fairies pair up with humans too. There's more stuff related to British government and some sly sexual innuendos here and there. Trust me, it was quite funny!

Sorry for the terrible description C but I tried to make it as succint as possible.

And because almost everything in the world can be related to a Simpsons episode, in the now classic "Cape Feare" episode where Sideshow Bob (brilliantly voiced by Kelsey Grammer) goes rogue and captures and nearly kills Bart, there is a Gilbert and Sullivan reference. Before he is about to kill Bart, he asks if there are any last requests. Bart wants him to sing the entire score to Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore" to kill time".

Sideshow Bob to Bart: "I shall take you to heaven...before I bring you to HELL!"

It's hilarious! On another note, Bert and I enjoyed watching the "Cape Feare" episode in French while on our honeymoon in Tahiti. The episode, by then was nearly 2 years old (original air date was October7, 1993).  Inexplicably though, French Polynesian TV had reruns of the gawdawful show "Small Wonder" (the show about the girl who was alien or robot and she lived with a regular human family - she wore ponytails and a red dress and spoke in a monotone)! WTF!!!

The play was in the small town of Manitowaning at the Burnside Wharf Theatre.

We rode in C's parents' minivan...the building in which the play was to be performed was once a mill.

It's right next to the S.S. Norisle.

(from wikipedia's entry on "SS Norisle"):

"The SS Norisle was a Canadian steam-powered automobile ferry that sailed the route between Tobermory and South-Baymouth Manitoulin Island alongside her sister ships, the MS Norgoma and the MS Normac, owned by the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited.


The name "Norisle" is derived from "Nor", a contraction of the Northern Region of Lake Huron, and "Isle", referring to Manitoulin Island.

The Norisle is now permanently berthed at the Assiginack Museum Complex on Manitoulin Island as a museum ship for tourists to explore. For the last few years it has also served as a training ground for Canadian Naval Cadets.


In recent years, the Norisle has fallen into a state of disrepair. The ship was slowly sinking due to rainwater entering through her engine room vents and the main smokestack. This has since been stopped by placing tarps over them. City leaders planned on having it towed to deep water and sunk as a dive site, however these plans have been halted because a support group for the Norisle has been recently formed..."

The ship was built in 1946 and retired in 1974.

This ship and neighboring buildings are part of the Manitowaning Cultural Complex. Manitowaning is part of the township of Assiginack (2006 population 914).

(from wikipedia's entry on "Manitowaning, Ontario"):


"Manitowaning... was founded in 1836 as a centre of the island's Aboriginal education.

Manitowaning Bay is an excellent natural harbour, the community has a marina with good docking facilities. From its early history, Manitowaning was a regular port of call for schooners and steamboats from many points on the Great Lakes. Manitowaning was the first and last scheduled stop on Manitoulin Island, for the ships of the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited. The old steamboat wharf is now part of the community's Museum Heritage Complex, home of the SS Norisle."

I didn't take any photos during the play since that would have been kind of rude and distracting. I thought C did a great job! She sang and danced along with the other fairies. The play was also quite funny; even TC understood the humor. The only other "Asian" people there besides us, C's parents (her dad is Chinese from Trinidad/Tobago, her mom is Filipina) was a little girl who played a fairy in the play. She was adopted from China and was really cute as she introduced each act.

C had a lot of plans for us the next day. Everyone mentioned earlier (except her parents, of course) was staying at C's house! And guess what, there was only one bathroom! My greatest fear come to life. I was afraid that I would mess up her toilet! Seriously...hey, I'm just sayin'!