"I am the very model of a modern major general..."

Anyone recognize the lyrics?
A very famous patter song from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.
I love this piece - the delight of the music with its swings between the most light-hearted and the most pathos-filled, the twists and turns of the plot, the silliness, the cleverness of the lyrics...and, for me, the memories. While I was in college, I sang with the G & S Society in Houston - 2 small lead roles. Then, after I graduated, I played in the pit orchestra several times, under the same conductor with whom I had sung one of those lead roles. It's my claim to fame that I am, as far as I know, the only one who has ever managed to perform on both "sides" in that company. Kind of a fun distinction!
Sooooo...on Sunday afternoon, I took daughter Alli and her fine, willing and adventuresome Michael with me to enjoy a performance of Pirates in the snug Cullen Theater at Wortham Center. I say snug because it is a cozy-sized space for G&S - small enough for even the balcony audience to be able to see facial expression and subtleties that might be lost in a bigger hall.
Alli and Michael were very patient with my sometimes overt enjoyment - the finger dancing in the lap, the giggles, the guffaws, the (very quiet, I promise) humming along. And after our discussion, observations, and critiques on the ride home, I think it's safe to say that it was a fun outing worth the ticket price.
Still....yes, I do miss being in the middle of it.