Gender confusion and the principal boy

[CONSUELO]

In Britain there is a long tradition of a theatrical form called Pantomime. The shows are based on children's stories such as Cinderella or Jack and the Beanstalk. Pantomime is very traditional though it is full of jokes about current events etc. to give it a modern "hook". Two timeless conventions are the pantomime dame, played for comic effect by a man, and the principal boy, played by a young woman.

I vividly remember seeing Sleeping Beauty as a very young child and falling in love with the principal boy, who was dressed in tights and a tunic and made to look like a very pretty boy. I thought Sleeping Beauty was very pretty but not a patch on the lovely principal boy in his shiny tights.
I have often wondered if this incident enhanced my gender confusion or if I was already confused about gender and madly cross dressing and simply wanted to look just like the principal boy?

Pantomime is still a part of the Christmas season in Britain. I am at a loss to think of a comparable institution in the US

[Katey888]

Hi Consuelo...

And that mixing of roles goes back further in theatrical terms to the origins of pantomime in Shakespearean theatre and Comedia d'ell Arte (according to wiki) but does appear to be a peculiarly British thing... maybe the French were right about us all along and all we've done is propagate it to the New World like the Spaniards did with syphilis... :eek: Better to be remembered for crossdressing, I suppose, if it is genetic... :thinking:

Principal boys were generally worth lusting after, imho, largely because they're normally quite leggy GGs with costumes for emphasis and I was never one to resist a heartily-slapped, nylon-clad thigh... to say nothing of that frissance of subliminal same-gender thing going on between principal boy (GG) and leading lady (GG)... and sometimes a threesome with the good fairy (GG)... :confused2:

236513

- perhaps it's time for me to book a trip to panto before Xmas.. :D

Love it!

Katey x

[CONSUELO]

You're right Katey. Gender confusion was a staple part of theatre and maybe enabled folks like us to be even more confused.
Thinking back to that night I marvel at what was going on. I'm sure most of the girls and boys were imagining being kissed and hugged by the pretty young actress playing Sleeping Beauty and there was I, and I wonder how many others, finding themselves aroused by the sight of the girl dressed at the Prince flashing her shapely and very lovely legs. Have I been trying to become a Principal Boy ever since?

[CynthiaD]

I'm a fan of grand opera, and there are many operas with "trouser roles," a male character who must be played by a woman. And then there's baroque opera where the leading female part was often played by a castrato, a man castrated before puberty to preserve his boy's singing voice. Baroque opera isn't performed much these days. When the music is sung, the castrato arias are often sung by countertenors who are men that sing in a falsetto.

Grand opera has always been somewhat gender fluid, and no one seems to mind.

[flatlander_48]

I've always been a great fan of Pantomime since I was a child. It could very well have been from seeing Marcel Marceau on TV. Eventually I did get to see him in person when he performed at my university. However, I confess that I didn't know about the specific structure mentioned in the original post.

Usually here in the US mime isn't done with the attention and precision that Marceau had. It seems to be played for more overt laughs, such as when performed by the late comedian Red Skelton. An exception to that would be the work of Shields & Yarnell. Their routines were more like Marceau's, as I remember.

[Beverley Sims]

Ah! 'tis pantomime season again.
I prefer the old favourites with the standard jokes, some contemporary writers and their producers need to be shot.

[Rachel292]

I've always been a great fan of Pantomime since I was a child. It could very well have been from seeing Marcel Marceau on TV. Eventually I did get to see him in person when he performed at my university. However, I confess that I didn't know about the specific structure mentioned in the original post.

Usually here in the US mime isn't done with the attention and precision that Marceau had. It seems to be played for more overt laughs, such as when performed by the late comedian Red Skelton. An exception to that would be the work of Shields & Yarnell. Their routines were more like Marceau's, as I remember.

Panto' (as it's often referred to over here) is not the same as mime. It's almost the opposite. Where the audience (especially young children) are encouraged to participate in the performance, shouting out when the 'baddie' is doing something out of view of the leading characters. There are lots of topical jokes , often with double meanings , to both amuse the children and the not quite so clean minded adults. Then there is usually a couple of men (not always but usually) dressed as a Cow or a Horse. It really is good light-hearted fun, telling a children's story. All on top of the leading man played by a woman and his or the heroines' mother being played by a man. The fairy godmother is usually a woman, but not always. All in all , great fun.

[mechamoose]

Is that reversed based on Shakespeare's time of filling female roles with winsome boys?

- MM

[Lorileah]

the leading female part was often played by a castrato, a man castrated before puberty to preserve his boy's singing voice. Baroque opera isn't performed much these days.

I know! They don't castrate boys like they used to

[LilSissyStevie]

I'm a fan of grand opera, and there are many operas with "trouser roles," a male character who must be played by a woman. And then there's baroque opera where the leading female part was often played by a castrato, a man castrated before puberty to preserve his boy's singing voice. Baroque opera isn't performed much these days. When the music is sung, the castrato arias are often sung by countertenors who are men that sing in a falsetto.

Grand opera has always been somewhat gender fluid, and no one seems to mind.

Baroque opera has made a big comeback in the last 25 years or so, I know because I have cabinets full of the recordings, but I'm a much bigger fan of baroque sacred music. Castrato parts are usually sung by women nowadays. This requires the women to dress as men or to dress as men who are dressed as women. LOL! The castrato parts would have to be transposed down for a countertenor and sometimes they are. This (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTpIRFiKTqo) is an aria for the castrato called "Farinelli" written by his brother Riccardo Broschi and sung by mezzo soprano Vivica Genaux. I've always had a fascination for male falsettists since I was a kid and first heard Frankie Valli and Smokey Robinson. Unfortunately my vocal range is about three notes of baritone.