Gilbert and Sullivan change the characters, which Sullivan found artificial and lacking in "human interest and probability", as well as being too similar to their earlier opera, "The Sorcerer". As dramatised in the film "Topsy-Turvy", the author and composer were at an impasse until 8 May 1884, when Gilbert dropped the lozenge idea and agreed to provide a libretto without any supernatural elements. The story focuses on a "cheap tailor," Ko-Ko, who is promoted to the position of Lord High Executioner of the town of Titipu. Ko-Ko loves his ward, Yum-Yum, but she loves a musician, who is really the son of the
Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Al Goodman and Groucho Marx also released Gilbert and Sullivan recordings. The operas are referred to in other popular media, including video games. For example, in "", a casino is called "Pirates in Men’s Pants", a crude play on "Pirates of Penzance". The 1970s popular music singer Gilbert O'Sullivan adopted his stage name as a pun on "Gilbert and Sullivan" when his manager suggested that it would be good marketing. In the 1950s, the British radio show "Take It From Here" featured parodies of Gilbert and Sullivan songs with lyrics about the buses in London.