The Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island a confirmed Savoyard. He’d served as vice president of the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Society, and even produced a televised version of The Mikado in 1949. When Helen Marx, president of the Camp Avenue School PTA, asked him if he could organize a fundraiser, his thoughts turned—as they so often did—to Gilbert & Sullivan. Initially the idea was for Packer and Waters to run an adult-education class in G&S that would culminate in a performance of The Mikado. But when Packer recruited an old friend, Sally Buckstone of Oceanside, to sing, the seeds of a new group were planted.
Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan Cultural influence of Gilbert and Sullivan For nearly 150 years, Gilbert and Sullivan have pervasively influenced popular culture in the English-speaking world. Lines and quotations from the Gilbert and Sullivan operas have become part of the English language, such as "short, sharp shock", "What never? Well, hardly ever!", "let the punishment fit the crime", and "A policeman's lot is not a happy one". The Savoy operas heavily influenced the course of the development of modern musical theatre. They have also influenced political style and discourse, literature, film and television and advertising, and have been widely parodied by humorists. Because they