If you look at Gilbert and Sullivan, they were played to be the English equivalents of Jacques Offenbach's operettas. They're full of gags, funny situations and parody, which was the typical humor of the time. |
The 'H.M.S. Pinafore' is popular because it's funny. It feels good in its own time. That way it can provoke laughter, when we can translate it to another time and place. |
The essence of the style is overblown, while maintaining a lot more levels to laugh at things. The characters are caricatures of familiar types, much like the Marx brothers. I also keep looking back to 'Saturday Night Live,' where each company member became a formulaic character so that the audience would be familiar with that character type. |