Sullivan and Grundy trivia, Part 2

Now that you're an expert on Sullivan, it's time to learn a little more about the lesser-known Grundy.  What's up with that guy?  

Five things you may or may not know about Sydney Grundy:

1. Grundy actually studied law and practiced as a lawyer for 7 years.
2. In his later career writing for theater, he became well-known for adapting German and French plays, making them more palatable to English audiences.
3. Grundy wrote the libretto for a one-act piece called Popsy Wopsy, which was described as a "musical absurdity".
4. Quite a few of Grundy's works made it to Broadway, and two of them even made it to the big screen in the early days of film (A Bunch of Violets and A Pair of Spectacles).
5. After Haddon Hall premiered, Grundy was the butt of plenty of jokes and criticism for the libretto. The theater-going public clearly preferred Gilbert's writing to his.  Grundy responded to all of this in an open letter, saying, "May I venture to suggest that a short bill be introduced into Parliament making it a penal offense to supply the Savoy Theatre with a libretto? ...I would respectfully suggest [as punishment] 'something lingering with boiling oil in it'."

And with that, you're ready for Jeopardy.  Or, if not Jeopardy, you're at least set to see Haddon Hall!  You have your tickets, right?  Just in case you don't, you can call the box office at 240-314-8690 or go online and get your tickets here. Get yours before it sells out!