Beware the Ides of March (and Gilligan's Island)

Note: For those of you born after 1990, I am referring to the famous line from William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, not the George Clooney movie, The Ides of March, and the fact that today is the Ides ("half division") of March, or March 15th.

Actually, I am just using today's famous or quotable date to segue into a post I have been meaning to do for a while now regarding William Shakespeare, or rather William Shakespeare as interpreted by the cast of Gilligan's Island.

Like many of you, I watched Gilligan's Island in my youth, when it was running in syndication, conveniently around the time I got home from school each day. And one of the most (or more) memorable episodes was the one titled "The Producer," where the cast perform a musical version of Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, to impress a shipwrecked Broadway producer (played by Phil Silvers).

In particular, I will never forget Gilligan (Bob Denver) singing "To Be or Not to Be" to the tune of The Habanera from Bizet's Carmen. [Note: Click on the video to watch it on YouTube if it won't load here.]



And why am I bringing this up? Because for the last few weeks, every night, my daughter has been practicing The Habanera from Bizet's Carmen on her clarinet (like these young men, whose video she's been watching/listening to, so I get it in stereophonic sound), in preparation for the upcoming band concert...



and all I can think of and hear in my head is Bob Denver/Gilligan singing "To Be or Not to Be"!

I ask to be or not to be,
A rogue or peasant slave is what you see;
A boy who loved his mother’s knee,
And so I ask to be or not to be.
So here’s my plea, I beg of you,
And say you see a little hope for me.
To fight or flee, to fight or flee,
I ask myself to be or not to be.

Whew! I feel so much better now that I've blogged about it. Enjoy the ear worm, folks. You're welcome.