The Songs

Find out about the 16 pop and hip-hop songs in the new musical The History of Light, all of which were inspired by the Gilded Age songs of Gilbert and Sullivan

Looking for a continual playlist of all the songs? There’s one on our home page. Or listen to the playlists on Youtube or Soundcloud.

For more about the singers, click here.

ACT I

#1 “A Time Like Today”
Performed by Xavier Pacheco

In the prologue to The History of Light, New Yorkers, who've gathered in Union Square around an electric streetlight, list the modern wonders of the 1880s -- all of which still apply today.

More than any other song in The History of Light, this one moved the farthest from its source in Gilbert and Sullivan — which was necessary to set the scene for a new story. However, both songs comment on their times. And the chorus (about 45 seconds into the G&S original) is still recognizable.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan’s "There's a Little Group of Isles Beyond the Waves," from Utopia Limited, 1893 (Hear the orignal G&S song on Youtube.)

#2 “What I'll Never Do”
Performed by Kyle Selig and Brightney Wylie

Inspired by electric street lights in 1886, Frederick Winslet – a wealthy young New Yorker -- flirts with his new wife Alice, aiming to convince her to use their inherited fortune to fund an amazing gadget that will bring the electric current into every home.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan’s"Were You Not to Ko-Ko Plighted," from The Mikado, 1885 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#3 “It Really Doesn't Matter”
Performed by Michael Wartella, Samantha Hill and Bonnie Milligan

When Alice hires Bridget, a former sex worker, as their maid, Frederick finds himself in a predicament —he knows Bridget from her former profession.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan’s "My Eyes Are Fully Open, from Ruddigore, 1887 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#4 “If You Go In”
Performed by Kyle Selig and Desi Oakley

After Frederick learns that his electricity project won't get a penny of support from his rich father, Alice convinces him not to give up – partly because her own volunteer work depends on Frederick's project.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan's "If You Go In, You're Sure to Win,” from Iolanthe, 1882 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#5 The Sun and I
Performed by Jelani Alladin

Joseph, who was formerly enslaved on a Louisiana plantation, has been hired by Frederick to help with the electricity project. After enduring a racist slur from Frederick's new maid, Joseph privately affirms his empowerment with this song.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze," from The Mikado, 1885 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#6 “Poor Wand'ring One”
Performed by Michael Wartella and Bonnie Milligan

Blue-blood Frederick and his new maid Bridget strike up an unexpected friendship, partly based on their love of Gilbert and Sullivan songs. The only difference: He knows the real lyrics from the uptown performances, and she knows only the raunchy version that was performed on the Bowery.

Adapted from: "Poor Wand'ring One," The Pirates of Penzance, 1879 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#7 “A Love That's True”
Performed by Desi Oakley and Bonnie Milligan

While planning a charity ball where the electric invention will be unveiled, Frederick's wife Alice confides in her new friend Emma – wondering if it's a mistake to put off starting a family with Frederick in order to devote herself to fighting for social justice.

Adapted from: "Love Is a Plaintive Song," Patience, 1881 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#8 "I Can't Think Why”
Performed by David Garrison

Frederick Winslet Sr. -- a sugar-refining magnate who is running for Congress in 1886 – shows off his street cred with a hip-hop anthem that proudly conveys his unsavory tactics for human relations.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan's "If You Give Me Your Attention, from Princess Ida, 1884 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#9 "The World Is a Broken Toy"
Performed by Carla Duren, Kyle Selig, Desi Oakley, and Asa Somers

After taking Frederick and Alice on a tour of New York City's seamy and dangerous Five Points neighborhood, Emma leads them in a sorrowful response to the desperation they've seen – until she is drowned out by the vicious chant of residents.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan's "The World Is But a Broken Toy," from Princess Ida, 1884 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

ACT II

#10 “March Forward Fearlessly”
Performed by Xavier Pacheco

Trippet, a nervous electrical engineer, pushes through crowds – and a drunk he encounters – on a rainy day, as he tries to bring Frederick the long-awaited electric invention.

In this case, Gilbert and Sullivan wrote (for two different operettas) similar songs that are both appropriate for this scene. So we created a mash-up.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan’s"Carefully on Tiptoe Stealing, from HMS Pinafore, 1878 and "With Cat-like Tread," from The Pirates of Penzance, 1879 (Hear Tiptoe Stealing and Cat-Like Tread on Youtube.)

#11 "If You Go In" (Reprise)
Performed by Asa Somers and Kyle Selig

When Frederick balks at increasing his already huge financial investment in the electric project, Trippet responds with the same song of encouragement that Alice previously sang to Frederick.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan’s"If You Go In, You're Sure to Win,' from Iolanthe, 1882 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#12 "None Shall Part Us"
Performed by Carla Duren and Norm Lewis

Alice's new friend Emma and Frederick's assistant Joseph, who share a past as enslaved people on a Louisiana plantation before the Civil War, vow to remain loyal to each other – and turn away from the injustice that lurks under the veneer of civility in Frederick and Alice's home.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan's "None Shall Part Us," from Iolanthe, 1882 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#13 "Oh Joy, Oh Rapture"
Performed by Xavier Pacheco, Brandon Dial, and Kaileela Hobby

The debut of the electric invention – with the lighting of a single lightbulb in Frederick and Alice's parlor – causes such joy that it seems as if the entire city suddenly lit up in celebration with them.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan's "Oh Joy, Oh Rapture," from HMS Pinafore, 1878 and "The Threatened Cloud Has Passed Away," from The Mikado, 1885 (Hear the original G&S versions of "Oh Joy" and "Threatened Cloud" on Youtube.)

#14 "Fair Moon"
Performed by Assata Alston

When Frederick backs out on a promise to help his maid Bridget launch a new business, she angrily decides to leave his home – and return to the streets to fend for herself.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan's "Fair Moon, To Thee I Sing," from HMS Pinafore, 1878 (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#15 "Hold Yourself Like This"
Performed by Carla Duren, Desi Oakley, Kyle Selig, and Asa Somers

At Frederick and Alice's charity ball – on the same cold rainy day as the dedication of the Statue of Liberty – they show off their new electric lighting as New York's proper aristocrats perform this dance. They fail to notice an unsavory scene that takes place right in front of them.

To underscore the old-fashioned outlook of the aristocrats, the delivery of this song is the closest to the original G&S style.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan's "It's Clear That Medieval Art," from Patience (Hear the original G&S song on Youtube.)

#16 "The Power of Love"/"A Time Like Today" (Reprise)
Performed by Sarah Ellis, Michael Wartella, and Xavier Pacheco

When their plan to send electricity to every home fails in the worst possible way, Frederick and Alice confront the ugly truth about their family and their own mistakes – as voices from the street urge them to rethink their lives and do better.

Adapted from: Gilbert and Sullivan's "With Joy Abiding,” from Princess Ida, and "There's a Little Group of Isles Beyond the Waves," from Utopia Limited, 1893 (Hear the original G&S versions of "Joy Abiding" and "Group of Isles" on Youtube)

Why were the songs in The History of Light adapted from Gilbert and Sullivan?

Get the full story in an article on the music, design and technology website, Valontia.com: Hip-hop Meets Opera: I Had To Do It