Kurt Weill originally conceived the third dream sequence in Lady in the Dark as a minstrel show, but lyricist Ira Gershwin preferred Gilbert and Sullivan as a model, particularly Trial by Jury. Early drafts and the final version include many parallels and echoes in the text. Weill joined in by borrowing the Mikado's entrance song from The Mikado for the entrance of the jury.

Index Classifications: 1900s, Jazz

Contributed by: J. Peter Burkholder