Producer, The

Synopsis

US sitcom about a group of seven castaways. Famous Hollywood producer Harold Hecuba, (Silvers, the guest star) arrives on the island. To impress him the castaways mount a musical version of Hamlet. The play is set to Carmen, with the ‘to be or not to be’ and ‘what a rogue and peasant slave am I’ speeches combined and revised to ‘to flee or not to flee’ and set to Carmen’s ‘Hanabera’ aria. Skipper (Polonius) sings ‘to thine own self be true’ to the ‘Toreador’ aria while Ophelia sings a speech to the Barcarolle from Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman. After Hecuba leaves the island the castaways hear on the radio that his production of Hamlet has been a hit on Broadway.

Series

Gilligan’s Island

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Television

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Transmission details

3 Oct 1966 (Channel: CBS)

Duration

30 mins

Credits

Director

Ida Lupino

Writer

Dee Caruso; Gerald Gardner

Cast

Bob Denver	Gilligan (Hamlet)
Jim Backus	Thurston Howell III (Claudius)
Natalie Schafer	Eunice Wentworth Howell (Gertrude)
Alan Jnr Hale	Skipper (Polonius)
Tina Louise	Ginger Grant (Ophelia)
Dawn Wells	Mary Ann Summers (Laertes)
Phil Silvers	Harold Hecuba

Additional Details

Production type

Sitcoms/Variety

Plays

Hamlet

Keywords

Hollywood; musicals; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes

Episode included in the DVD entitled GILLIGAN’S ISLAND: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON.

History

Episode 72, series 3.

Reviews

For an analysis of the episode see Burt, Richard Unspeakable ShakXXXspeares: Queer theory & American Kiddie Culture. London: Macmillan, 1998. pp181-9.

Production Company

Name

CBS Television

Name

Gladasya

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.com

Web

http://www.amazon.com External site opens in new window