First mate's log:
February 18, 1967
I ended up babysitting with Mary Ann during the Valentine's dance. It reminded me a little of when my sister used to babysit me and my brother when she was in high school, but, unlike her boyfriends who would come over to help, I had no fridge to raid and no TV to watch. Not that I'm Mary Ann's boyfriend of course, but that was what I thought of.
And now we have another chance to be rescued and return to the world of refrigerators and televisions. Unlike the Russian spy (who no one believes in but me and the Skipper), this visitor has promised to take us when he gets rescued. Harold Hecuba, the famous movie producer, was flying his private plane when he crashed it into the water near our island. He survived the crash and came ashore in a raft that's too small for all of us. But he has a lot of employees and they're sure to come looking for him.
He has taken the Howells' hut because it's the nicest and he's made them his personal servants, but luckily we taught them how to work back when we thought they were broke. The Howells aren't too happy, but they're willing to humor him so that they can get back to civilization and all their own servants. Meanwhile, Mr. Howell is bunking with us like when we thought that he wasn't really married to Mrs. Howell, and, yeah, she's staying with Mary Ann and Ginger again. So, yeah, we've got to put up with this situation, too, but as the Professor (who never seems to have to share his hut with anyone) says, it's temporary and in a good cause.
Carol Martin's diary:
February 19, 1967
Another visitor to the island, this time very real and very famous. I am of course skeptical that someone as self-absorbed as Hollywood producer Harold Hecuba would rescue us, but many of the others are giving him whatever he wants. Ginger isn't just doing his laundry in hopes of being rescued. She wants him to help her career when she gets back. When Alice and Mary Ann prepare the special dinner for him tonight, after everyone else has dined on the usual fare (no radioactive vegetables of course), Ginger will be his waitress and she plans to use the opportunity to audition by imitating different actresses. I don't know if it'll make a difference, but I'm helping her make wigs, blonde for Marilyn Monroe and dark for Sophia Loren. If nothing else, he'll see how versatile she is.
February 20, 1967
Poor Ginger doesn't want to be rescued when Mr. Hecuba's "people" show up. She was his waitress last night and he was really rude to her. Not only didn't he leave a tip, but he told her she was a terrible actress. We can't leave her behind, so I suggested we put on a musical that she can star in and then he can really see how talented she is. Everyone thinks it's a great idea, but they can't agree on what musical to do. Mrs. Howell insists on some old opera, Mrs. Martin wants Oklahoma, Mr. Brady likes Gilbert & Sullivan, Mary Ann is rooting for Bye-Bye, Birdie, and so on. The Professor thinks it'd be better to adapt some non-musical play into a musical, like they did with Pigmailon and My Fair Lady, so he's looking through his collection of plays.
I suggested we do the Shakespeare play about Cleopatra (I remember it from high school), since we already have costumes left over from when we did the Cleopatra play to cheer up Ginger a couple years ago, but he said he wanted something different this time.
February 21, 1967
Ginger's "audition" for Mr. Hecuba went badly. The poor girl was in tears when she told me about it. But now she's all smiles because "the darling Professor" is adapting Hamlet into a musical. I know, if he were going to choose Shakespeare, why not one of the comedies? (I was rooting for Oklahoma, which has dramatic elements but is uplifting. I saw a wonderful production of it when I was in high school, although my date, Tank of course, didn't care for it.)
Ginger will obviously be Ophelia but I don't know who the title character would be. The Professor would fit the role, since it requires intelligence, but he doesn't like to sing. As for myself, well, it's not as if there are many female roles. This isn't The Merry Wives of Windsor. I may be a widow but I certainly don't want to portray Queen Gertrude. Oh, well, I'll be fine playing a lady-in-waiting or something. And for all I know, the Professor won't finish writing the script before we're rescued, if we're rescued this time.
February 23, 1967
Well, it's my own fault for suggesting we put on a musical, but now I've got to act and sing but hopefully not dance as Hamlet, which sounds like a breakfast food but was actually the Prince of Denmark. Ginger is going to be my girlfriend Ophelia but I don't think we have to kiss or anything. The Howells are going to be my mother and my stepdad/uncle. (My uncle killed his brother, the king, and then married his sister-in-law. It's like one of Mary Ann and Alice's radio soap operas.) And then the Skipper is Ginger's dad and Mary Ann is her brother, pretty crazy, huh? The Professor is my father's ghost. who doesn't sing but just keeps showing up and telling me to kill his brother, and I'm the only one who can see or hear him, just like I was the only one who saw my Russian lookalike. Alice, Greg, and Marcia are the comedy relief as grave-diggers. (There were only two in Shakespeare, but Marcia wants to be in the play if Greg is, so the Professor split up the lines.) The youngest four kids are just going to be in the audience, because none of them are old enough to read the dialogue. Well, Peter will be the curtain-puller and Jan will change the records on the player, but they can sit and watch most of the time. Oh, and Mr. Brady and Mrs. Martin will be my buddies Rosencranz and Gildenstern.
We start rehearsals tonight. Not only do I have to start memorizing my lines, but I have to build a stage out in the jungle, so we can practice out of Mr. Hecuba's earshot until we're ready for our debut.
February 26, 1967
We're in the thick of rehearsals for Hamlet!: The Musical. Gilligan has the lead role and is doing better than I would've expected. I suppose it doesn't really matter about anyone but Ginger, but I would like to do well. I'm playing Guildenstern to Mike's Rosencranz, but the Professor has arranged it so that Mike has most of the spoken lines (he has a wonderful delivery), while I do the bulk of the singing for our pair.
We have to rehearse at night, after Mr. Hecuba goes to sleep, which makes it hard to get the children to focus in school, but this is only temporary. We're hoping to have our debut in early March, and then things can get somewhat back to normal.
February 27, 1967
We were in the middle of rehearsal last night when Mr. Hecuba interrupted and started directing us. In fact, he acted out half the play until he passed out from too much running back and forth doing costume changes. When we revived him, he said he'll put on the production when we get rescued, and Ginger at least can be in it. I don't care if Rex Harrison or whoever plays Hamlet instead of me. I'm just happy for Ginger.
I slept in this morning because of our late nights rehearsing. Now that Mr. Hecuba knows, we can practice after school, and after lunch on weekends.
February 28, 1967
We've been abandoned again. Mr. Hecuba caught us rehearsing and, despite his harsh criticism of the production, he offered to mount the musical when we're rescued. He said Ginger would be the leading lady, but when his people came for him yesterday morning, he left a note saying he didn't want to wake us. And then later in the day, we heard about a press release sent through the transmitter on his yacht, where he revealed that he'd gone on an island retreat that inspired him to make Hamlet into a musical. This is worse than when the Mosquitoes stole from the Honeybees. Ginger is heartbroken and the Professor says that he'll sue once he gets back to civilization.
And I've memorized the lovely song "The Shadow of a Dream" for naught. Well, Cindy likes it as a lullaby.