Line #18 Theatre/TrialByJury


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trial_by_jury.jpg]]
2
3	A comic opera in one act by Creator/GilbertAndSullivan, their second collaboration and oldest to survive intact.[[note]]The libretto for ''Theatre/{{Thespis}}'' survives, but most of the music has been lost.[[/note]] First produced in 1875, humorously dramatizing an action filed in the Court of Exchequer by Angelina against Edwin.
4
5	'''Remedy''': "Substantial damages."
6
7	'''Cause of Action''': BreachOfPromiseOfMarriage.
8
9	'''Pleadings''': Defendant pleads that he was acting as a "love-sick boy" who left the plaintiff after he grew bored with her. Plaintiff is, by her own admission, "no unhappy maid," but nevertheless charges the defendant with having cruelly deprived her of his love.
10
11	'''Issues''': "A nice dilemma we have here." May the defendant propose to marry the plaintiff today and marry his intended young lady tomorrow, or does marrying both count as "Burglaree"?
12
13	'''Finding''': The jurymen find they "haven't a scrap of sympathy with the defendant." After further deliberations, jury find that they love the plaintiff fondly. The Judge ultimately can find no time to address all the pleadings.
14
15	'''Holding''': Every gentleman of the jury wants to hold the fair plaintiff in his arms. The Judge awards her an embrace of his own.
16	----
17	!!Tropes appearing in Court:
18	* AdaptationExpansion: ''Trial by Jury'' was originally [[http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/bab_ballads/html/trial.html a one-page filler for a comic magazine]]. It did contain lyrics, some of which appear in the final version, but it jumps from Angelina's arrival straight to the twist ending, eliminating all the build-up. It works much better in the final form.'
19	* AmoralAttorney: The Judge, back when he was a practicing barrister.
20	--> All thieves who could my fees afford relied on my orations
21	--> And many a murderer I've restored to his friends and his relations.
22	* BigShutUp: '''SILENCE IN COURT! SILENCE!'''
23	** [[IncessantChorus Not that it works very well.]]
24	* {{Bowdlerise}}: When the defendant enters the court, he sings "Is this the Court of the Exchequer?" and then aside ''Be firm, be firm, my pecker'', as in British slang "pecker" meant "courage". This has been altered in some modern productions to "Of many a man the wrecker," to avoid awkward explanations.
25	* BreachOfPromiseOfMarriage: Creator/GilbertAndSullivan fans will recognize this play as a Breach of Promise case. When the plaintiff enters, the first line the chorus of bridesmaids sings is, "Comes the broken flower", suggesting a seduce-and-abandon scenario. In a particularly {{hypocrit\|e}}ical moment, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Muda8caMQ the Judge reveals that his backstory also involved callously committing Breach of Promise to get ahead in his career.]]
26	** For some, this is actually what introduced them to “Breach of Promise of Marriage” cases in general.
27	* ChewbaccaDefense: Naturally enough, since everyone in the courtroom operates on InsaneTrollLogic.
28	* CorruptPolitician: The great Judge happens to be a greedy and power-hungry buffoon, who gleefully admits to committing and getting away with the same tort the defendant is accused of.
29	--> '''Judge''': Though all my law is fudge,\
30	Yet I'll never, never budge,\
31	But I'll live and die a Judge!\
32	'''Chorus''': And a good Judge too!
33	* DomesticAbuse: The defendant suggests he would thrash and kick the plaintiff, not as a threat but to try to convince the jury that he'd have been a terrible husband, so the plaintiff isn't missing much by not being able to marry him and shouldn't get much in damages even if she wins.
34	* GoldDigger: The Judge got his big break in practicing law by courting the ugly daughter of a wealthy attorney... who he dumped after getting the judgeship.
35	* HaveAGayOldTime: "Be firm, be firm, my pecker." His pecker is his nose or his courage; he's trying to keep a StiffUpperLip, not a stiff...[[RagingStiffie something else]]. Also, the Judge has a brief that he "bought off a booby" meaning a foolish person.
36	* HollywoodLaw: Everyone involved in the trial is blatantly biased in favor of the plaintiff.
37	* HypocriticalHumor:
38	** The Usher urges the jury that "from bias free of every kind, this trial must be tried", then sympathizes with the "broken-hearted bride" and instructs the jury not to pay attention to anything the "ruffianly defendant" might say.
39	** The Judge tells the story of how he came to be a Judge, which involved committing breach of promise of marriage, the same thing the defendant is accused of.
40	* IAmSong: The Judge explains in the song "When I, Good Friends, Was Called To The Bar" how he came to be a Judge.
41	* IncessantChorus: The judge is repeatedly interrupted by the jury and the ladies in the gallery.
42	--> Silence in cooooooooooourt!
43	* {{Jerkass}}: PlayedForLaughs as both the defendant and the judge demonstrate their caddish characters in song.
44	* JokerJury: The entire jury promptly falls in love with the plaintiff and unleashes its fury on the defendant.
45	* KangarooCourt: PlayedForLaughs, of course.
46	* {{Malaproper}}: The counsel for the plaintiff submits that "to marry two at once is Burglaree!"
47	* MarryThemAll: The defendant proposes that it would resolve the dilemma if he would "marry this lady today, and marry the other tomorrow."
48	** The Judge nearly allows this before the Usher informs him that this is the crime of "[[{{Malaproper}} Burglaree]]."
49	* NotablyQuickDeliberation: The only deliberating the jury is actually asked to do is on whether the plaintiff is beautiful. After conferring for just a moment, they return the verdict, "We've but one word, my lord, and that is-- rapture!"
50	* OpeningChorus: "Hark, the Hour of Ten Is Sounding."
51	* {{Pun}}: "Trial-la-law, trial-la-law, singing so merrily Trial-la-law!"
52	** The Judge admits (see CorruptPolitician and HypocriticalHumor above) how he got his job through a "job" (archaic slang, in this sense, for a corrupt transaction) and the chorus replies, "And a good job too!"
53	* ShoutOut: The defendant and plaintiff are named Edwin and Angelia after a popular romantic poem by Oliver Goldsmith.
54	* SungThroughMusical: This is the only Creator/GilbertAndSullivan musical that contains no spoken dialogue as originally written.[[note]]One rhymed couplet was later replaced with two words of spoken dialogue.[[/note]]
55	* ThatWasObjectionable: The judge proposes that they test the defendant's claim that he would beat his wife when tipsy by making him tipsy to see what happens. The counsel for the plaintiff objects to this, as does the plaintiff herself. (The defendant ''doesn't''.)

Context Theatre / TrialByJury