Act One

This satirical operetta is set in the Kingdom of Utopia, in the South Sea Islands. The first act takes place in a palm grove. King Paramount, a widower, is in love with Lady Sophy, the English governess of his daughters, the Princesses Zara, Nekaya, and Kalyba. Sophy, however, resents the King because of articles she has read in a newspaper attacking his character. It turns out that they were written by the King himself, but at the insistence of Utopia's two Wise Men, Scaphio and Phantis, who serve as judges on the Utopian Supreme Court. They wield a tyrannical influence over the generally benevolent King Paramount, having the power to terminate his reign by reporting any act or omission they deem improper to Tarara, the Public Exploder, who must then "explode" the King.

Not happy with her father's vulnerable position in the kingdom, Zara conceives a plan to rescue him from the menacing Wise Men and Public Exploder. The King is already a great admirer of English culture, and thus Zara, having recently returned from England where she attends college, introduces the Flowers of Progress, six distinguished men from that country who are now directed to reform all Utopian institutions. One of them is Captain Fitzbattleaxe, with whom Zara falls in love, and another is Mr. Goldbury, who initiates a new concept in the Utopian kingdom: each citizen must become a "Company Limited," and can only be held responsible for his or her declared worth—and no one can be exploded! Other changes are also instituted to effect the most reasonable emulation of English government and society possible.



Act Two

In the palace throne room Zara and Captain Fitzbattleaxe declare their love for each other. Scaphio and Phantis express their displeasure at the changes introduced into the kingdom, not least because they have been stripped of much of their power. They attempt to incite a revolution among the Utopian people by charging that the recent changes have left the poor lawyers with no work, since there is no crime, and that doctors are struggling because of the great improvements in sanitation.

Lady Sophy soon finds that she is falling in love with the King. Zara decides that the changes introduced have not gone quite far enough and announces the formation of political parties. In one of the operetta's most imaginative satirical moments, she explains that with this final addition there will be sickness, "endless lawsuits," "crowded jails," legislative gridlock, owing to one party reflexively canceling the other's measures, but also much prosperity. Her proposal receives overwhelming approval from the people, and the King then orders the two Wise Men taken into custody to await his judgment.

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