It's a special treat to get new feedback on an older story, especially when the feedback is so nice -- thanks so much! I'm also extremely happy to hear that the obscure in-joke made you laugh! I too was innocently watching that production of "Pirates of Penzance" when suddenly the matter patter song from "Ruddigore" was sung, and I remember thinking, "What the hell?" But I personally love the matter patter song, so I didn't really mind, and I laughed a lot at their in-song acknowledgment of the appropriation. (In case you didn't catch it, it's at the end of Ruth's [Mad Margaret's] verse, where she sings "But at present I'm afraid I am as mad as any hatter so I'll sing a song from 'Ruddigore' it really doesn't matter.")

But it's a pretty obscure joke -- definitely a very self-indulgent insertion -- and so far you're only the second reader I know of who even got the joke, never mind the question of whether the joke is funny! But the fact that it made you laugh makes it all worthwhile, so thanks for commenting and letting me know. : )