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It’s morning in Summerfield, and Gildersleeve rises early, but Birdie doesn’t quite have breakfast ready. She doesn’t mind though, does she? Gildersleeve answers Marjories question about his early rising by saying that he’s turning over a new leaf. From now on, he’s going to pay more attention to his duties as Water Commissioner.
Later, downtown, he encounters a woman who is a singing teacher, and she entices him to sing for her. She wants to give him lessons to turn him into an opera star. It won’t cost him much. Wow, that dedication to the job sure lasted a long time, didn’t it.
Gildy goes home to practice, but the family thinks he is sick, or something. At Peavey’s drugstore, Gildy announces that he has given up cigars in order to preserve his voice. He demonstrates the results of his singing lessons for Peavey. When the Judge comes in, Gildy just doesn’t get any respect over his decision to be the next big thing in opera. All he really does is make his friends mad at him.
Determined to win fame, but not willing to disappoint the Jolly Boys club, Gildersleeve trudges up the stairs to the clubhouse over Floyd’s barbershop. Will he have to break it off with his friends in the club? Will he apologize for the angry words he had at Peavey’s earlier? After a disappointing visit, Gildy goes home to mope. He can’t sing in the Jolly Boys quartet, so he can save his voice for opera.
Marjorie tries to comfort him, but does anybody understand what he’s going through? Gildersleeve does a little day dreaming as he pictures himself at the Metropolitan Opera House. The crowd quietens down, the curtain rises, and Gildy enters singing. He actually does have quite a voice, with some range to it. His dreams are interupted when his music teacher stops by to tell him that she’s leaving town. Something more important has come her way, and she tries to let him down easy from his dreams of the opera.
Will the Jolly Boys take him back after the rift that he just caused? They don’t call them Jolly for nothing, and his forgiving friends welcome him back.
