The Mikado

Longwood Gardens

Friday, May 30th – 8:30 PM
Saturday, May 31st – 8:30 PM

About The Mikado

Experience the enduring joy of The Mikado – Gilbert & Sullivan’s most popular work since its premiere in 1885!  The Savoy Company’s fresh, creative revisioning of this classic show, presented in partnership with the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia and the Japanese American Citizens League, provides an opportunity for audiences to enjoy this masterwork of comedic and musical genius through the modern lens of the 1960s.  By updating “traditional” makeup, costumes, staging, and portions of the libretto with aesthetics and terminology that reflects a more modern feel, this topsy-turvy production is sure to fill every heart with joy. 

Production History

Premiered in 1885, The Mikado is Gilbert & Sullivan’s ninth of their fourteen collaborative works.  In addition to enjoying the second-longest original run of any theatrical musical work prior to its opening, the piece remains one of the most popular in the canon due to its catchy lyricism and resplendent musicality.  It is commonly parodied throughout popular culture and is one of the most frequently produced Gilbert & Sullivan shows internationally.

Conceived as a biting satire of Victorian British society and political institutions, The Mikado was set in a fictional interpretation of Japan – which, at the time that the piece was written, was a wholly foreign concept to its original audience, who had little if any awareness of Japanese societal structures.  Through the utilization of this device, librettist Gilbert was able to poke fun at British politics more freely than he otherwise would have been able to do so if the piece had been set in a more familiar locale.  The piece also beautifully represents composer Sullivan’s signature musical language through genre favorites of patter songs and deeply stirring arias, The Mikado is richly adorned with nods to Asian musical motifs and instrumentation.

Although accounts differ on the accuracy of this anecdote and its proliferation endures as a result of its dramatization in the semi-biographical film Topsy-Turvy, it is commonly reported that librettist Gilbert landed upon the idea of setting a satirical piece in Japan when a Japanese sword that hung on the wall of his study came crashing down.

Cast of Characters

Note: Character names below refer to the original production characters.

The Mikado: Guillermo Bosch
Nanki-Poo: Joshua Myers
Pish-Tush: Peter Beik
Pooh-Bah: Brian Ballard
Ko-Ko: Matthew McConnell

Yum-Yum: Linda Liu
Pitti-Sing: Greta Groothius
Peep-Bo: Nathalie Dalziel
Katisha: Carolyn Hoehle