The Mikado is one of the most popular pieces of musical theatre of all time, especially when you take its 135-year history into account. For decades, a production of the satirical opera could be seen somewhere in the English-speaking world every day of the year. Several films have been made about the work, including Mike Leigh’s 1999 film Topsy-Turvy, which presented an intimate portrait of the characters of W.S. Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan and the cast of the original D’Oyly Carte Opera Company.
In 2016, New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players created the production of The Mikado that is taking the stage at Walton Arts Center on Sunday, March 9 at 4 pm. All of your favorite characters are featured: Yum-Yum, Nanki-Poo, Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner with his “little list” of potential victims, the fearsome Katisha, the hilariously ridiculous Pooh-Bah and the politely sadistic Mikado himself. A brief new prologue set in the offices of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company frames the classic work for today’s audiences. While the new production underlines how The Mikado can be enjoyed by artists and audiences of all backgrounds, Gilbert’s lyrics and Sullivan’s melodies – which have delighted comic opera lovers for over 150 years – are still as fresh as “the flowers that bloom in the spring.”
New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players has firmly held the belief that modern topical references are appropriate to make the audience’s experience as immediate as it was for the audiences of the 19th century. Londoners would have understood many of Gilbert’s references to popular figures and places of the time. The company believes that theatre is a living medium and that judicious revisions are appropriate, whether they be for reasons of entertainment, understanding or changing cultural sensibilities. Therefore, the long-established practice of inserting topical references is still present for the audience to enjoy in this production.
It is the universal truth that The Mikado has endured and delighted theatergoers through the decades. There is nothing more universal than death, and in The Mikado, Gilbert’s dark humor makes audiences laugh at the most common aspects of the human condition. Vanity, acting before thinking of the consequences, the artifices of social behavior, the corrupting influence of power and many other easily identifiable foibles are all the objects of Gilbert’s wit. Add a genuine pathos for the piece’s villainess and one quickly recognizes why this story still fascinates us 135 years later.
Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased by visiting waltonartscenter.org, by calling 479.443.5600 weekdays 10 am until 5 pm or in-person at the Walton Arts Center Box Office weekdays 10 am until 2 pm.