“Here’s a how-de-do! If I marry you,
when your time has come to perish,
then the maiden whom you cherish
must be slaughtered, too!
Here’s a how-de-do!”
The Mikado
The Mikado or The Town of Titipu
March 1 to 17, 1985
Our 1985 production of The Mikado was staged in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the first production of The Mikado, on March 14, 1885, by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, at London’s Savoy Theater.
Directors:
| Stage Director: | Barbara Bloom |
| Music Director: | Carolyn Davies |
| Artistic Director: | Dick Fishel, Jr. |
Director’s Note
To conceptualize our interpretation of The Mikado, imagine first that you are without the gift of hearing. What you see clearly tells you that this is 19th Century Japan with its brave, confident men and its dainty, demure women moving about that stage as though lifted from screen and vase in relief. Now, pretend to without the gift of sight. What you hear clearly indicates that you are experiencing a lightly British, if not formal American, rendition of classic British wit, humor, and melody with merely a suggestion of the mystic orient. Combine this with a primarily traditional approach modified for our midwestern audience only when it makes the action clearer and you have the basis for the concept with which this production is staged. If this concept is realized for you as you experience our production, we are happy and grateful that our task is complete, and we give you The Mikado which we present with great affection and love.
Barbara Bloom
In celebration of The Mikado’s centenary, Minneapolis Major Donald M. Fraser proclaimed that the City of Titipu was a Sister City of Minneapolis.
The sister city proclamation
Bridget D’Oyly Carte’s letter congratulating The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company for its presentation of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas in Minneapolis and for its celebration of The Mikado’s centenary.
Bridget D’Oyly Carte’s letter
Two excellent internet resources for information about The Mikado:
Show Poster
Company Photo
Photography by Daniels Studio
“The threatened cloud has passed away,
and brightly shines the dawning day;
what though the night may come too soon,
we’ve years and years of afternoon!”
The Mikado
Photo Gallery
