“Then let the throng our joy advance,
With laughing song and merry dance!”
The Mikado
Poster design by Tom McGregor and Mary Olson
“May all good fortune prosper you,
May you have health and riches too,
May you succeed in all you do!
Long life to you – till then!”
The Mikado
The Mikado
March 15 to April 7, 2019
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is pleased to announce that it will present The Mikado, from March 15 to April 7, 2019.
This production will be directed by Rick Shiomi and will present his adaptation of the original version of The Mikado.
In this re-imagined version of The Mikado, flirting is still declared a crime and punishable by death. Yet, there is a lot of flirting going on in the town of Ti-Tea-Pu, in the land of England. In anticipation of the arrival of the monarch, The Mikado, a tailor has been appointed Lord High Executioner and must behead someone before his majesty arrives. The tailor himself is involved in a love triangle and attempts to set up his rival, Franki Poo, before he loses his own head. It’s all the fun and games of Gilbert and Sullivan, with a modern twist.
In describing his vision for his retelling of this classic operetta, Rick Shiomi says, “Our re-imagined production of The Mikado will deconstruct the unfortunate stereotypes while still retaining the humor and classic music; getting at the heart of the universal human experience through the lens of our diverse contemporary American culture.”
Rick Shiomi’s editorial in which he discusses his previous mounting of this production can be found here.
The cast for this production of The Mikado includes:
His Majesty the Mikado: Doug Freeman
Tum Tum: Margaret Matejcek
Franki Poo: Anthony Rohr
Patti Sing: Sarah Mehle
Co Co: Tyus Beeson
Bow Peep: Blanka Melbostad
Pooh Bah: Alex Kolyszko
Katy Shaw: Lara Trujillo
Chris Tush: Wally Benbenek
Chorus of Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court, Schoolgirls, Guards and Servants:
Tom Berg James Brooks
Axl Dahl Kelly Danger
Laini Devin Jeff Erickson
Philip Eschweiler Emily Garst
Clyde Gerber Alex Gerchak
Mary Gregory Stephen Hage
Steven Halloin Jonah Heuer
Shawn Holt Anna Maher
Wendy Matsutani Luke McKenty
Maddie Olsem John Orbison
Eric Pasternack Nicole Riebe
Gabe Salmon Sarah Shervey
Rhea Sullivan Mariella Warren
Lydia Wildes
The performances will be at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center, at Plymouth Congregational Church, located at 1900 Nicollet Avenue South, in Minneapolis.
Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 7:30 pm. The Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 pm. For a more detailed performance calendar, visit our tickets page.
If you would like to be notified about when to order tickets, we invite you to add your name to our mailing list. This way, we will know how to contact you! We never sell our mailing list to other parties.
Two excellent internet resources for information about The Mikado