“But youth, of course, must have its fling, so pardon us, so pardon us. And don’t, in girlhood’s happy spring, be hard on us, be hard on us, if we’re inclined to dance and sing.”

—Yum-Yum and Pitti-Sing
The Mikado
The McAdo 2024
Poster design by Tom McGregor and Mary Olson

“Away you go, collect your hordes; proclaim your woe in dismal chords. We do not heed their dismal sound for joy reigns everywhere around.”

— The Full Company
The Mikado
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company Presents a New Adaption of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, or The Town of Titipu

The McAdo, or The Town of Ballydew

November 1 to 24, 2024

The McAdo Program

The GSVLOC Health and Safety Plan for Our Audience

The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is pleased to announce that it will present a new adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado for four weekends, from Friday, November 1 to Sunday, November 24, 2024.  This reimagined version of the show, graciously shared with us by Gilbert & Sullivan Austin, is set in the highlands of Scotland and retitled The McAdo.

This production is dedicated to the memory of company member, House Manager Fred Morrison.

Lanky Doug, a strolling minstrel, arrives in the Scottish town of Ballydew, seeking to marry the beautiful Wynn Somme.  He learns, however, that Wynn Somme is already engaged to Coco, a cheap tailor, who has been unexpectedly raised the rank of Lord High Executioner.  Heartbroken, Lanky Doug contemplates suicide. In the meantime, Coco is unable to find someone to execute, as he must do, before the arrival of the clan Laird, The McAdo.  Coco hits on a plan that will solve both of their problems.  He will offer Lanky Doug a month of marriage to Wynn Somme if Lanky Doug allows Coco to execute him at the end of that month.  What Coco doesn’t realize is that Lanky Doug is the son of The McAdo and has run away to avoid marriage to the bloodthirsty Katie Shaw.  The arrival of The McAdo complicates matters, but ultimately brings the story to a delightful, satisfying conclusion.

Run Time: Estimated 2:10, plus :20 intermission.

This production will be a first for the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company as there will be two casts of principals … the Gilbert Cast and the Sullivan Cast … alternating performances.

The casts for this production of The McAdo includes:

  Gilbert Cast  Sullivan Cast
The McAdo: Scott Benson Scott Gorman
Lanky Doug: Seth Tychon Steidl Graham Remple
Coco: Sam Vinitsky Brandt Roberts
Pubagh: Waldyn Benbenek Joe Allen
Pischtusch: Jeff Erickson Trevor Woggon
Wynn Somme: Maggie Benham Mary Kettlewell
Pretty Jean: Delaney Downs Therese Kulas
Wee Jo: Mallory Rabehl Ella Rose Katzenberger
Katie Shaw: Lara Trujillo Deb Haas

 

Chorus of Members of the McAdo Clan and residents of Ballydew

Adam Arnold John Azbill-Salisbury
Mary Mescher Benbenek Sarah Brickeen
Justin Cervantes Kelly Danger
Theresa Drexler Mitch Engel
Maya Gitch Jacob Gomez
Mary Gregory Stephen Hage
Shawn Holt Trenton Johnson
Dean Laurance Eric Pasternack
Leo Andre Proctor Mike Tober
Angela Walberg Natalie Wishcop
Bill Zadra  

 

The Gilbert Cast and the Sullivan Cast Performance Schedule

The Gilbert Cast

The Sullivan Cast
Friday, November 1st, 7:30 pm Saturday, November 2nd, 7:30 pm
Sunday, November 3rd, 2:00 pm Saturday, November 9th, 2:00 pm
Friday, November 8th, 7:30 pm Sunday, November 10th, 2:00 pm
Saturday, November 9th, 7:30 pm Friday, November 15th, 7:30 pm
Saturday, November 16th, 2:00 pm Saturday, November 16th, 7:30 pm
Sunday, November 17th, 2:00 pm Friday, November 22nd, 7:30 pm
Saturday, November 23rd, 7:30 pm Sunday, November 24th, 2:00 pm

 

For this upcoming production, the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company owes an extraordinary debt of gratitude to the members of Gilbert & Sullivan Austin, who invited and strongly encouraged the Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company to produce its reimagined version of the operetta, set in Scotland.  Surprisingly few changes to Gilbert’s libretto and Sullivan’s score were necessary to transport the story to Scotland.  The fact that it is possible to transport this operetta from its original to a new setting speaks to the underlying universality of the piece as a delightful commentary on human folly and isn’t tied to one fictional locale or another.

For a fuller discussion about this and previous revisions to The Mikado, we invite you to read our full presentation on The Mikado Revised page of our website.

The performances will be at the Conn Theater, at Plymouth Congregational Church, located at 1900 Nicollet Avenue South, in Minneapolis.

Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. The Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 p.m. 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.