“Then let the throng
our joy advance,
with laughing song
and merry dance!”

—The Full Company
The Mikado
The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company’s Fortieth Anniversary Production of

The Mikado

March 15 to April 7, 2019

Photo Gallery

Video

The Mikado Program

The Mikado 2019 Cast

Directors

Stage Director: Rick Shiomi
Music Director: Dr. Randal A. Buikema

Director’s Notes

Welcome to our reimagined version of The Mikado which I actually call The New Mikado because it’s my adaptation of the script.  I’ve transported the setting to Edwardian England circa 1910, but the essential characters and storyline are the same (with some updating for more contemporary comedy and commentary).  We have brought Gilbert and Sullivan back to their British home where cricket, field hockey, public houses and top hats abound, and where the young lovers, Franki-Poo and Tum Tum (because she makes our hearts go “tum tum, tum tum”) wind their way through a thicket of other characters, like Coleman Coe (Co Co for short), Pooh Bah, His Majesty The King of England and the Lady Katherine Shaw (Katy Shaw).

Special thanks to Stephen Hage for inviting me on this journey and his support every step of the way, Randy Buikema for his wonderful music direction, Penny Freeh for her fabulous choreography, Martha B. Johnson for her directorial insight and assistance, and of course, to the great cast and design team that made this dream possible. We hope you enjoy our reimagining of this classic operetta.

Rick Shiomi
 

Anthony Rohr as Franki Poo, Margaret Matejcek as Tum Tum and Tyus Beeson as Co Co

Anthony Rohr as Franki Poo,
Margaret Matejcek as Tum Tum and
Tyus Beeson as Co Co
 

Tyus Beeson as Co Co and Lara Trujillo as Katy Shaw

Tyus Beeson as Co Co and
Lara Trujillo as Katy Shaw
 

Sarah Mehle as Patti Sing, Margaret Matejcek as Tum Tum and Blanka Melbostad as Bow Peep

Sarah Mehle as Patti Sing,
Margaret Matejcek as Tum Tum and
Blanka Melbostad as Bow Peep
 

Rick Shiomi discussed his staging of The Mikado with The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company in interviews with The StarTribune of the Twin Cities and the Twin Cities Arts Reader

The Mikado Reviews

         Lavender Magazine, by John Townsend

         Compendium, by Becki Iverson

         Play Off the Page, by Mary Aalgaard

         Say Entirely, by Tierney Chlan

         Cherry and Spoon, by Jill Schafer

         Twin Cities Arts Reader, by Basil Considine

         PhenoMNal Twin Cities, by Peter Kwong

Two excellent internet resources for information about The Mikado

Wikipedia – The Mikado

The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive – The Mikado

The Mikado 2019 Show Poster

Show Poster

Poster design by Tom McGregor and Mary Olson

The Mikado 2019 Company Photo

Company Photo

Photography by Bethany Jackson, Twin Cities Headshots

“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 Full Company
The Mikado

Video