Lamplighters Music Theatre to Present Gilbert & Sullivan's THE MIKADO this August

Lamplighters Music Theatre will present Gilbert & Sullivan's masterpiece THE MIKADO in theatres throughout the Bay Area this summer. This new production has been moved from the traditional setting of a fictitious Japanese village to that of a bustling little town in Renaissance Italy, the world of Michelangelo, Leonardo and Botticelli, and the home of rapid cultural exchange, scientific advancement and artistic creativity.

With its hilarious plot line, ingenious dialogue, memorable characters and wonderful music, The Mikado is very possibly the most popular musical comedy in the English language, and a playful satire of the timeless and universal frailties of our shared human nature. In a time when flirting, even winking, was a capital offense, a handsome wandering minstrel has fallen in love with the beautiful bride-to-be of the recently appointed Lord High Executioner. Chaos, desperation, and comical mayhem ensue in classic Gilbert and Sullivan style, with impromptu marriages, substitute executionees, forged death certificates, and the revelation of a prince in disguise. The production will be changed visually to reflect the new setting, and a minimal number of necessary edits will be made to the names and dialogue, but this classic masterpiece will otherwise remain intact.

This will be the Lamplighters' 22nd production of The Mikado since 1953, and will be directed by Ellen Brooks, and conducted by Resident Music Director, Baker Peeples. "Transferring The Mikado from its first creative home in Gilbert and Sullivan's fantasy "Japan" has been nothing short of a revelation." says Brooks, "Italian exuberance and joy in life colored every choice we made... In the earthy Lombard countryside, Gilbert's wry and wicked humor, his observation of human foibles and sense of irony are stronger than ever and through this new lens (certainly of Venetian glass) - made even more ridiculous."

In recent years, productions of The Mikado have been increasingly drawing criticism from the Asian-American community as promoting "orientalist" stereotypes. While moving forward to remove the words and imagery that may have caused hurt in the past, the Lamplighters endeavor to respect the original intent--as in all of the works they perform--not to preserve the past unthinkingly, but to show how much Gilbert & Sullivan can still teach us about the perennially enduring eccentricities of humanity. In the case of The Mikado, this 2016 production pays tribute both to the genius of Gilbert & Sullivan, and to the universal humanity of the characters portrayed in the brilliant libretto, by transporting Gilbert's original setting to another equally "exotic" locale. The Lamplighters undertake this scenic change in the firm belief that The Mikado can be viewed, and produced, with complete respect for the original intent of Gilbert & Sullivan's satire of our universal human nature, no matter what its setting.