Fans of the gently biting humor of Gilbert and Sullivan may appreciate this, others not so much. Still, funny or not, this is the question:
How do you deal with the no-longer-acceptable cultural appropriation/insensitivity/offense in The Mikado? For San Francisco’s Lamplighters Music Theatre, the answer is changing the setting from Japan to Italy and renaming the characters in (sort of) Italian. For the second time.
Back in 2016, Lamplighters joined the worldwide drive to defang the “yellowface” aspects of certain operas and musicals — Madama Butterfly, Turandot, The King and I — in its 22nd production of The Mikado, presented in an Italian version, a move the company explained in detail.
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is part of theater history, opening in London in 1885 at the Savoy Theatre, where it ran for 672 performances. A favorite school production as well, it’s one of the most frequently played musical theater pieces in the world.
For Lamplighters’ 2023 season, it’s Il Ducato/The New Mikado, Aug. 12–27 in Mountain View, San Francisco, and Walnut Creek theaters. Lamplighters CEO Cheryl Blalock explains:
“Our copyrighted reimagining of The Mikado is directed by M. Jane Erwin and conducted by Robby Stafford, two eminent scholars of Gilbert and Sullivan, in three locations. We are reducing the price on our simulcast in order to be more accessible than ever.”
The company has plenty of news to announce as the new season approaches: Blalock is freed of her other title, interim artistic director, by the appointment of Erwin as artistic director, and Baker Peeples, resident music director, is stepping down after a 37-year tenure, to be succeeded by Brett Strader. Strader is also taking on the role of multimedia director.
Peeples will have the title of resident music director emeritus and conduct Ruddygore in February 2024. “We cannot adequately express our eternal thanks for his grace, musicianship, dedication, and pure love of Gilbert and Sullivan,” Blalock said of Peeples.
More about the old and new Mikado from Lamplighters, which persists in a “shift toward a more sensitive and inclusive framework” for all the canonical works it produces, and so:
“With its hilarious plotline, iconic music, and ingenious dialogue which has woven itself into pop culture throughout the 20th century, The Mikado is quite possibly one of the most popular musical comedies in the English language. Il Ducato strives to highlight the genius inherent to the original satire, while freeing it from the harmful stereotypes which have drawn increasing and long-deserved criticism in recent years.”
And so to Italy? Just asking.
Director Erwin adds: “I would argue that this libretto and script is Gilbert’s finest. He is always exploring human nature in ways we recognize as highly relevant today, and he has themes which are timeless — duty, forgiveness, identity, class, and whom one is allowed to love.
“This story, for me, is entirely about self-interest, or Looking Out for Number One. Every character is in self-preservation mode. And this is such a perfect fit for Lamplighters reimagined setting of the Renaissance, a historical period where so much had been upended after a pandemic. The characters find themselves scrambling to get or hang on to power so as not to be, say, beheaded or maybe buried alive.”
In the cast: Lawrence Ewing (Coco), Sidney Ragland (Niccolù), Julian Baldwin (Niccolù), Chung-Wai Soong (Il Ducato), Charles Martin (Poobà), Liam Daley (Piccia Tuccia), Sara Couden (Catiscià), Jennifer Mitchell (Amiam), Rose Waldman (Pizzi), and Alicia “Ash” Hurtado (Pippa).
The rest of the season: the annual “Champagne Gala,” Oct. 8; Ruddygore, Feb. 24 – March 3, 2024; and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, May 10–19, 2024.
