Timothy Lupia, Madison Eppley, Eric Mansilla
W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan are (justly) famous for their delightfully light operettas, productions so frothy and fun that it’s easy to miss the many sharp political jabs woven throughout.
That’s by design. There is perhaps no more effective way of speaking truth to power than through satire.
Gilbert and Sullivan cheerfully peppered their operettas with caustic (rhyming) observations about the hypocrisy and classism rife in British politics. In “H.M.S. Pinafore,” Sir Joseph Porter sings:
I always voted at my party’s call
and I never thought of thinking for myself at all.
I thought so little they rewarded me
by making me the ruler of the Queen’s Navy.
A character in “Iolanthe” sings that politicians must “leave their brains outside and vote just like their leaders tell ’em to.”
“The Mikado” (which premiered in 1885 and has become one of the most-performed musicals of all time) took this all one giant step farther. The whole musical is a send-up of the unnecessary complexities of British bureaucracy, a critique the pair thinly veiled by setting it in fantasy Japan.
At the time, the British public was fascinated by Japanese culture, and so the setting became the hook, a way to dress up a local story in gorgeous foreign fabric. If that sounds a lot like yellowface, you’re not wrong—which is why so many productions of “The Mikado,” including the one now in rehearsal at Gamut Theatre, change the setting, the character names and even the lyrics.
This is not a solely modern tendency. As early as 1888, a theatrical troupe in the United States mounted a production of “The Texas Mikado” that they titled “The Capitalist.” Other companies have moved the story back home by situating it in London or renamed it “The McAdo” and set it in Scotland. Intentionally or not, Gilbert and Sullivan wrote a story surprisingly untethered to locale or time, one that easily morphs to speak to the living moment of its performance rather than the frozen moment of its creation.
Director Benjamin Krumreig, himself a veteran of several “Mikado” productions, knew from the outset that he was going to find a fresh setting for his production. After a lot of thought (and a bracing Tim Hortons brew or two), he landed on Canada as the perfect locale.
“Once I realized that the famously huge sword could easily be swapped for a giant axe, I knew this would work,” he said.
He may be the first director to land upon this happy notion of allowing “The Mikado” to comment on U.S. society via a Canadian setting, one that can lovingly poke fun with jokes about Mounties and moose, one that can translate Japanese phrases into French and still deliver the critique that is so central to the show’s original intent.
Krumreig is certain Gilbert and Sullivan would have enthusiastically approved.
“Gilbert and Sullivan believed that operetta should be performed in the language of the audience,” he said. “The story should speak to the culture of the audience.”
As an example, Krumreig shared the longstanding tradition of changing the lyrics of the “Little List” song. The original reeled off the names of people famous in 1885 Britain. Almost every production since then lists whatever names resonate for that audience at that time, sometimes changing the names every single performance, something Krumreig slyly suggests might happen in this production as well.
“Who knows what will happen between now and opening that might change our little list?” he asked.
Very loosely, “The Mikado” is about a disguised prince, the girl he loves, the man she’s supposed to marry, and a law stating that each town must behead someone (anyone) on a regular basis. Less loosely, the story is about people trying to live their lives while around them hums a dangerous political machine.
“Art comes with responsibility, and sometimes that responsibility is heavier than others,” Krumreig noted. “Of course, the show will still be light and airy, and the music is some of the most beautiful Gilbert and Sullivan ever wrote. But it would be irresponsible of us not to acknowledge the times we’re living through.”
That makes “The Mikado, Eh!” a perfect choice for Gamut’s 33rd season, an enduring story that harmonizes deceptively sweetly with productions about women in the French revolution or an aging king vainly clinging to power.
“The Mikado, Eh!” runs Nov. 8 through Nov. 23 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4th St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.gamuttheatre.org/mikado or call 717-238-4111.
UPCOMING EVENTS
At Gamut Theatre
www.gamuttheatre.org
717-238-4111
“The Mikado, Eh!”
By Gilbert & Sullivan
Adapted by Benjamin Krumreig
Nov. 8 to 23
“The Frog Prince”
Popcorn Hat Players
Oct. 29 to Nov. 15Gil
TMI Improv
Comedy Show
Nov. 28
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