The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players will continue its 45th season with The Mikado, which the company premiered in December 2016. The upcoming production will run at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College December 27, 2019–January 5, 2020.
The cast will be led by David Wannen in the title role, David Macaluso as Sullivan and Ko-Ko, Matthew Wages as Richard D’Oyly Carte and Pooh-Bah, David Auxier as author Gilbert and town leader Pish-Tush, John Charles McLaughlin as Nanki-Poo, Caitlin Burke as Katisha, Sarah Caldwell Smith as Yum Yum, Rebecca Hargrove as Peep-Bo, and Amy Maude Helfer as Pitti-Sing.
The comic opera will also feature original choreography and direction by NYGASP Associate Stage Director David Auxier, who authored the show’s prologue, and assistant direction by Kelvin Moon Loh.
First performed at London’s Savoy Theatre in 1885, The Mikado pokes fun at topical aspects of Victorian society and follows Nanki-Poo, the son of the Mikado (the Japanese emperor), who has fled his father’s court in disguise as a “Wand’ring Minstrel” to avoid marrying Katisha, an elderly suitor, and to find and marry his own beloved, the maiden Yum-Yum.
The Mikado, which will also have scenery designed by Anshuman Bhatia, costumes by Quinto Ott, and lighting by Benjamin Weill, is produced by NYGASP Executive Director David Wannen.