Famous Operetta ‘The Mikado’ Celebrates 140 Years at the ECC Arts Center on March 14

The Elgin Community College (ECC) Arts Center and the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP) will celebrate the 140th anniversary of one of the most famous operettas of all time, “The Mikado,” on Friday, March 14, at 7:30 pm.

NYGASP will perform “The Mikado” in the Blizzard Theatre in Building H of ECC’s Spartan Drive Campus at 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin, Ill.

On March 14, 1885, Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado opened a run of 672 performances of this first production at the Savoy Theatre in London for an audience that included, among other notables, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

“It’s an incredible honor for the ECC Arts Center to be part of history with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players for the 140th anniversary of the premiere of ‘The Mikado’,” said Tommy Hensel, senior director of performing arts at ECC. “To present this beloved operetta exactly 140 years after its world premiere at London’s Savoy Theatre is a rare and exciting opportunity. This performance not only celebrates the enduring legacy of Gilbert and Sullivan, it reaffirms the ECC Arts Center’s commitment to bringing world-class performances to our community.”

“The Mikado” abounds with absurdity, astounding wit, clever wordplay, memorable tunes, and endearing characters. The romantic love story 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, a mature suitor, and to find and marry his own beloved, the delicious maiden Yum-Yum, one of the “Three Maids from School.” Yum-Yum, however, is the ward of Ko-Ko, the “Lord High Executioner,” and has become betrothed to him against her will. As is usual in a Gilbert & Sullivan imaginative plot, the tangled web unravels, and everyone (well, almost everyone) lives happily ever after.

This production by NYGASP features an original prologue that introduces the audience to the real-life characters of the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, which originated “The Mikado” in 1885 London and emphasizes the work’s satire of human foibles and excesses that transcend generational and national bounds. The production juxtaposes the fantastic elements of a Victorian world with an imagined Japanese setting, allowing the comic opera to be a truly inclusive experience for the audience.

The New York Times described NYGASP’s production of “The Mikado” as “a comic gem” with “handsome designs, sharp acting, and impressive singing.”

Tickets for NYGASP in “The Mikado” are $42 and can be purchased at the ECC Box Office, online at eccartscenter.org/tickets, or by phone at 847-622-0300.