Hot Mikado

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Hot Mikado refers to two different but related productions based on Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. The first was the 1939 production created by Mike Todd, which played at the 1939 New York World's Fair using the sets from his earlier touring production of The Mikado. See The Hot Mikado (1939 production).

Fifty years later, David H. Bell and Rob Bowman adapted Hot Mikado, by rewriting the script, modifying lyrics and re-orchestrating the score. Their version ran from March 18–July 27, 1986 [link] at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC. Hot Mikado has the same witty tone as the original, with many of the songs bearing the same name and melody as the original. For example, the song "I Am So Proud" has the same melody for the verses, changing only towards the end where it folds into a more jazzy round. The score has elements of blues, Cab Calloway swing, hot gospel, and torch songs. The 'Three Little Maids' sing in Andrew Sisters' style. Costuming calls for zoot-suits, and there is tap-dancing and jitterbug dancing. [link]

This version continues to be frequently staged in productions in the United States and Britain.

Contents

1 Ross Lehman talks about ''Hot Mikado''
2 Musical Numbers
3 Other Productions of ''Hot Mikado''
4 External links

Ross Lehman talks about Hot Mikado

Some of the information in this has not been [Verifiabilityverified] and might not be reliable. It should be checked for inaccuracies and modified as needed, [cite sourcesciting sources].

Ross Lehman, a Broadway actor [link], is the only actor to have performed in all six professional productions of Hot Mikado directed by creator David H. Bell. In each, Lehman played the role of Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner (for more on the plot, see The Mikado).

The following are notes from a discussion between Lehman and students from Marquette University High School who met with him to discuss the history of Hot Mikado and to obtain his advice on how to improve their own production of the show:

Bell's original intention had been to recover the script and score of the 1939 production of Hot Mikado and revive it at Ford's Theatre. However, he could not find the script, and three weeks before rehearsals were scheduled to begin, he was forced to give up his research and start a new re-imagining of the show which became Hot Mikado as it has been performed in recent productions.
Bell had hoped to bring Hot Mikado to Broadway, but his several efforts fell short (for example, the expected support of a producer who, instead, decided to produce a different show).
One of the show's jokes is repeated several times: a character receives a letter and opens it only to remark, confused, "It's in Japanese... Oh, we are Japanese!" Mr. Lehman claimed that he originated this joke by making the comment after seeing, for the first time, a prop letter with Japanese characters painted on it.
While The Mikado has faced some controversy regarding language in its libretto that has come to be considered racist, Hot Mikado was sometimes criticized for the inclusion of white actors scat singing.

Musical Numbers

Act One

Overture
We Are Gentlemen of Japan (the Gentlemen)
Wand'ring Minstrel (Nanki-Poo, the Gentlemen)
And the Drums Will Crash (Pooh-Bah, ensemble)
Behold the Lord High Executioner (Ko-Ko, the Gentlemen)
I've Got a Little List (Ko-Ko, the Gentlemen)
Three Little Maids (Yum-Yum, Peep-Bo, Pitti-Sing)
This Is What I'll Never Do (Yum-Yum, Nanki-Poo)
I Am So Proud (Pooh-Bah, Pish-Tush, Ko-Ko)
Let the Throng Our Joy Advance (Nanki-Poo, Yum-Yum, ensemble)
Katisha's Entrance (Katisha)
For He's Gonna Marry Yum-Yum (Pitti-Sing, ensemble)
Hour of Gladness (Katisha)
Finale/Act One (ensemble)

Act Two

Entr'acte
Braid the Raven Hair (Pish-Tush, ensemble)
Sun and I (Yum-Yum)
Swing a Merry Madrigal (Nanki-Poo, Pitti-Sing, Yum-Yum, Pish-Tush)
Here's a Howdy-Do (Nanki-Poo, Yum-Yum, Ko-Ko)
Mikado Song (The Mikado, ensemble)
Alone and Yet Alive (Katisha)
Tit-Willow (Ko-Ko)
Beauty in the Bellow (Ko-Ko, Katisha)
Finale (ensemble)
Playout

Other Productions of Hot Mikado

In January 2006, the medical musical theatre society of King's College London presented a production of the show, which was given a modern-asian look and was staged at the Greenwood Theatre at London Bridge (where the first edition of the BBC1 show Question Time was filmed).

Bell directed several other professional productions after 1986, and a number of community groups and high schools have performed the show since 2004. Productions are scheduled at the Pocono Playhouse, New Hope, PA (US) from August to September 2006 and at the Westchester Broadway Theatre, in Elmsford, NY (US) from July to September 2006. [link] The performing rights are available from Music Theater International.[link].

External links

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