The Mikado NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (12)
See it if Don't. Don't make it your 1st (unfaithful to origina) or your 10th (cringe-worthy). AS's music soars; WSG's great lyrics and book are lost.
Don't see it if you love The Mikado; your heart will be broken. A travesty lasting 3 hours. So much NYGSP money spent on this production w so little result. Read more
See it if You have never seen The Mikado.
Don't see it if If you like The Mikado. I LOVE THE MIKADO. However, I will never see this production again after this year. Read more
See it if I saw the dress rehearsal - they only stopped once to adjust the stage setting. It kept my attention and was engaging throughout.
Don't see it if if you can't sit for a long time (there is an intermission for this 3 hour show). Read more
See it if like Gilbert & Sullivan; want a fun, easy introduction to operetta; the cast and orchestra are excellent
Don't see it if can't bear operatic singing, want an old-school production.
See it if you love the music and humor of Mikado. This new version due to Asian controversy is a bit confusing. Still lots of fun and well performed.
Don't see it if dislike modernized versions of Gilbert & Sullivan. The added prologue and strange combinations of costuming do not really have a purpose.
See it if You must see Gilbert and Sullivan at every opportunity
Don't see it if You are not interested in a buffoonish production with an unnecessary prologue
See it if you are a fan of G&S; you see shows for their music rather than their plot
Don't see it if you want something original or quick-paced; you need a sensible plot in order to enjoy a production
See it if you like musical romances that are delightfully serious about their silly plots
Don't see it if whitewashed casting bothers you or if you need to hear every word that's sung (those higher voices don't carry syllables well) Read more
Critic Reviews (6)
"A new production that makes a solid case that, in the midst of the wreckage of political incorrectness, the work is a comic gem worth salvaging...I found myself won over by the show’s handsome designs, sharp acting and (for the most part) impressive singing, and came to admire the adroitness with which the director, David Auxier, defused the work’s most damaging cultural land mines...What’s left is a tightly choreographed comedy of manners with coolly precise slapstick."
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"The re-imagined production bends over backwards in its attempts to be a rollicking entertainment that anyone can enjoy…Prancing about the stage with exuberant showmanship and handling Gilbert's verbal wit with crackling dexterity, David Macaluso is the evening's energetic comic engine…As is customary with NYGASP, the singing of the soloists and ensemble members is first-rate under music director Aaron Gandy, who conducts the twenty-five piece orchestra."
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"NYGASP's reimagined 'Mikado' is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the production is gloriously sung and amusingly played. On the other, the new lengthy prologue and motley costumes both seem big mistakes. The mix of English and Japanese styles may be politically correct but the stage picture looks like a wardrobe trunk has been raided and no one received the costumes they were supposed to wear. There must be a better solution than this."
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"In the most important areas, the text and music, ‘The Mikado’ remains largely untouched. What the company has done is change what was offensive…No one in the cast I saw, a mix of veterans and newcomers, was less than capable, and several actors were delightful…That this production of 'The Mikado' is as successful as it is is a cheering example of doing good that also turns out well."
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"This is a delightful, first-rate production, overflowing with an amiable cast whose enthusiasm is positively contagious."
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"I was pleasantly surprised at how good Sullivan's music is -- not great, but very good. The musical values of this production were excellent. Fine singing, good orchestra. However, all the camping and shameless mugging of the principals reminded me of why I don't like productions of Gilbert and Sullivan. This kind of awful hamminess seems to go with the territory...However, the audience was obviously full of fans of G&S and of this company and seemed to relish every moment."
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