Lamplighters Music Theatre to Set THE MIKADO in England This August

This summer, Lamplighters Music Theatre will present Gilbert & Sullivan's masterpiece THE MIKADO in theatres throughout the Bay Area.

In the spirit of sensitivity towards cultural and ethnic inclusivity and diversity, the Lamplighters are moving this production from the traditional setting of a fictional Japanese town to Victorian England. Singers of all backgrounds and ethnicities were invited to attend their widely publicized open auditions earlier this month, and final casting is currently in process. Lamplighters Music Theatre is a long-time contributor to, and participant in, the arts community in the San Francisco Bay Area, and feels it is important to be responsive to input from peers, stakeholders and industry leaders.

With its hilarious plot line, ingenious dialogue, memorable characters and wonderful music, THE MIKADO is very possibly the most popular musical comedy in the English language, and a playful satire of the timeless and universal frailties of our shared human nature. In a time when flirting was a capital offense, wandering minstrel Nanki-Poo has fallen in love with the beautiful Yum-Yum, fiancée to the recently appointed Lord High Executioner Ko-Ko. When the honored Lord Mikado demands the execution of Ko-Ko, and Nanki-Poo volunteers to take Ko-Ko's place under the condition that he first be allowed to marry Yum-Yum, chaos, desperation, and comical mayhem ensue in classic Gilbert and Sullivan style, with impromptu marriages, forged death certificates, and the revelation of a prince in disguise.

This will be the Lamplighters' 22nd production of THE MIKADO since 1953, and will be directed by Ellen Brooks, and conducted by Resident Music Director, Baker Peeples, with Stage Director Ellen Brooks, Music Director/Conductor Baker Peeples and Costume Designer Miriam Lewis.

Single tickets will be on sale in June. Full details are posted at lamplighters.org/season/season.html. For further information call 415-227-4797 or email info@lamplighters.org.

TOUR SCHEDULE:

WALNUT CREEK

WHERE: Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive

WHEN: Friday, August 5 at 8PM • Saturday, August 6 at 2PM & 8PM • Sunday, August 7 at 2PM?

MOUNTAIN VIEW

WHERE: Mountain View Center for Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street

WHEN: Saturday, August 13 at 2PM & 8PM • Sunday, August 14 at 2PM?

SAN FRANCISCO

WHERE: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard Street, San Francisco?

WHEN: Thursday, August 18 at 8PM • Friday, August 19 at 8PM • Saturday, August 20 at 2PM & 8PM • Sunday, August 21 at 2PM?

LIVERMORE

WHERE: Bankhead Theater, 2400 First Street, Livermore?

WHEN: Saturday, August 27 at 8PM • Sunday, August 28 at 2PM

Lamplighters Music Theatre was founded in 1952 to produce the comic operas of librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, and is now recognized as one of the world's pre-eminent Gilbert & Sullivan companies. The Lamplighters' repertoire includes all the surviving works of these creative geniuses, as well as a select group of comic operas and classic musicals by other composers that exemplify their artistic vision. Critically acclaimed artistic successes for the Lamplighters include honors for Best Production and Best Director at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England and local awards in nearly every performance, direction, and design category, including Outstanding Production of a Musical at the 2015 Theatre Bay Area Awards for H.M.S. Pinafore. The hallmarks of a Lamplighters production are lavish costumes and sets, live orchestra, excellent comic acting, and gorgeous unamplified singing that showcases the beauty and purity of the human voice.

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