The Mikado

Years of doing this blog now means that readers of it should start to pickup certain likes or dislikes. Those of you that actually know me know that I have been part of Gilbert and Sullivan musicals but was not familiar with 'The Mikado'. Family looked to set that right and my Christmas present was a film version of 'The Mikado'. Even though Moana featured on the blog and I said that it was the first musical of the year it was the first kids film of the year with typical Disney music in it and doesn't entirely count as a musical. This is the first real musical of the year!

Kenny Baker and Jean Colin take on the roles of Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum in the 1939 D'oyly Carte film of the hit musical by WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The music is very catchy and in many ways absolutely typical of Arthur Sullivan. Just listening to it you will be able to tell instantly that this is G&S music. Anyone that has seen the film 'Quartet' will now understand about flowers that bloom in the spring and a lot of tralalaing.

A few years ago, on the very first film challenge blog I watched the film 'Topsy Turvy' starring Jim Broadbent as WS Gilbert. The film focused on The Mikado because G&S were starting to become unpopular as their plots were all very much the same and the audience, not to mention Arthur Sullivan himself, were starting to notice it. The revival of their success came from 'The Mikado', which is set in Japan and therefore features a different style of costume, dance and characterisation than any other G&S musical.

The singing is fantastic, the costumes and makeup are dated but then this was almost 80 years ago! The Mikado, like all G&S musicals is very enjoyable and quite silly! I hope to be able to see a stage production of it soon!