The Mikado: Here's A How-De-Do

[shellylovesthis1]

i like the one with david collins and colin lanes version better.

[MagicalMistoffolees]

I love this song! I love love love when Jon English enters and says "Here's a slippery slope." and then falls! I cracked up laughing! :)

[TinyWoman467]

i love how they bring in John for absolutely no reason :P

[cuddlyable3]

This may be Australians' idea of fun bit it's shameless to call it the "classic" Mikado.

[ZeperandAzmyth]

My High School just did the Mikado and I can't say this rendition was better than ours. I don't like all the lines added in. Gilbert's original material is good as it is! :(

[AmericanEvita]

Gilbert & Sullivan operettas are alive and well today over 100 years ago when these classic stage works were first produced in the late 19th century/turn of the century. I love the Mikdado & it's nice to know it can still be sung in its original form but tweaked only a little for modern audiences. I like it when they reference to oldies like Staying Alive by the Beegees - or in the Kevin Kline/Linda Ronstadt Pirates of Penzance - Elvis Presley!

[MrBenide]

hi i am the little bro of ben who owns this acount and at school i am doing a play and it is this play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CaballeroCatalan]

Well, this feels like a Mikado fanfiction with John English in the role of Mary Sue; I refuse to recognize this character as Pooh-Bah. Instead of removing the madrigal, they might have tried not dragging out a dumb pop-culture joke for ten minutes after every second line. I mean, just cutting the whole "buried alive" bit would've done -though that one was actually good- While they're at it, why don't they cut out "The Sun Who's Rays" and replace it with John English throwing pies at Ko-Ko.

[vonnycav]

@CaballeroCatalan The Jon in Jon English doesn't have a "h" in it.

[lhrlyc]

disturbingly, the KOKO sounds like SWISS TONY from the fast show

[daisybtoes]

It also looks like the "three little maids" include Peep-Bo, Pitti-Sing, and someone new, not Yum-Yum. Am I missing something?

[daisybtoes]

I would like to see this entire production sometime. It is silly and fun and different.

[TheNinjaSpoon]

I saw the 2009 Season of this in Adeliade (Simon G production [same as this])

It was awesome

[ladysquier]

eh, it's allright. I think i may actually have come to like the orchestral ones better though.

[MikadoObsessed]

i hate this version. they change and add to much stuff

[eandcdad]

best mikado ever

[firestartertwistedfi]

@eandcdad have a look at the jonathan miller trailer for ENO

[FinalFreek]

I've just noticed this is not a compleate opera there's 1 song and some of the diaglog missing the song is the madrigal britghly dawns our wedding day and the dialog is how ko-ko has to get use to them getting married.

[ser132]

I think the madrigal brightly dawns our wedding day was cut out of the performance because of time issues.

[citygirl119]

OMG OUR SCHOOL IS DOING THIS PLAY!!!! WELL MY CLASS SO IM LIKE SIGNING THE SONGS RITE now!

[petergriffinwilldie]

i love this song i've got it stuck in my head

[sverigregrabb]

Actually, check out this same scene as posted by thetenore. It--and he--are very, very good.

I happen to agree with ProfStanford that this miming of the lyrics has gone much too far. If you ask someone for a smoke on stage, do you mimic taking out the fag, putting it between your lips, striking the imaginary match and puffing? It's not supposed to be a 'sense-memory' exercise as practised at RADA, you know!

[sverigregrabb]

I'm afraid I've got to agree Erudhiel and Cozomedy. This is operetta--vital, yes. A Music Hall turn, no. It's as if the cast were doing 'Carry On Mikado' or something! And Drew Forsythe is so over the top he's a parody! Derek Metzger is rather good at the comedic part of it, but his voice is too commonplace to take this out of musical theatre and lift it into operetta, which is what the Mikado is. He was MUCH better in Pirates of Penzance as Major Gen. Stanley, doing 'A Modern Major-General'.

[Cozomedy]

I found this version is rather immature. It seems that the crowd laughs only at the stupid lines.

[Ethirian]

A lot of the jokes are very specific to Australia and NZ. I personally love it. It's certainly not aimed at the purists though. Australians find fun in poking fun at things, including themselves.

[Cozomedy]

I understand. It is still a very enjoyable production though, don't get me wrong.

[Eruadhiel]

What a pathetic KoKo. Normally I enjoy these, but this is a real let down!

[ProfStanford]

Ever since Jonathan Miller`s 1985 production at the ENO, every Ko-Ko dances to this number miming digging. I think it must be in the script now.

[Lissical]

I agree -- I saw a production in 1995 at a community theatre and the KoKo there did the same thing. Then in 2004 when I was in The Mikado, he did it again! Eric Idle was the first I saw doing the digging too. I like it though. :) Makes it more comedic to me.

[daisybtoes]

I saw it earlier than Eric Idle, but no not remember the name of the singer.

[Lissical]

Was it by any chance aired on PBS? They had nearly all of Gilbert & Sullivan's operettas on there. I think Clive Revill played Ko-Ko.

[MikadoObsessed]

actually eric idle started the digging thing

[Shimmerkitty]

ha ha ha buried alive, buried alive

that's funny :)

thanks for sharing these

[ChioGaru]

I LOVE this!

[stephenbiboy]

An offensive outrage

[Anyathe]

I remember seeing this live!

I also remember following John English down the streets of Melbourne for his autograph. Oh, I was a stalkerish 10 year old then.

[spankytuggins]

Drew Forsythe is an entertainment genius, and together with Jon English, made this an enjoyable show. Credit to Simon Gallaher for producing the show !

[SyraMiah]

hey! i was Pish-Tush! he's a great character. i dont get it, their accents are really annoying. did they need to add an extra verse to every song just for Jon English?

[msigimo]

who is that random man?!

[maxfagin]

Poo-bah. For this production, they merged Poo-Bah with Pish-Tush and gave him a bigger part. Suprisingly, it actually works prety well. I always thought that Pish-Tush didn't belong.

[DarlingAshes]

Thank you so much for putting these clips up. I adore them.