A 21st century twist: Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘The Mikado’ gets reimagined by Albuquerque native

The 1885 comic operetta “The Mikado” by librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan — better known as Gilbert and Sullivan — is one of the most popular musical theater pieces in history. But it’s getting a 21st century makeover.

“At one point, in the last few decades, there would be a production of ‘The Mikado’ happening in the English-speaking world every single day,” James Mills, artistic director of the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, said. The group is bringing an updated version of “The Mikado” to Popejoy Hall on Sunday, March 1.

Mills, a native of Albuquerque, said he first caught the musical theater bug while attending Eldorado High School and began auditioning and performing with Musical Theatre Southwest before joining the University of New Mexico’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

“I loved it,” Mills said of his university years. “In fact, I just learned that the great Paul Ford, who was one of my first acting professors at UNM, just passed away. He was such an incredible force in Albuquerque theater, and ... I learned so much from him.”

Popejoy Hall holds a special place in Mills’ heart because it was the first stage where he ever performed a piece of musical theater, MTS’s production of “Bye Bye Birdie.”

“To be able to come back every few years with my theater company is a truly beautiful, full-circle moment for me every time,” he said.

Mills joined New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players in 2006 and became their associate artistic director during the pandemic.

“Then, last year was our 50th season — a big jubilee year — and Albert Bergeret, our founder, retired and passed the baton to me,” Mills said. “It’s very exciting, but I have tremendously big shoes to fill.”

Under Mills’ direction, the company has reimagined “The Mikado” from a 21st century perspective. Because the original play reflects a 19th century British view of Japanese society, it has come to be seen as racially and culturally insensitive by many contemporary critics.

“Cultural appropriation is something we care very much about not doing,” Mills said. “So, we’ve worked very hard to create a ‘Mikado’ for everybody, and we have a very diverse cast.”

They have also added a prologue, which turns the entire production into a dream in Gilbert’s mind, along with hybrid Japanese-Victorian costumes by Quinto Ott that are purposefully fantastical and anachronistic. The goal was to make the operetta more palatable for contemporary audiences without sacrificing any of the fun or the beauty of the original.

“When the main curtain rises on the actual show, it’s full of color and kinetic energy, and lots of great dancing and singing,” Mills said. “It’s a family-friendly show, and I think audiences, young and old, will be delighted.”

Besides being the artistic director, Mills continues to perform with the company. In “The Mikado,” he will be part of the ensemble, but in other productions, he is often the “patter man” — the funny, fast-talking character who “gets everybody in and out of trouble,” as Mills puts it. The last time he performed at Popejoy, he played the classic patter role of the Major-General in “Pirates of Penzance.”

Mills thinks Gilbert’s satirical lyrics are still funny and still relatable in today’s politically divided times.

“Gilbert had to work really hard so the British people could laugh at themselves and not be offended. He was lampooning both sides of the aisle equally and, by doing that, was able to create a common ground where you could laugh at each other’s eccentricities and ridiculousness,” Mills said. “So, Gilbert and Sullivan is great for our time, when everything’s so polarized, because it equally satirizes the whole world.”

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the Albuquerque Journal. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at @loganroycebeitmen.