Mikado, The

Mikado, The (1885). Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera about the preposterous carryings‐on in the mythical Japanese village of Titipu won favor with Americans from its first major New York performance at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in 1885 for a run of 250 performances. The cast included Courtice Pounds as Nanki‐Poo and Geraldine Ulmar as Yum‐Yum. Actually, the New York premiere had taken place a month earlier in an unauthorized production by Sydney Rosenfeld at the Union Square Theatre. An injunction was obtained and the mounting was withdrawn after its initial performance. The comic operetta has been revived a number of times, including a fine resurrection by Winthrop Ames in 1927 that ran 150 performances. The work is also a favorite with amateur theatre groups, summer theatres, and schools. In 1939 it was the source of two jazzy black versions: The Swing Mikado and The Hot Mikado.