''The Hot Mikado'' was a

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

adaptation of

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's 1885 comic opera ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' with an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

cast. It was first produced by

Mike Todd Michael Todd (born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen; June 22, 1909 – March 22, 1958) was an American theater and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of ''Around the World in 80 Days'', which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Actr ...

on Broadway in 1939. It starred

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...

in the title role, with musical arrangements by

Charles L. Cooke Charles L. Cooke (September 3, 1891 – December 25, 1958), known as Doc Cook, was an American jazz bandleader and arranger. Cook was a Doctor of Music, awarded by the Chicago Musical College in 1926. Born in Louisville, he first worked as a com ...

and direction by

Hassard Short Hubert Edward Hassard Short (15 October 1877 – 9 October 1956), usually known as Hassard Short, was an actor, stage director, set designer and lighting designer in musical theatre Kenrick, JohnWho's Who in Musicals: Short, HassardMusicals101.co ...

Background

produced ''The Hot Mikado'' after the

Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United ...

turned down his offer to manage the

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

production of ''

The Swing Mikado ''The Swing Mikado'' is a musical theatre adaptation, in two acts, of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera, ''The Mikado'', with music arranged by Gentry Warden. It featured a setting transposed from Japan to a tropical island. The show was fi ...

'' (another all-black adaptation of ''The Mikado'').Mordden
p. 240
/ref>Weinberg-Harter, George
"''Hot Mikado'' at Starlight Theatre"
, ''San Diego Arts'', June 25, 2006 Todd's adaptation was

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

ier than ''The Swing Mikado'' and had a "full-voiced, star-studded cast to back up its sass." It follows both the story line of ''The Mikado'' and the spectacle of the original and was noted for its wild costuming. "Rosa Brown's outfit, a winged dress with train and a gigantic hat, weighed thirty-five pounds." The spectacle and jazzed-up score received enthusiastic reviews and drew audiences; "critic

George Jean Nathan George Jean Nathan (February 14, 1882 – April 8, 1958) was an American drama critic and magazine editor. He worked closely with H. L. Mencken, bringing the literary magazine ''The Smart Set'' to prominence as an editor, and co-founding and ...

presented it as the 'best all-around musical show', named Nat Karson 'the season’s best costumer', and hailed two performers, Rosa Brown as 'best blues singer' and, to no one's surprise, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson as 'best hoofer.'"Cope, David J
"African Americans in 'The World of Tomorrow': 1939"
Teacher Resources, The History of Jim Crow, accessed April 7, 2012

Productions

The musical was first produced at the

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street (Manhattan), 44th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed ...

on West 44th Street from March 23, 1939, to June 3, 1939, running for 85 performances. The original cast included

as The Mikado; Frances Brock as Pitti-Sing; Rosa Brown as Katisha; Maurice Ellis as Pooh-Bah; Eddie Green as Ko-Ko;

Rosetta LeNoire Rosetta LeNoire (born Rosetta Olive Burton; August 8, 1911 – March 17, 2002) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to contemporary audiences for her work in television. She had regular roles on such series as ' ...

as Peep-Bo; James A. Lilliard as Pish-Tush; Bob Parrish as Nanki-Poo; Gwendolyn Reyde as Yum-Yum; Freddie Robinson as Messenger Boy; and Vincent Shields as Red Cap. The orchestrations were arranged by

, and the production was directed by

. Choreography was by Truly McGee.''The Hot Mikado''
Internet Broadway Database, accessed April 7, 2012 Sets and costumes were designed by Nat Karson (1908–1954). Thirteen days after ''The Hot Mikado'' opened at the Broadhurst, ''

'' – which had been running in New York since March 1, 1939, at the New Yorker Theatre on West 54th Street (the current site of

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...

) – moved right across the street to the

44th Street Theatre The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 216 West 44th Street in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It opened and operated for three years as the Weber and Fields' Music Hall. Its rooftop theatre, the Nora Bayes Theatre, presente ...

. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'': The 1939–1940 New York World's Fair production of ''The Hot Mikado'' lasted for two seasons and was reportedly one of the most popular attractions at the fair. The show was produced on a large scale there, employing 150 actors. A summer-stock revival, including

, produced by

Cheryl Crawford Cheryl Crawford (September 24, 1902 – October 7, 1986) was an American theatre producer and director. Biography Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation in 1925, she moved to New York City and ...

, played for one week in 1941 at the Maplewood Theater, in

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

''Hot Mikado''

In the 1980s, disappointed that they could not find much of the script and arrangements for ''The Hot Mikado'', writer David H. Bell and musician Rob Bowman created a new jazzy adaptation, ''

Hot Mikado : ''Hot Mikado'' is a musical comedy, based on Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera '' The Mikado'', adapted by David H. Bell (book and lyrics) and Rob Bowman (orchestrations and arrangements). After researching the 1939 Broadway musical, ' ...

'', that has been produced regularly since 1986.Weiss, Hedy
"David Bell revisits ''Hot Mikado'' for Drury Lane"
''Chicago Sun-Times'', August 13, 2010

Selected video

Video clip of scenes from ''The Hot Mikado''
at the

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

(amateur footage ''via''

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

)

Notes

References

External links

''The Hot Mikado''
at the

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade assoc ...

(IBDB)
Poster for the 1939 version of ''The Hot Mikado''

Hirschfeld drawing
from ''The Hot Mikado''
Two selections from ''The Hot Mikado''
recorded by the

Erskine Hawkins Erskine Ramsay Hawkins (July 26, 1914 – November 11, 1993) was an American trumpeter and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is best remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" (1 ...

Orchestra (1939)
Nat Karson costume designs for ''The Hot Mikado,'' 1938
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

''The Hot Mikado'' photographs, circa 1939
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hot Mikado, The 1939 musicals Broadway musicals Adaptations of works by Gilbert and Sullivan Musicals based on operas All-Black cast Broadway shows