Even in contemporary times, most productions of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado use white performers in 'yellowface' instead of Asians, yet these productions arouse little attention or public criticism. Is this yellowface production offensive or not? Lee (English, Asian-American studies, the University of Minnesota) traces the history of the play's performances from its debut in 1885 to the present and reveals the continuing relevance of the play's complex racial dynamics as they have been adapted to different times and settings. She looks at intertwined histories of The Mikado, blackface minstrelsy, and African-American musical theater of the late 1930s, as well as contemporary productions, including performances of The Mikado in Japan. B&w historical illustrations are included. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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Long before Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, long before Barthes explicated his empire of signs, even before Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikadopresented its own distinctive version of Japan. Set in a fictional town called Titipu and populated by characters named Yum-Yum, Nanki-Poo, and Pooh-Bah, the opera has remained popular since its premiere in 1885. Tracing the history of The Mikado’s performances from Victorian times to the present, Josephine Lee reveals the continuing viability of the play’s surprisingly complex racial dynamics as they have been adapted to different times and settings. Lee connects yellowface performance to blackface minstrelsy, showing how productions of the 1938–39 Swing Mikado and Hot Mikado, among others, were used to promote African American racial uplift. She also looks at a host of contemporary productions and adaptations, including Mike Leigh’s film Topsy-Turvy and performances of The Mikado in Japan, to reflect on anxieties about race as they are articulated through new visions of the town of Titipu. The Mikado creates racial fantasies, draws audience members into them, and deftly weaves them into cultural memory. For countless people who had never been to Japan, The Mikado served as the basis for imagining what “Japanese” was.
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