The Hot Mikado (1939 production)

the 1939 musical

The Hot Mikado was a musical theatre adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera The Mikado with an African American cast. It was first produced by Mike Todd on Broadway in 1939. It starred Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the title role, with musical arrangements by Charles L. Cooke and direction by Hassard Short.

Mike Todd produced The Hot Mikado after the Federal Theatre Project turned down his offer to manage the WPA production of The Swing Mikado (another all black adaptation of The Mikado). Todd's adaptation was jazzier 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.

The musical was first produced at the Broadhurst Theatre on West 44th Street from March 23, 1939, to June 3, 1939, running for 85 performances. The original cast included Bill "Bojangles" Robinson as The Mikado; Frances Brock as Pitti Sing; Rosa Brown as Katisha; Maurice Ellis as Pooh Bah; Eddie Green as Ko Ko; Rosetta LeNoire 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 Charles L. Cooke, and the production was directed by Hassard Short. Choreography was by Truly McGee. Sets and costumes were designed by Nat Karson (1908–1954). Thirteen days after The Hot Mikado opened at the Broadhurst, The Swing Mikado – which had been running in New York since March 1, 1939, at the New Yorker Theatre on West 54th Street (modern site of Studio 54) – moved right across the street to the 44th Street Theatre. The show was produced on a large scale there, employing 150 actors. A summer stock revival, including Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, produced by Cheryl Crawford, played for one week in 1941 at the Maplewood Theater, in Maplewood, New Jersey.