The Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island a desire to try new projects and convinced that it had been depending too much upon “the Big Three,” the Company undertook a complete cycle of the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, beginning with Princess Ida in 1992 and concluding in 2004 with The Mikado. The Project, which has been an overwhelming success, has featured the Long Island premieres of four operas—Princess Ida, The Yeomen of the Guard, Utopia, Limited and The Grand Duke, as well as of the Sullivan/Stephenson operetta The Zoo. In 1995 the Company presented the world premiere of Gayden Wren’s A Gilbert & Sullivan Christmas Carol.
Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company its first production, "The Mikado", received such a favourable response that they changed their name to Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company to more clearly reflect the new city base and repertoire of the company. In the 1980s, the company played a couple of 'guest weeks' at the Buxton Opera House with "The Mikado" and later "The Yeomen of the Guard". Under the direction of co-founder Andrew Nicklin, the company began to build a reputation for presenting updated, or "non-traditional" G&S productions. Under Nicklin, the company took "The Mikado" to The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England, in 1996,