The Mikado of the title character as a disrespectful representation of the revered Meiji Emperor; Japanese theatre was prohibited from depicting the emperor on stage. Japanese Prince Komatsu Akihito, who saw an 1886 production in London, took no offence. When Prince Fushimi Sadanaru made a state visit in 1907, the British government banned performances of "The Mikado" from London for six weeks, fearing that the play might offend him – a manoeuvre that backfired when the prince complained that he had hoped to see "The Mikado" during his stay. A Japanese journalist covering the prince's stay attended a proscribed performance and confessed
The Hot Mikado (1939 production) The Hot Mikado (1939 production) The Hot Mikado was a musical theatre adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's "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