Arabesque School of Performing Arts

Hot Mikado: Arabesque School of Performing Arts

The plot of Hot Mikado does not stray far from the Gilbert and Sullivan original, with a similar satiric tone.

The show is set in Japan in the 1940s, with suggested settings and costumes combining Japanese with American 1940s design and Japanese architecture.

The costumes include zoot suits, snoods, wedges and felt hats, executed in the colourful silk kimono textures of Japan. The score uses much of Sullivan's original music, but is
re-orchestrated using 1940s popular musical harmonies and arrangements, and a wide range of styles including jazz, hot gospel, blues, rock, Cab Calloway swing and torch songs.

Many of the songs of Hot Mikado have the same name and melody as in the Mikado, but often have a twist. The dances include Lindy Hop, tap-dancing, the jitterbug and other
1940s dances.