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Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado / Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx In The Mikado
Release Date: 06/19/2012 
Label:  Video Artists International   Catalog #: 4554  
Composer:  Arthur Sullivan
Performer:  Sharon Randall,  Barbara Meister,  Robert Rounseville,  Helen Traubel,   ... 
Number of Discs: 1 
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GROUCHO MARX IN THE MIKADO (Gilbert & Sullivan)
For the legendary comic actor Groucho Marx, playing the role of Ko-Ko in The Mikado “fulfilled a lifelong ambition.” The Mikado was Groucho’s favorite among the works of his beloved Gilbert and Sullivan, and the 1960 Bell Telephone Hour production was adapted for television and directed by Martyn Green, a man Groucho revered as an authority on interpreting the role of Ko-Ko. The strong supporting cast features distinguished veterans like Helen Traubel, Stanley Holloway, Robert Rounseville, and Dennis King, as well as young artists like the lovely soprano Barbara Meister as Yum-Yum and Groucho’s 13-year-old daughter, Melinda, as Peep-Bo.
Special Read more features [46 minutes] include audio interviews with Dick Cavett, Melinda Marx, and Barbara Meister; Martyn Green in excerpts from H.M.S. Pinafore (Bell Telephone Hour, 1963, in color), cast bios, the commercials from the original telecast, and more!
B&W, 4:3, 52 minutes, All Regions



THE MIKADO; or THE TOWN OF TITIPU
A Comic Opera in Two Acts
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by W.S. Gilbert


Cast:
Ko-Ko: Groucho Marx
Katisha: Helen Traubel
Pooh-Bah: Stanley Holloway
Mikado: Dennis King
Nanki-Poo: Robert Rounseville
Yum-Yum: Barbara Meister
Pitti-Sing: Sharon Randall
Peep-Bo: Melinda Marx
Host / Adaptation: Martyn Green


Produced for the Bell Telephone Hour television series
Originally telecast April 29, 1960
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Works on This Recording

1. Mikado by Arthur Sullivan
Performer:  Sharon Randall (Voice), Barbara Meister (Voice), Robert Rounseville (Tenor),
Helen Traubel (Soprano), Groucho Marx (Voice), Stanley Holloway (Voice),
Dennis King (Voice), Melinda Marx (Voice)
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1885; England 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 2 Customer Reviews )
 disappointing August 3, 2012 By RICHARD H. (CHAPEL HILL, NC) See All My Reviews "Despite the color cover, this is a B&W kinescope. The sound is decent enough but the picture is fairly low quality/ This is definitely not for a dedicated G&S fan as it's an eviscerated Mikado. And for the little of Groucho hardly worth the price. The so-called extras are lame telephone chats with some of the original cast. Beware. Beware." Report Abuse
 Groucho in Mikado July 14, 2012 By Jesse  Joseph (New York, NY) See All My Reviews "This is not anything like the original version of the Mikado but it has a lot going for it. Groucho is great even without a good singing voice. It is too bad it can be shown only in black and white and it is a much shortened version due to time limitations on TV. I must say, however, the entire cast give its all in this production. A G&S fan who has an open mind would certainly find the Mikado very entertaining.

Jesse Joseph" Report Abuse
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