# I can't believe she's never heard of The Mikado! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271 "2011-11-17T21:05:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/1 "2011-11-17T21:05:42Z")
You know, the first year at university theater student. I mentioned Gilbert and Sullivan’s _The Mikado_, and this young woman had never heard of it. So when I tried to mention G&S’s other musicals, it came out she’d never heard of _ **G&S** _ either!!!:eek: How can anyone not know Gilbert and Sullivan, at all? Maybe you haven’t been able to see their work performed but they are/were famous! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/2 "2011-11-17T21:08:47Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > So when I tried to mention G&S’s other musicals, it came out she’d never heard of _ **G&S** _ either!!!:eek: What, _never?_ ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/3 "2011-11-17T21:09:56Z")
I was chatting with a 30-ish banker type at my train station, and found he has never heard of Sharon Tate or Florenz Ziegfeld (or his _Follies_), and did not known what a Munchkin was (the \*Oz \*type, not the doughnut type). Admittedly, my pop-culture references can be a bit _outre_, but I think a basic level of cultural knowledge can be expected . . . ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/4 "2011-11-17T21:12:55Z")
Sounds as though on the subject of G&S, you were alone again, naturally. And, yes, I know G&S are not GOS ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/5 "2011-11-17T21:14:20Z")
I kow who Sharon Tate is and could tell you a lot. I have no idea who Florenz Z is. I know who G&S are, and I know a very little “I am the very model of a modern major general” from Pirates of Penzance. If you said The Mikado, though, I would not know what you’re talking about. _shrug_ We don’t all share the same pop culture knowledge. In my case I find it’s always been exacerbated since my parents were first gen immigrants; they learned about pop culture pretty much as I did, so anything before the seventies, they don’t really know about. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/6 "2011-11-17T21:26:04Z")
I think I had one of those once. It’s like a martini, right? Wait… what? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/7 "2011-11-17T21:32:21Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > What, _never?_ Well, hardly ever. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/8 "2011-11-17T21:33:00Z")
I don’t think anyone should be ashamed of not knowing a particular pop culture or regular culture reference. Yes, there is a certain basic amount of common knowledge that is needed to glue a culture together, but I don’t want some culture Czar somewhere telling me what should make up that glue, or goo. On the other hand if the folks referenced were biggies_in your field_ i.e. musical theatre, I think you should know of them. I only know them (G&S, that is) 3rd hand - references in novels & movies (Marjorie Morningstar, Chariots of Fire). never saw a production of their stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/9 "2011-11-17T21:34:13Z")
Wait she’s a _ **theater** _ student and she’s not heard of Gilbert and Sullivan? That’s sad. I could understand students of other areas of study not knowing them, but I would think anyone with even a remote interested in theater would have at least heard of Gilbert and Sullivan. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/10 "2011-11-17T21:36:37Z")
I only found out about G&S through a HS friend who was super into them. Ironically I had seen Pirates of Penzance on broadway as a young teen but had no idea G&S was a “thing.” ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/11 "2011-11-17T21:36:53Z")
I’ve known about\* The Mikado\* ever since our elementary school music teacher taught us songs from the play–as we were preparing to watch [Groucho Marx](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_93qe881aE)play the Lord High Executioner on TV. (Yeah, it’s blurry. But I got to learn “Three Little Maids from School Are We” while I was in school!) More recently, the creation of _The Mikado_ was the subject of the excellent 1999 movie: [Topsy Turvy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151568/). I’m sure the theater student in the OP has an excellent future being the Weather Girl for a small market TV station… ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/12 "2011-11-17T21:41:21Z")
I was a music major in college, but didn’t hear of The Mikado (or any other G&S shows) until I was around 30. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/13 "2011-11-17T21:41:59Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Well, hardly ever. Why are we talking about The Mikado, but quoting from Pinafore? Damme, that’s too bad! ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/14 "2011-11-17T21:45:08Z")
Of course the only drink one should partake in while watching The Mikado is a soiled kimono Mix 2/3 glass costly French champagne with 1/3 glass Japanese plum wine and top with a paper butterfly. Just be sure to protect your lungs. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/15 "2011-11-17T21:48:23Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Why are we talking about The Mikado, but quoting from Pinafore? Damme, that’s too bad! I feel like I’m on trial-la-law. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/16 "2011-11-17T21:49:51Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I was chatting with a 30-ish banker type at my train station, and found he has never heard of Sharon Tate or Florenz Ziegfeld (or his _Follies_), and did not known what a Munchkin was (the \*Oz \*type, not the doughnut type). > > Admittedly, my pop-culture references can be a bit _outre_, but I think a basic level of cultural knowledge can be expected . . . I’m 30ish and do not know who Sharon Tate or Florenz Ziegfeld are. I’ve heard the phrase “Ziegfeld’s Follies” but have no clue what it refers to. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/17 "2011-11-17T22:01:12Z")
Sharon Tate - Tate/LaBianca murders. Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife. Helter-Skelter. Charles Manson Flo Ziegfeld - Early 20th century. Dancing extravaganzas. Vegas showgirls before Vegas. What do these have to do with G&S again? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/18 "2011-11-17T22:12:58Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Sounds as though on the subject of G&S, you were alone again, naturally. And, yes, I know G&S are not GOS Poor use of colored type. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/19 "2011-11-17T22:15:46Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I’m 30ish and do not know who Sharon Tate or Florenz Ziegfeld are. I’ve heard the phrase “Ziegfeld’s Follies” but have no clue what it refers to. While Tate was the most famous victim of the Manson Family. She may have continued acting in films if she had lived. Flo Ziegfeld on the other hand changed Broadway roughly at the turn of the (20th) century as it had never been changed. The phrase star-studded review was coined to describe his shows. In one evening you could see on his stage; WC Fields, Will Rogers, Eddy (Bojangles) Robinson, Fanny Brice, Al Jolson and what seemed like 100s of scantily-clad beautiful women. All this was done to the music of the Gershwins or Irving Berlin or Cole Porter. That was the Follies. Will Rogers once said, “Mr. Ziegfeld spends all this money on costumes for these girls. I can’t figure out why he doesn’t let them wear them.” My grandfather used to say that you wore your hands out clapping for everything. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/20 "2011-11-17T23:31:32Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Why are we talking about The Mikado, but quoting from Pinafore? Damme, that’s too bad! Well, we’ll just need to find an appropriate punishment… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271.md?page=2)