# I can't believe she's never heard of The Mikado!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271>\
**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:** 4\
**Page:** 5

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/81 "2011-11-20T01:11:37Z")

</div>

My favorite bit of trivia about Arthur Sullivan was that he composed the music for the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” Just like a lot of his theater music, jaunty and very singable.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/82 "2011-11-20T03:19:32Z")

</div>

Here’s Gilbert and Sullivan in the recent video game [Mass Effect 2](http://youtu.be/aWJcwmjM8mE). You wouldn’t expect video gamers to know about a Modern Major General, but there it is.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/83 "2011-11-20T06:50:21Z")

</div>

> [@Geek\_Mecha](#):
>
> She was likely born in the early 1990s. Cut her some slack. I’m 34, a US native with exposure to music, composers, and theater in school, and I barely am familiar with these references.

I’m the same age. I have an idea who G&S are, but no interest in them because I **hate** musical theater. Definitely have never heard of The Mikado. I do know who Sharon Tate was, though.

> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Does the quote “I have a little list” mean anything to her? Does she recognize the tune of the Major General Song?

The first means absolutely nothing to me, but I do know some of the words to the second…but only because I’ve seen people sing it on TV shows.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271/84 "2011-11-20T07:01:01Z")

</div>

Well, I’m pretty familiar with the Pirates of Penzance but that’s only because my summerstock theater did it when I was in high school. But I graduated with a BA in theater and I’ve never read Hamlet. There’s a lot of stuff to cover in 4 years and I think that really voice majors would be more into G&S than theater majors. Not to mention the fact that literally half of the people who would sign up for the intro theater classes switch majors once they find out they have to do more than wear black, smoke cigarettes and watch Amelie and a good chunk of the other half already know what they want to do and it’s lighting, sound or scenography ad so who cares about 19th century musicals when you’ve finally got a chance to mess around on the Congo?

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-believe-shes-never-heard-of-the-mikado/603271.md?page=4)