Musicals with Male Leads – Spotlight on Hot Mikado

Today we’re looking at musicals with male leads. And what better place to start than Hot Mikado, our most recent production. Hot Mikado boasts five lead male roles, plus a supporting group of Gentlemen of Japan. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our male presenting talent.

What is Hot Mikado About?

Hot Mikado is the story of a young romantic man, Nanki Poo. Nanki Poo travels to the town of Titipu in the hope of marrying his love, Yum-Yum. Unfortunately when he arrives, he finds out that Yum-Yum is intending to marry the Lord High Executioner, Ko-Ko.

Ko-Ko is not the most desirable of men, often thought of as the butt of the joke. He relies heavily on his advisor, Pooh-Bah, the Lord High of Everything Else. In addition the coolest gentleman in Japan, Pish-Tush also helps them out.

Unsurprisingly, Yum-Yum is easily tempted into the arms of Nanki-Poo. With the support of her sisters, Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo, she finds herself planning to marry Nanki-Poo on the agreement he gives up his life in a month.

But Nanki-Poo has a secret. And when The Mikado turns up in Titipu, along with the vampish older woman Katisha, all hell breaks loose!

Our production of Hot Mikado

Erewash Musical Society performing Hot Mikado
Photo credit – Ali Langton

Erewash Musical Society performed Hot Mikado in October 2024. The production was directed by James Bowden, who was also Co-Musical Director with Martin Lewis. Ann Colgan joined the team as choreographer, with Laurie Trott taking on the position of production assistant. The team opted for a bright and vibrant production, with a static set.

The Male-Led Cast

Our male presenting roles were wonderfully cast.

Nanki-Poo was played by Hayden Fletcher, a long-time EMS member who has performed in many roles as well as choreographing numerous productions. Hayden was the perfect choice for Nanki-Poo and his performance was well received.

Ko-Ko was played by Phil Deakin, who is no stranger to male leads. Having recently played more serious lead roles in both Sunset Boulevard and Funny Girl, Phil jumped at the opportunity to take on a comedy role.

The Mikado was played by John Fletcher. A lovely opportunity to play the on-stage father to his off-stage son! John is no stranger to playing people in power, having recently taken on the role of the Number One in Bad Girls.

Pooh-Bah was played by Richard Dawson. Another on and off stage talent, who is known for his fantastic character roles and his brilliant direction. It was great seeing Richard in this role as it perfectly suited him.

Pish-Tush was played by EMUS graduate Evan Hagan. Having only just finished his role as Sitting Bull in Annie Get Your Gun, Evan perfectly fitted into a senior role in Hot Mikado. Evan’s voice really shone in this production.

The Female-Presenting Cast

Hot Mikado cast
The women in Hot Mikado. Photo credit – Ali Langton

We had a number of wonderful female-presenting members in our lead roles too.

Yum-Yum was played by Nicola Tuxford. Nicola only recently joined EMS in the spring production of Bad Girls. So it was her first time on stage with many of the male cast. She and Hayden worked brilliantly together, though, and it felt like they had been performing together for years.

Katisha was played by Louise O’Boyle. In contrast, Louise has been in many EMS productions, and like her prior roles, she performed perfectly. She was able to totally embody the role, and her vocals were stunning. Her history performing with Hayden goes a long way back and she played Nancy to his Oliver.

Pitti-Sing was played by Grace Deakin. Grace has performed with both EMS and EMUS, however this was her first time on stage for EMS with her father. She sang with a fantastic belt amd really embodied the role of the bossy older sister.

Peep-Bo was played by Hayley Wood. About to make her EMUS directoral debut, Hayley is also frequently onstage. Peep-Bo was worlds apart from her last role as Shell Dockley, but as always, Hayley was able to perform it perfectly.

Why choose a musical with male leads?

It can be tempting for musical theatre societies to stick with female-led productions as it can often be challenging to find male presenting performers who are available. However at Erewash Musical Society we believe in showcasing the talent of our male-presenting members, even if it could be more difficult to cast than a female-led production. We want to encourage more men to get involved in musical theatre and productions like Hot Mikado allow us to provide these opportunities for strong male performances.

If you are interested in getting involved in amateur musical theatre, why not fill in our membership application form? We welcome new members twice a year and provide opportunities for all to perform.