For more than a century, The Mikado was the most popular of all the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. That all changed after the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society’s traditional, set-in-Japan production of 2014 was picketed and attacked in the press. Evanston’s Savoyaires now offer their own reimagining as “The Mkdo (my-KAY-doe), formerly known as The Mikado (mi-KAH-doe).”Featuring all of Sullivan’s infectious music and virtually all of Gilbert’s hilariousEnglish dialogue and lyrics, the production simply changes the pronunciations of “Japan” and “Mikado” to indicate that the action is set in an entirely imaginary locale. “When writing The Mikado in the late 19th century, Gilbert & Sullivan knew relatively little about the actual Japan, and their audiences knew even less,” says returning Savoyaires director Kingsley Day. The Savoyaires acknowledge support from the Illinois Arts Council.