Calendar of Events

Behind Barbed Wire: REDUX

Friday, January 23, 2026 | 7:30pm | Clark Center in Arroyo Grande

!!! WILL SELL OUT - LESS THAN 50 TICKETS REMAINING !!!  

Behind Barbed Wire:REDUX A Glimpse at Central Coast Japanese American Life During WWII: centers around 1942 Arroyo Grande, a few weeks prior to graduation, when nearly 45% of the High School Graduating Class were bussed with their Japanese-American families to isolated internment camps. Historian Jim Gregory (author of World War II Arroyo Grande), composer Deon Nielsen Price (Behind Barbed Wire), and conductor Brian Alhadeff (OperaSLO Grand Orchestra), are pleased to present a commemoration of that tumultuous time.

With a live orchestra and a big band, guest performers, video, poetry, swing music of the 1940’s and narration, this special production shares this region’s local heritage of sacrifice, friendship, patriotism, hard work, and community solidarity.

Featuring: Eric McConnell, Baritone; Chika Inoue, Saxophone; Deon Nielsen Price, Piano; Kathryn Loomis, Jazz Vocalist. Narration by Jim Gregory, People of Honor; Video Editing by Highlight Media – Christina Bearce; Musical Compositions by Deon Nielsen Price; Justine Prado Manro, Stage Director; Friendly Neighborhood Big Band, Mitch Latting, Director; and the Opera San Luis Obispo Grand Orchestra with Brian Asher Alhadeff, Music Director and Conductor

Sponsored by: Culver Crest Publications, Osumi Agricultural Company Inc., South County Historical Society, Hayashi Family Farms, Opera San Luis Obispo, an the Clark Center for the Performing Arts.

THE MIKADO by GILBERT & SULLIVAN

SATURDAY & SUNDAY - OCTOBER 17 & 18, 2026 | Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo

TICKETS ON SALE SOON - PLEASE CHECK BACK 

Opera San Luis Obispo is thrilled to present THE MIKADO in the regions first grand production of a Gilbert and Sullivan work!
Perfect for all ages, we love to promise you’ve not experienced live theatre until you see it produced by a grand opera company, and OperaSLO’s production promises to thrill and wow patrons moment-to-moment with expansive sets and costumes, ballet, chorus, an nationally acclaimed leading cast, all accompanied by the full OperaSLO Grand Orchestra conducted by Brian Asher Alhadeff. The production will be choreographed by Drew Silvaggio and stage directed by Marcy Irving in collaboration with Central Coast Gilbert & Sullivan and Civic Ballet San Luis Obispo. 

SATURDAY & SUNDAY | OCTOBER 17th and 18th | BOTH PERFORMANCES 2PM

KEY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES STILL AVAILABLE - CALL TODAY: (805) 782-7342

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT AN OPERASLO GRAND PRODUCTION? CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SHORT INTRO VIDEO

MORE ABOUT GILBERT & SULLIVAN'S THE MIKADO: 

The Mikado is Gilbert and Sullivan at their most deliciously mischievous: a razor-sharp Victorian satire wrapped in silk robes, fans, and absurdly catchy tunes. Set in the fictional Japanese town of Titipu (a place where flirting is illegal, executions are fashionable, and bureaucrats take nonsense very seriously), the opera skewers British politics, social climbing, and legal double-talk with a smile that’s anything but innocent.

At the center is the wonderfully useless emperor, the Mikado, whose cheerful devotion to capital punishment is matched only by his talent for pompous nonsense. Around him swirl lovesick young people, terrified officials desperate to keep their own heads attached, and a parade of characters who sing about their own incompetence with astonishing pride. Every song lands like a comic grenade, from rapid-fire patter numbers to mock-sentimental ballads that wink at the audience the whole way through.

Beneath the kimonos and caricature lies a surprisingly modern engine: a comedy about power, hypocrisy, and how systems become ridiculous when rules matter more than people. The Mikado is fast, funny, relentlessly tuneful, and proof that 19th-century opera can still roast authority better than most late-night TV. In short: brilliant music, impeccable timing, and laughs sharp enough to behead complacency—politely, of course.