IT’S COME TO THIS: ‘Mikado’ Production Canceled Over Racial Concerns.

A production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado” planned for New York this December was canceled after it drew criticism over how its largely non-Asian cast planned to portray the stereotyped Japanese characters and culture that are often seen as central to the work, the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players announced on their website.

The troupe “never intended to give offense and the company regrets the missed opportunity to responsively adapt” the show this December, the troupe’s executive director, David Wannen, wrote in a statement on the website. The company plans to mount another popular Gilbert and Sullivan work, “The Pirates of Penzance,” in its place for six performances at the Skirball Center at New York University from Dec. 26 through Jan. 2.

“Penzance” is offensive to pirates, and it is even more offensive that they would announce this change on Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Seriously, these are the people in our society who regard themselves as intelligent freethinking types.