When the University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society opens it latest production of “The Mikado” Thursday night, it will be up against some pretty stiff competition — the group’s own superb 2006 staging of the show.

Director Josh Borths acknowledged that comparisons to that earlier version are inevitable, and said he and the cast are doing their best to offer a “Mikado” that’s fresh, yet equally memorable.

“I can’t re-create the magic of that production, and we want to create new magic with this one, Borths said. “From our cast, to our music director, to myself — we’re all offering new things and new insight into the work. Me, being a younger director, with less exposure to the conventions of G&S, I offer a different way of looking at things. We’re hoping to have the same effect (as the 2006 show), but I’m not looking to go back in history to inform what we’re doing now.”

“The Mikado,” perhaps the most popular work in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera canon, will be presented April 7-10 in Lydia Mendelssohn Theater in the Michigan League. Borths, a junior at the University of Michigan majoring in vocal performance and musicology with an emphasis on opera direction, directed G&S’ “The Gondoliers” in 2010 and played the part of Frederick in a past “Pirates of Penzance” production. Music director Avlana Eisenberg has also wielded the baton for recent UMGASS productions of “Patience” and “The Gondoliers.”

Borths said that the popularity of “The Mikado,” makes it more of a challenge to direct than one of the composing duo’s lesser-known operas.

“If there were any flaws in the production they wouldn’t be as noticeable,” Borths said of directing a less-familiar work, “because people aren’t as familiar with it. With ‘The Mikado,’ it’s a real fine line between honoring the material that’s there and the tradition that’s there (while) at the same time creating a new theatrical experience for the audience. It’s a balancing act — if I go too far in one direction, the audience will know. So from a director’s perspective that can be a little daunting, while at the same time it’s great to work on this show.

“There’s a reason why ‘Mikado’) is so popular,” he added. “It’s in my opinion the funniest of the G&S operettas, the music is so catchy and the characters are so endearing.”

Although many of the cast members are newcomers to “Mikado,” they are not newcomers to G&S, he added. Samantha Winter (Yum-Yum) was in “Patience” and “The Gondoliers,” and Robby Griswold (Nanki-Poo) was in “Patience.” Matt Peckham (Ko-Ko) is also a UMGASS veteran.

“I think the audience will get a fresh look into (the show) with this production,” Borths said.

In "The Mikado," Japanese prince Nanki-Poo is on the run from an arranged marriage, masquerading as a balladeer. He falls in love with Yum-Yum, a woman betrothed to Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, who has problems of his own — his job (and life) depends upon at least one execution taking place each month, but he's without a current prospect for the blade. Nanki-Poo agrees to be executed if he is allowed to marry Yum-Yum so that he will have a month of romantic bliss. As to be expected, chaos and comedy ensue.

“Love triangles and differences of class are just as common today as they were in G&S’ day, and the whole idea of stratification of class and society is something that we’re really trying to expose,” Borths said.

“Ultimately what ‘The Mikado’ is about is about hierarchy,” he added. “Every character is dealing with either rejecting or going along with the hierarchy of the society that’s in place. Nanki-Poo denies his rank of being heir to the throne of Japan by running away and falling in love with a comparatively lower class woman, which to British and Japanese society was a huge no-no. Then Yum-Yum is fighting the hierarchy of her heart. She is supposed to marry Ko-Ko but she really loves Nanki-Poo. Who is going to take the priority? Her duty or her actual love?”

Many productions of “The Mikado” take pride in updating the patter song “A Little List” (“I've got a little list, I've got a little list, Of society offenders who might well be underground, And who never would be missed - who never would be missed”) to make it more contemporary, and this version will be no exception,” confirmed Borths.

“We haven’t gone overboard ... the list song is going to pretty funny, I think, not to give anything away. There’s a couple of little digs at Facebook and 3D movies — stuff like that. No matter what time or place you’re in, there’s always something to make fun of.”

Borths said staging “The Mikado” sent all involved deep into research, especially when it came to the show’s look, which is influenced by traditional Japanese theatrical traditions.

“Kabuki (theater) was the only place in the structured society of Japan where the government could be ridiculed, and the same was true in many ways of the operetta in the late 19th century England. The more research I did on this parallel tradition the more I realized finding this connection was an interesting thing to explore,” he concluded.

Roger LeLievre is a freelance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com