DENVER — A musical that has been around for more than 130 years is premiering in Denver this weekend, but it doesn’t come without controversy.

“The Mikado,” a comic opera written by Gilbert and Sullivan in the late 1800s, is meant to be a critique of British politics and society, set in a fictional town in Japan. It is also known for racial caricature and Japanese stereotypes.

“To me its offensive that any theater company would put this on in 2015,” said Gil Asakawa, author of “Being Japanese American.” Asakawa also blogs about Asian American topics and is former president of the Denver chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association. “It’s what Asian Americans call yellow face. It’s disrespectfully showing Asians and not even hiring Asians to play Asians.”

Empire Lyric Players’ version of “The Mikado” promises to be different.

“We’ve been very careful to remove all negative cultural references to the Japanese culture,” said Michael Risner, director of The Mikado. “We don’t do the quick geisha walk, we don’t speak in funny accents, and it’s very clear we are Victorian British players putting on a show that happens to take place in Japan.”

The Empire Lyric Players have performed in Denver since the 1950s and is one of the oldest Gilbert and Sullivan societies in the nation.

“The Mikado” will be at the Elaine Wolf Theater through next Sunday.