EVERETT – The current Northwest Savoyards production of “The Mikado,” directed by Daniel Reinking, takes Gilbert and Sullivan’s brand of irreverence and ratchets it up a notch. This production allows the story’s comic elements to cut loose in ways that are even more accessible for a 21st century audience.
“The Mikado”: Through Nov. 12, PUD Auditorium, 2320 California St., Everett. $17 to $20, 866-811-4111, www.northwestsavoyards.org.
That full-scale absurdity fluorishes through such touches as John Edwards’ choreography, which is hilariously cheeky. Full of silly movements right out of Monty Python and the “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” school of English satire, it sabotages the courtly realm – be it Japanese or British – and has a lot of fun doing so.
As the story unfolds, Nanki Poo (Scott Rittenhouse), the son of the Mikado of Japan (Doug Lewis), assumes the identity of a wandering minstrel in order to avoid marriage to the elderly hag Katisha (Victoria Rimoczi).
Nanki Poo is in love with the nubile maiden Yum-Yum (Jenny Shotwell), but is thwarted in his pursuit because Ko Ko (Rob Martin), Yum Yum’s guardian, has eyes for her himself.
The proud yet corrupt public official Pooh-Bah (Craig Cantley) gets involved when, along with Pish Tush (Nick Fuchs), he tells Nanki Poo that Ko Ko is now Lord High Executioner. In a scenario that only Gilbert and Sullivan could concoct, Ko Ko is thus faced with carrying out his own execution, given the fact that he has been condemned to death for flirting.
It is Ko Ko who delivers the operetta’s most famous patter song, “As Some Day It May Happen,” which enumerates the singer’s pet peeves. True to the Gilbert and Sullivan theatrical tradition, Martin gets to update this list with contemporary, local references, such as one that decries those “big, expensive baseball teams that lose and lose and lose.”
The orchestra, under the direction of David Little, provides inspired instrumental continuity throughout the play. From the first bars of the overture, the orchestra adroitly delivers Sir Arthur Sullivan’s music, which conjures the Japanese courtly tradition through the ears of Victorian England. Add to that William S. Gilbert’s lively lyrics (“On many a vase and jar – On many a screen and fan, We figure in lively paint, Our attitudes queer and quaint. If you think we are worked by strings, like a Japanese marionette, You don’t understand these things. It is simply Court etiquette.”) and you have the complete satiric picture.
Laura Posey gets many a laugh for her impertinent portrayal of Pitti Sing. Shotwell, Rittenhouse and Cantley infuse their characters’ song with especially fine operatic flourishes.
Scenic director Harriet Saunders’ backdrops portray a seaside village replete with red lanterns and a traditional Japanese teahouse in the foreground.
The Northwest Savoyards, currently facing a fair degree of financial hardship, have cut this season back to three productions. Their choices, though, for the two remaining shows bode well for bringing in the faithful. The ever-popular “The Sound of Music” will be staged in January. “Guys and Dolls” is due up in late May through mid-June.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
