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The Mikado
BACK STAGE WEST Director Michael Wallot polishes the gem of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" to a brilliant shine with the help of an outstanding cast, lighting up the pocket-sized Chance Theater with rollicking gaiety. Because of its Victorian sensibility and politically incorrect premise, "The Mikado" is a tricky musical to mount. However, Wallot crashes through all our contemporary sensitivities and grabs the piece by the throat, presenting it for exactly what it is: a marvelous fabric of political satire, as relevant today as when it was written—perhaps even more so. He demonstrates clearly that Gilbert and Sullivan were making fun of all social conventions, no matter what culture they spring from. And he shows that even modern America is fair game for their satirical barbs. While some directors regard Gilbert and Sullivan as quaint silliness, Wallot clearly sees it as cutting-edge silliness, even (gasp) rewriting a few lyrics to make sure the satirical knife lands squarely between the shoulder blades. Although we may not have any contemporary Gilbert and Sullivan's lambasting the cellphone-toting, Jamba Juice-guzzling hypocrites of the 21st century, Wallot makes sure we get the message. Even with a director's wonderfully nuanced approach, none of it would work without a great cast, and Wallot has one here. Kelsey Namara soars as Yum-Yum, with great vocal power and control as well as genuine charisma. Jonathan Talmadge is an engaging, endearing, and sharp Nanki-Poo; Glenn S. Koppel is terrific as Ko-Ko. Alison Eckert shows wonderful dynamism and power both in her singing and her performance as Katisha, engaging the full range of darkness and light in the character. Other terrific performances include Michael Buss as Poo-Bah, Steven Jones as Pish-Tush, and Abby Feldman as Pitti-Sing. With the production help of music director Lisa
C. Zaradich, set designer Joseph Horn, costume designer Erika Ceporius,
and lighting designer Casey Long, director Wallot works large miracles
on this small stage.
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YORBA LINDA STAR "The Mikado" provides an evening of rollicking, good fun at The Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills. Michael Wallot, an established East Coast theater director, has created a production filled with laughter and light-heartedness. His familiarity with the world of Gilbert and Sullivan - he has appeared in seven of the 12 Gilbert and Sullivan operettas - has paid off. This production has a strong cast, with excellent acting and singing. Allison Eckert is a fine example in the villainous role of Katisha, shining vocally and dramatically. Kelsey Namara is another talented singer and actress. In the role of Yum-Yum, the female ingenue, she displays a strong singing voice and good acting skills. It's hard to believe that Glenn Koppel spends his days teaching law at Western State University College of Law in Fullerton. His lack of malice adds humor to the character of the Grand High Executioner. Jonathan Talmadge had been performing on stage since the age of 7. His stage presence and acting skills are truly a joy to watch. Michael Buss brings great acting skill and comedic timing to his role of the Pooh-Bah. He has a real affinity for this role. When another cast member left the show, Franklin Batino had only four days before stepping on stage in the title role. On opening night he performed with skill and polish belying this circumstance. All members of the ensemble added to the color and effectiveness of this production. Ensemble vocal numbers were consistently good. Amazingly, they were able to sing the complicated lyrics so they could be understood... Three artistic aspects of the show are great. The first is the musical direction of Lisa Zaradich. Gilbert and Sullivan is difficult; the lyrics are complicated and the tempo is fast. Zaradich has developed her singing voice well with an emphasis on diction so the audience can understand the lyrics. Another kudo goes to Erika Ceporius for costume design and creation. The makeup and hair styles - intricate and well maintained despite raucous dancing - create the show's atmosphere from the moment performers are on stage. This show has stood the test of time to remain the most
popular Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Its humor is timeless; its songs
some of the best this theatrical team ever created.
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ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Just to be certain Orange County audiences don’t miss the point, though, The Chance Theater is staging the tuneful, drily funny 1885 comic operetta for the second time in the Anaheim Hills troupe’s five-year history. The first one was during the 2000 season; this one, with a new director, cast and crew, opened on March 14 – exactly 118 years to the day that “The Mikado” received its thunderously successful world premiere staging at the Savoy Theatre in London. Not that a theater as small as The Chance could ever match the Savoy, but director-choreographer Michael Wallot’s version – like Kent Johnson’s three years ago – is generally well-cast and well-sung, a sprightly staging that could serve as a fine introduction to G&S novices. Set in the (imaginary) town of Titipu in medieval Japan, the story revolves around the romance of Nanki-Poo, a wandering minstrel, and Yum-Yum, a young Japanese maiden. Yum-Yum’s guardian is Ko-Ko, the town’s Lord High Executioner, and he has designs on his lovely young ward. Nanki-Poo, however, is actually the son of Japan’s exalted emperor, the Mikado, who is due to visit Titipu and expects to see an execution. William S. Gilbert’s typically comic convolutions set up the plot, with a text gleefully morbid on the subject of beheadings, hangings, live burials, harikari, and deaths by boiling oil or melted lead. “The Mikado,” of course, isn’t really about medieval Japan at all, but about moral hypocrisy and political corruption in late 19th-century British society. Sir Arthur Sullivan’s score, meanwhile, offers not only some of his liveliest, most toe-tapping songs, but also some of his loveliest melodies. While Rick Friend’s pre-recorded arrangements of the score are thin in spots, it suffices overall. Better still are the many aurally pleasing multi-voice arrangements Wallot and musical director Lisa C. Zaradich wring from their cast – especially in light of the fact that the show’s chorus of eight could use some beefing up. Still, many of the songs end with a firm flourish, a neatly theatrical touch. Jonathan Talmadge and Kelsey Namara are well-paired as Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum. Talmadge plays his character broadly and affably yet in earnest; his lyric tenor is soft and pleasing, never in danger of overpowering Namara in sweet duets such as “Were You Not to Ko-Ko Plighted.” Namara’s extensive vocal training and opera work pay off here – she’s a skilled lyric soprano with a variety of techniques (including a notable vibrato) at her disposal. Her rendition of “The Moon and I,” Yum-Yum’s gorgeous solo, is a beauty, exploring the song’s underlying melancholy. Namara’s skill level is matched by Alison G. Eckert as Katisha, the piece’s nominal villainess (she expects to wed Nanki-Poo and become the Mikado’s daughter-in-law). Eckert’s solid vocal training yields a booming mezzo-soprano that supports her character, a dragon lady in true grand opera style. Glenn S. Koppel’s Ko-Ko is squeamish, finicky and neat a la David Hyde-Pierce; he’s also reminiscent of Richard Dreyfuss, especially when he portrays Ko-Ko as the put-upon little guy. His is a morally slithery Ko-Ko, too, scheming to keep his job and marry Yum-Yum. Franklin Batino isn’t a big fellow, but he’s suitably imperial – and imperious – as the Mikado. Michael Buss lends a touch of David Ogden Stiers to his grand Pooh-Bah, though his technique of using different dialects for the character’s numerous job titles just doesn’t work. Steven Jones is a stern, official Pish-Tush (yet another noble Lord). As Yum-Yum’s sister, Pitti-Sing, Abby Feldman is strong vocally, especially in numbers like “Braid the Raven Hair.” This is a threadbare-looking staging, with Joseph
Horn’s set design consisting primarily of decorative patterns of
red and green squares on the floor and walls. More in keeping are a huge
red fan, a small footbridge upstage, and large red banners that, when
lowered, frame the stage. Erika Ceporius’ costumes are fairly stripped-down
and basic: The womens’ robes and parasols are more elaborate than
the mens’ garb, with the Mikado and Katisha most ornately attired.
Despite the notable absence of the key song “I Am So Proud,”
it’s the great duo’s songs – and the way Wallot’s
cast sings them – that keep this “Mikado” riding high.
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WALLFOUR.COM The Chance Theater has opened its yearly exploration into the world of Gilbert and Sullivan, and once again they have made a success of the age old operas. This year we travel to Japan (complete with ninjas) in "The Mikado". As was the trend of Gilbert and Sullivan, different locales and historical periods were used to discuss the social problems of their own native England with comic brightness and wonderful music. Before the show starts we witness a set with an exquisitely done cobblestone floor and two red tapestries that hang on each side of the stage, creating a bold yet simple look. The set designer also adds an arched wooden bridge and a fan sail upstage to create a balance and a picturesque quality. Add the lighting by Casey Long and few theaters ever reach the imagery that this "Mikado" has. I’m actually disappointed that a picture of the tableau to end Act I is not included in the press package. It is in that single moment that all aspects of musical theatre combine together to form something perfect. ...Vocally the cast has captured everything. The men’s chorus sounds strikingly good, topped out by Johnathan Talmadge as Nanki-Poo, and the women don’t miss a beat as they glide through numbers such as “Three Little Maids From School are We”. The group and soloists handle the ballads nicely, but their greatest work is on up-tempo and patter songs which they perform great energy while maintaining the necessary diction. The show is completed with a great sense of comic timing throughout the performance. Johnathan Talmadge captures laughs with a number of great mugs to go with his marvelous voice, and the chemistry between him and the character of Ko-Ko (played by Glenn S. Koppel) is unparalleled. The ease and style in which the two play off each other really made me hope that they went off into the sunset together. Koppel's commanding presence and comic timing helps to lift all of his scene partners to new levels. After a shaky start, Michael Buss in the role of Pooh-Bah, grows into a comic mastermind--stroking his role as the high lord of just about everything in town. Director Michael Wallot has done an excellent job of updating references and punching up gags, but a couple of moments do get lost as Franklin Batino (The Mikado) slows down the pace and energy, not quite understanding the jokes he’s been given. Also the entrance of Katisha (Alison G. Eckert) lacked the sense of drama called for by the shows adversary and second act catalyst. She moves past this however, and by the show's end, when she sings with Ko-Ko “There is Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast” the show stops to celebrate their performance. No matter what else goes on, Michael Wallot is
blessed to have Abby Feldman to brighten his stage. At any moment when
things get slow, her laugh, energy and spirit as Pitti-Sing gives life
to the stage. Excelling in “Braid the Raven Hair” and “Three
Little Maids…”, her laugh becomes infectious with each high-pitched
tee-hee, and the audience chuckles along for a grand night of theatre.
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