Review: ‘The Mikado’ provides a rollicking good evening

Written by Sam Black for the news@duluthnewstribune.com | Jun 22nd 2012 – 12am.

Fregeau Auditorium, on the Marshall School campus, went Japanese on Thursday night and became the fictional town of Titipu. This was an extremely British-Japanese town, however, and the music of Arthur Sullivan dominated. The rapid fire, tongue-in-cheek lyrics of William Gilbert sliced through the air, and “The Mikado” was brilliantly staged by the Lyric Opera of the North — the LOON Opera Company.

The overall captivating effect of this two-act production was as much visual as it was vocal. Guest director Gary Briggle used a variety of formulaic gestures and dance movements throughout, which served as motifs for main characters and their personalities. A “chop-chop” gesture accompanied every mention of Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner. A frontal bow and “Ho! Mikado!” followed every mention of the supreme ruler. The dance patterns made figure eights with the circular stage, and a lot of crossed feet and arms, snapping fans and circling parasols flowed from beginning to end with eye-capturing precision.

In a sleight-of-hand plot, a musician Nanki-Poo (Shad Olsen — the Mikado’s only heir) is in love with the young and lovely Yum-Yum (Sarah Lawrence). However, to avoid a 30-day death sentence, Nanki-Poo’s death is fabricated, only to run afoul of murdering the heir of the Mikado — Andrew Oakden. Only by Ko-Ko (Jeff Madison) agreeing to marry the spinster Katisha (Sarah Gilbert) was it possible for the fraudulent execution to be brought into the open. The double wedding solves most of the problems, and, although not everyone is equally happy, everyone is alive.

For the most part, this was a very strong cast. Thankfully, the singers were not amplified, though the echo around Fregeau made mush of a lot of the lyrics. Madison was the most crisply articulate, and his acting and singing is clearly worth every moment of being in the audience. When Oakden finally appears, his sense of self-importance vocally commands the attention of everyone on stage. Gibson can be dramatic and intense, while Lawrence comes across as the innocent lass. Both of their voices are strong and clear, and always in character.

Lord High Everything Else (Bill Koehler) brought his variable acting skills into play with personalities changing with every scene. Olsen as Nanki-Poo had considerable difficulty projecting across the stage, but his delightful acting and facial expressions more than made up for his vocal scratchiness. Local writer Jean Sramek created localized lyrics for a couple of pieces, and the audience responded with lots of laughter and enthusiasm. With the recent flooding, Sramek even re-wrote the executioner’s list to include references to rain and rain and rain and rain …

During the “punishment fit the crime” song the Mikado sings, a large picture of Duluth Mayor Don Ness was projected, and much of the text had timely references around City Hall.

The chamber orchestra, led by Keith Swanson, was just right for the size of the auditorium. With the spirited dancing, wonderfully familiar songs and, again, the spectacular wizardry of Jeff Madison, this was a rollicking good evening for the best of Gilbert and Sullivan.