REVIEW -- HOT MIKADO
Adapted from the original Operetta of
William Schwenk Gilbert and Arthur Seymour Sullivan

Performed by Lancaster Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society
The Grand Theatre, St Leonardgate, Lancaster
Monday 3 to Saturday 8 April 2006

For someone writing as a newcomer to Gilbert and Sullivan, Hot Mikado may not seem like a particularly good place to start -- given that it is a parody of a show (the operetta The Mikado) that is itself a spoof on English Victorian bourgeois values. But it is certainly an interesting one.

Directed by Peggy Brierley, with musical direction by Angela Pearson, Hot Mikado is performed by Lancaster Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society (LADOS). It's an ambitious project for any company, given that it needs to simultaneously establish its own identity and its relationship with its predecessor, The Mikado. Set in 1940s America, Hot Mikado retains the Japanese (or at least South East Asian) flavour in the deliberately ridiculous names of the characters (Nanki-Poo, Pish-Tush, Pooh-Bah), some of the costuming and set in the "wedding preparation" scene, and the repeated joke on receiving a letter: "It's in Japanese … oh, we are Japanese".

Even before this, the announcements before the curtain rose alternated between English and Japanese (the latter spoken by Sachiyo Nishikawa). The double identity arguably posed a greater production challenge than would a performance of the original Mikado (which LADOS in fact performed in 1904 and 1949).

Given these challenges, it is perhaps not surprising that Hot Mikado was occasionally a little underwhelming. But there were some excellent features too. Pooh-Bah (Bryan Wood), "Lord High Everything Else" is very funny throughout, not least in dealing with the many, often incompatible civic functions he fulfils. Ko-Ko (Roger Bradley) sustains an impressive and satisfying performance as the pleasant but spineless Tailor/Lord High Executioner.

Musically, the chorus proved more effective than individual singers, although the audience was very responsive to the more well-known songs: I've Got a Little List, Tit-Willow, The Mikado Song ("Let the punishment fit the crime") and, of course, Three Little Maids from School.  

The range of music is one of the features of the show (and a challenge for the orchestra) and one of the strengths of this performance -- a madrigal, jazz, swing, blues, "proto"-rock"n"roll, soul and gospel:  The Hour of Gladness at the end of Act 1 is particularly memorable. Of individual singers, Katisha (Kay McLoughlin) was stunning in her numbers Katisha"s entrance The Hour of Gladness, Finale, Alone and Yet Alive and Beauty in the Bellow.

Visually, the set was simple but effective, especially when the curtain opens on Act 2 and Yum-Yum is being coiffured behind a net screen in preparation for her wedding. The I've Got a Little List scene is a delight. And the men carry off their 1930s/1940s zoot-suits perfectly throughout.

Gilbert and Sullivan operettas are no longer the staple of Amateur Dramatics companies they once were [aren't they? -- Ed]. LADOS, in this fun adaptation of The Mikado provided an opportunity for those of us who missed out on this era to start catching up. It finishes on Saturday April 8.

© Jane Sunderland, 5 April 2006

Website on The Mikado:
math.boisestate.edu/GaS/mikado

And wikipedia on The Hot Mikado
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hot_Mikado