RLOS delivers solid show with The Mikado

By Kensey King     4/8/10 7:00pm

The Rice Light Opera Society has dared to take on yet another challenging Gilbert and Sullivan piece, The Mikado. The overall performance is humorous and pleasurable, but it encounters its fair share of problems and theatre glitches.The Mikado first premiered in March of 1885 at London's Savoy Theatre. The show went on to run for a record 672 performances, and it still maintains a great deal of popularity with today's audiences. The musical takes place in Titipu, Japan, a city full of ridiculous laws and names that appear to be nothing but a series of racially tinged Catch-22s. A traveling minstrel named Nanki-Poo (Geoff Copper, Sid Richardson '07) arrives in the city to find his love Yum-Yum (Lauren Cordray, Sid '06), but he cannot marry her right away due to a previous arrangement with the Lord High Executioner. Through a series of random and highly entertaining events, just about everyone's head is eventually wanted by the ruler of Japan.

The female cast members carry the majority of The Mikado's weight. The painted girls with Japanese fans and bright kimonos sing with good harmony, and the leads - Cordray, Gillian Kruse (Brown '09), and Will Rice College senior Rochelle Herbst - work quite well together as a feminine trio. Yet while Cordray's high-hitting notes are sure to give the audience goosebumps, her acting lacks energy. Newcomer Ruthie Halberstadt, a Wiess College freshman playing the role of Katisha, deserves rookie-of-the-year accolades with her performance, as she outshines the whole cast. She sings with a strong voice and is the most animated character on the stage, bedecked in a gray wig and vibrant red kimono.

While the male cast in general fails to match the vocal experience and range of the females, there are a few commendable performances. Copper's sturdy tenor, enunciation and projection make his songs memorable, and, although scary in his portrayal of the "humane" Mikado, Mike Cordray (Baker '07) delivers an entertaining and energetic performance that provides much comic relief. And while Brown College senior Jamie Sammis may not be one of the boys in the otherwise all-male chorus, she shows no fear in belting out like one of them and carries her weight with her strong, on-key alto. The roles of Pooh-Bah (Tim Cragin, Hanszen '06) and Ko-Ko (Baker freshman Andrew Schneider) are not sensational in their musicality, but the actors present their characters adequately.

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Throughout the show there is a battle for sound dominance between the orchestra and cast, and many times, the orchestra won. The issue of sound poses a problem for many college productions and is further complicated by the fact that the cast of The Mikado is not microphoned. The boys' solos in particular are hard to catch, with Gilbert's quick, wordy lyrics.

The orchestra, though loud and overpowering at times, does a fantastic job. Wiess senior Alex Lawler conducts the orchestra with ease. Sullivan is not always the easiest composer to perform, but the orchestra carries itself well and perseveres throughout the show, giving a near-flawless performance.

The Brown College Commons doesn't necessarily lend itself to a production of this nature, but the Rice Light Opera Society manages well with the available space. The stage is cleverly constructed, with four levels that help give more variety to blocking and choreography. The backdrop, a Japanese tea house with mountains fading off in the distance, stretches across the entire stage and sets the scene.

The designer of the backdrop, Stephanie Tritchler (Baker '09), did a magnificent job with color contrasting and use of space. A small prop tree containing blossoms and a white bird also occupies a corner of the stage. Otherwise the rest of the stage space is black, which works perfectly to offset the cast's bright kimonos.

The costumes, all differently patterned kimonos, fit each character's personality well and definitely add some depth to the show. Kruse, the costumer, was also smart with the addition of anachronistic wooden shoes that really tug at the satire that Gilbert and Sullivan create.

Overall, The Mikado has its difficulties and problems with sound and performance, but with Gilbert's and Sullivan's fun and satirical writing, this is a show worth seeing. The costumes, orchestra and vocal stylings of the strong cast members make it a pleasant experience that light opera fans everywhere will enjoy.

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