Entertainment/Ticket

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008

‘Mikado’ in a new era

The Gilbert and Sullivan operetta is re-imagined as a USO show on a Japanese set in PCPA Theaterfest’s new production

Comments (0) |

The PCPA Theaterfest production of this most recent version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta “The Mikado” transports it from the Victorian age, its setting when it premiered in 1885, to the 1940s.

The village of Titi-Pu, which was a satirical Japan, becomes a swinging nightspot, where the three little maids are now styled after the Andrews Sisters and the Mikado is a tap dancer. The music includes elements of gospel, blues, rock, swing and jazz, and there’s plenty of dancing.

“It has the same character names and the same story line but adds the American flavor of the zoot suit, hepcat era,” said director Valerie Rachelle. “Some of the lyrics are the same, some are updated.”

She describes the production as fusing British humor with the Japanese version of the Cotton Club.

“It reminds me of a USO show slapped on a traditional Japanese tea setting. The surroundings are formal, but the tea is spiked with cayenne pepper.”

The plot focuses on the absurdities of government regulations and the politicians who enforce them.

“It’s jazzy, but the basic comment about government is still there,” Rachelle said.

A satirical approach

Gilbert and Sullivan took a satirical approach to colonialism in “The Mikado,” a move that rattled Victorian sensibilities.

“It was controversial in their day. The things they were exposing pushed buttons,” Rachelle said.

The political aspects have been updated in many productions as the play has been performed over the decades, and the lyrics change with the times. For example, the song, “I’ve Got a Little List,” sung by Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, describes the people on his list targeted for execution.

“This is one that has traditionally changed with the times,” Rachelle said. “We’ve included people with cell phones in the theater on our list.”

Other lyrics have also been modernized.

“We took free rein to add what contemporary audiences would understand,” she said.

“Hot Mikado,” a 1986 adaptation by David H. Bell, is the most contemporary version of the play.

“It has made a long journey,” Rachelle said.

This version followed two popular African-American versions of “The Mikado,” one that ran on Broadway in 1939, and “The Swing Mikado,” which was produced as part of the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson starred in that one.

Flavor of Japan

The director explained how the Theaterfest production expresses the flavor of Japan in sets and costumes.

“We told the designers to think of a USO show on a Japanese set. We used elements of Japanese architecture, and the color palette muted into the 1940s. The swing dresses are created with fabrics with Japanese patterns and florals. The zoot suits, baggy pants, ties and hats look like kimonos that have been cut up and put on cuffs and accessories,” Rachelle said.

The production does away with the stereotypes of the original, the director said.

“It was about a Japan that does not exist and never did. It’s hard to do it traditionally now — it’s so politically incorrect. This version has the same story, and the same flair, and the same feeling of poking fun at itself. It has the original language, but the dialogue has been made better for our day.”

While it’s basic Gilbert and Sullivan, she said, in this production the emphasis is on the music and dance — especially dance.