by Jack Craib, New Rep Reviewer
You heard it here first: New Rep’s last production on their current regular schedule, “Hot Mikado”, will be the season’s biggest hit. Based on the red-hot energy emanating from the stage, the incredible performances by its astoundingly multi-talented cast, and the undeniably enthusiastic connection with its opening night audience, it can’t miss.
Unless, like this reviewer, you happen to be a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan fare. As anticipated, given its modernized title, this is not your grandmother’s “Mikado”; sadly, it’s not Sir Arthur Sullivan’s, either. A good deal of lyricist/librettist W.S.Gilbert’s work survives its adaptation (by David H. Bell); the melodies and tempi of composer Sullivan do not. The musical adaptation and arrangement (by Rob Bowman) turns Sullivan’s memorable score into an unmemorable pastiche of swing and jazz (and occasional gospel). Even with these several influences, after a while most of the numbers pretty much numbingly sounded the same.
This might have worked if the adaptors had changed the locale and the cultural milieu of the original in addition to placing it in the 1940‘s. By being neither fish nor fowl, they have diluted rather than extended the satirical bite of its originators, who shrewdly skewered their British contemporaries precisely by utilizing an exotic setting. What remains from the source material, from the setting in the town of Titipu (with a very lovely and functional Japanese garden set by Janie Howland) to the convoluted oriental logic of the plot, jars harshly with the aforementioned musical styles. The eclectic costumes by Frances Nelson McSherry, while creative, add to the cultural confusion; most of the cast look like refugees from “Guys and Dolls” or Disney‘s version of “Dick Tracy”, while several characters retain more traditional Japanse styles. After a while, this misguided missile seemed as unpalatable as a mad scientist's grafting one person’s head onto the body of another. As an adaptation of a well-known classic, it simply doesn’t work.
This is not to disparage the yeoman efforts of the entire cast. While it may be unfair to single out specific performers from such a competent ensemble of professionals, it should be noted that there are some faces that will be happily familiar to local theatergoers. Some are New Rep returnees: It’s really amazing to see Aimee Doherty (from “Speed the Plow”) as Pitti-Sing and Edward M. Barker (of “A Christmas Carol” and “Dessa Rose”) as Pooh-Bah. Jordan Ahnquist, acclaimed for his recent SpeakEasy Stage role in “[title of show]”, as Pish-Tush displays a talent that belies his youth, and Calvin Braxton as Ko-Ko produces a fluidity that must be a product of his years with Cirque du Soleil. One negative note: Lisa Yuen as Katisha, who brings down the house (more than once), is gorgeous, lithe and sexy. In short, she’s the absolute antithesis of Katisha and totally unbelievable when she refers to herself as plain, save for her left shoulder blade. This may have been intentionally ironic, but it backfires. It’s yet another bump in this failed amalgam of material.
Those who are least familiar with “The Mikado” will doubtless find this production a joy. Others, who would include this reviewer, might look upon it as a travesty. There is a reason why the original work has lasted a century and a quarter. The punishment for purists is to endure a musical style that frankly doesn’t fit the rhyme. Not until the second act, when McCaela Donovan as Yum-Yum delivers a straightforwardly traditional (and powerfully poignant) rendition of “The Sun and I”, does the beauty of the original work emerge. And it was extremely telling that perhaps the heartiest audience response of the night was to the equally traditional and compellingly moving version of “Tit-Willow” by Calvin Braxton. Apart from those relatively brief moments, one was left feeling as though he’d just had an oriental dinner: hungry for more Gilbert and Sullivan.
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