The
Mikado
The Portland
Opera at the Portland Civic Auditorium, Southwest 3rd Avenue
and Clay Street, 241-1802. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday, May 17-20. $25-$129.
"The world has
joked incessantly for over 50 centuries. And every joke
that's possible has long ago been made." --W. S. Gilbert
The Mikado
premiered at the Savoy Theater, London, March 14, 1885.
Jonathan Miller's attempt to out-topsy the turvydom of
Gilbert and Sullivan's Japanesque operetta was a qualified
success when it premiered at the English National Opera
in London in 1986. The good doctor's decision to place the
action in a jazz-aged Titipu located somewhere between the
imagination and Margate is rather confectionary, and his
designer's setting--a cake-white hotel complete with floating
orbs and musical instruments--bespeaks no age other than
the style-fetishist '80s and '90s. But Miller's homage to
the Marx Brothers generates some fun. His Mikado takes
the politics of Duck Soup and places it with the
confines of the Cocoanuts resort. Though the resulting
surrealism has alarmed purists, it must be remembered that
the original is fairly absurd in its own right, and so Miller's
concept is not as problematic as, say, placing Richard
III during the Civil War.
Having missed seeing Miller's original version (which included
Eric Idle as Ko-Ko), it is difficult to gauge just how slavish
Nicola Bowie's restaging is. But one senses that Bowie is,
perhaps, too faithful, as much of this production strikes
one as procedural. Blocking marks are hit, as are, in the
main, the proper notes. But with a few notable exceptions
among the cast, the evening--especially under Jim Coleman's
leaden baton--is perfunctory. As Ko-Ko, Robert Orth gives
a delightful comic performance, though it appears to be
haunted by Idle at times. But his rendition of "They'll
None of 'Em be Missed" is the evening's highlight with its
witty and topical new lyrics. Orth could also be seen, however,
trying to vocally prod Coleman into producing a tempo just
above the speed of composition with little luck. Still,
the evening is Orth's. Jeff Morrissey's Scots Pish-Tush
is also worthy of attention. Morrissey's clear baritone
is a nice counter to the throat-quavering soprano of Angela
Turner Wilson's Yum-Yum.
The Opera's publicity department helpfully reminds us on
its posters and flyers that The Mikado is sung in
English. But it's a shame that no one notified Susan Nicely,
who plays Katisha, for only a glance at the program notes
convinced me that she wasn't a guest artist from Radio Latvia.
Nicely is desperate for enunciation lessons.
The attempts at choreography wouldn't necessarily embarrass
a community theater, but there's a veritable thunderjug
of ham bits that might. "Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day"
was fairly ruined by the gross upstaging of supernumeraries.
Still, the audience was obediently thrilled by this staling
meringue, jumping to their feet as Portland theatergoers
tend to when they've paid more than $30 for a seat.
One note: The evening did get off to a bad start when the
Opera's general director, Robert Bailey, launched into a
10-minute begging tour on the stage. This tasteless phenomenon
of drumming up subscriptions as a curtain raiser is not
new to Portland, but one expects the Opera to be a little
more professional and dignified. What next, offering plates?
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Willamette Week | originally
published April 26,
2000
|
