The Mikado

The Mikado

Austin High School, through July 3

Running Time: 2 hrs 45 min

Ah, the town of Titipu! A town of kimonos and pagodas, of bamboo screens and soft light. A town of fans – dozens of fans. A town where the laws make no sense, but everyone makes the best of it. A town where I am right, and you are right, and all is right, too-looral-lay!

Of course, feudal Japan is only the setting in this Gilbert and Sullivan light opera, mounted here by the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Austin as its annual summer production. The entrenched aristocracy that librettist W.S. Gilbert actually pursues in this bitingly satiric story is Victorian England, so it's appropriate that director and choreographer Ralph MacPhail Jr. uses a very large group of very obviously Caucasian men and women and dresses them up to outwardly appear Japanese.

Having a delightful story to work with helps, and while this one, about the romantic machinations of Nanki-Poo, Ko-Ko, and Yum-Yum, is exactly that, what's most delightful and has made The Mikado by far one of the most popular musicals ever written is the genius of its songs. Sing the songs well, and you've conquered a lot of Mikado, and sing the songs well these performers do. Holton Johnson handles the lover Nanki-Poo with a thrillingly clear tenor voice, most especially in "A Wand'ring Minstrel I." Christiana Cole Little lends her beautiful soprano to the role of Yum-Yum, who must surely be one of the first certifiable airheads in Western musical theatre. While not quite as strong vocally, Trey Deason as Ko-Ko assays the incredibly difficult "I've Got a Little List" with precision and aplomb. All three sing the highlight of the show, "Here's a How-de-do!," a trio that repeats itself, faster and faster, more times than you'll count, and were rewarded with the only showstopping ovation I can recall experiencing in 20 years of watching Austin theatre. Johnson, Little, and Deason deserve a lot of credit, as does MacPhail Jr., who finds more things for his actors to do with fans than you can possibly imagine, and music director and conductor Jeffrey Jones-Ragona, whose orchestra always accompanies, never overwhelms, and whose singers are so surprisingly loud and clear I kept looking for the microphones, of which I could spot nary a one. And I haven't even mentioned Rose Taylor, who is devilish as the "villainess" Katisha, and Russell Gregory, who easily handles the role of the intimidating Mikado.

If you go, you'll need to accept some extremely nontraditional casting choices as well as forgive some of the spoken word scenes, which drag a bit; the many white socks worn with sandals (until you get used to it, it looks like a nerd invasion); and the costumes, some of which work beautifully, but some of which clash resoundingly. Rather than detracting, though, these blemishes only put a charming shine on a somewhat flawed jewel. Before the show, G&S Society President Bill Hatcher made a speech in which he told the audience that we were about to see a "very fine" production of The Mikado. Maybe he sounded so matter-of-fact as he said it because he knew he was right.

And all is right! Too-looral-lay!