THE MIKADO
The Court Theatre, Bernard Street, Addington, Christchurch
23/11/2013 - 18/01/2014
Production Details
Our Biggest Musical Spectacular Ever!
The Court Theatre is following up last year’s sell out hit Summer Musical Grease with their biggest production yet: The Mikado. In true Court Theatre mastery this classic will explode into the 21st century.
The Mikado is one of the most popular musicals of all time and stars Matt McFarlane (Danny from Grease) as Nanki‐Poo, a wandering minstrel who falls in love with Yum Yum, but she cannot marry him as she is arranged to marry the Lord High Executioner. The Executioner desperately needing to find someone to execute before the imminent arrival of the Mikado, agrees to let Nanki‐Poo marry his bride to be but only if he can execute him after one month of marriage. The show climaxes when the Mikado arrives for the execution.
With its thrillingly hilarious Gilbert and Sullivan story‐line and melodies such as Three Little Maids from School Are We, and I’ve Got a Little List, The Mikado is sure to appeal to young and old alike.
At The Court Theatre
23 November 2013 – 18 January 2014
Show Times: 6:30pm Mon & Thu; 7:30pm Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat;
2:00pm Matineé Sat 30 November, 4.00pm Sunday 22 & 29 December.
Tickets from $30 at www.courttheatre.org.nz or (03) 963 0870.
Points of Interest:
The Mikado is The Court Theatre’s summer musical. Last year’s Summer Musical Grease was a sell out. We are expecting The Mikado to sell out too. The majority of the cast and crew that brought you Grease are back for The Mikado.
The Court Theatre’s production has a cast of twenty five (our biggest ever), and a four piece band.
The Court Theatre is breathing fresh air into this loved classic with a reinvigorated script and a Harajuku Japan meets steampunk Victorian London theme.
The Mikado is Gilbert and Sullivan’s most performed show.
The Court Theatre’s production of The Mikado will be a musical comedy, designed for families and will encourage audience participation.
The Court Theatre’s production stars Matt McFarlane who played Danny in Grease last year. Matt has flown back from Australia (where he lives) just to do The Mikado. Matt plays the male lead Nanki‐Poo.
Chloe Zuel has also flown over from Australia to be in The Mikado. Chloe has performed around the world including in Australia, Macau, Dubai and India, but this is her first time performing in New Zealand. Chloe plays one of the maids.
The Mikado also stars Roy Snow as Poo‐Bah. Roy is currently on television starring in the TSB advertisements and his previous The Court Theatre productions include playing The Inspector in SNAP! and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing.
Damien Avery plays the Lord High Executioner. Damien’s previous The Court Theatre productions include Postal (Michael), SNAP! (Rupert Bartholomew) and The Slapdash Assassin (Vincent).
Other notables include Court regulars: Lynda Milligan and Juliet Reynolds‐Midgley. The Mikado also has a selection of young up and coming actors.
CAST:
Nanki Poo – Matt McFarlane
Koko – Damien Avery
Poo‐Bah – Roy Snow
Yum Yum – Rachael Adams
The Mikado – Lynda Milligan
Pish Tush – Rutene Spooner
Katisha – Juliet Reynolds‐Midgley
Maids – Chloe Zuel, Hannah Wheeler and Lucy Porter.
The Male Ensemble: Tainui Kuru, Finley Brentwood, Cameron Douglas, Chris McRae, Chris Symon, Guy Langford, Glenn Horsfall and Ben Freeth.
The Female Ensemble: Tizane McEvoy, Charlotte Taylor, Jane Leonard, Rosanna Hewson, Isla Brentwood, Angela Hegarty, Hannah Spedding.
CREW:
Director – Ross Gumbley
Choreographer / Set Design / Costume Design – Stephen Robertson
Musical Director – Luke Di Somma
Lighting Design – Grant Robertson
Sound Design – Ben Rentoul and Glen Ruske from Bounce
Properties – Anneke Bester
Stage Manager – Cally Castell
Production Manager – Mandy Perry.
Theatre , Musical , Comic Opera ,
Theatrically delicious creative wizardry
Review by Lindsay Clark 24th Nov 2013
Among those filling The Court auditorium on Saturday night, the delights and drawbacks of a Gilbert and Sullivan experience will have been met again and again by those old enough, to the point where assumptions and preconceptions about how shows like The Mikado will look and sound are unavoidable. How liberating it is, then, to be presented with an outrageous and exuberant interpretation of this favourite old timer, revitalised for contemporary taste and overflowing with joie de vivre.
Ross Gumbley is at his inventive best in directing this mad scramble of a tale, where irrational rules, pomp and ceremony give rise to all sorts of tricky situations before true love has its triumph with the blessing of a ruler whose terrible severity was only in the name of fun. In the fantasy realm of Titipu, oriental exoticism and English bureaucracy offer deliciously comic opportunities.
Musically, too, the production is triumphant in the hands of Luke Di Somma, with every mood and situation generously supported. Very often of course, this means song and dance, the creative territory of choreographer Stephen Robertson, also responsible for the production design. A brilliant fusion of Victoriana and steampunk ideas, set and costume translate the whole into a fresh experience.
Without disregarding the spirit of the original, this production seems like a bright new acrylic rendering of the watercolours of yesteryear. Partly that can be attributed to brilliant costuming and musical arrangements, Grant Robertson’s lighting and the sound design from Bounce NZ (Glen Ruske and Ben Rentoul). Partly it is established through frequent references to our own circumstances and city. Ko-Ko’s ‘I’ve Got a Little List’ says it all for most of us.
This favourite ditty is given a spirited rendering by Damien Avery’s Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner responsible for keeping the rules in a world where love keeps getting in the way when that ‘wandering minstrel’ arrives. Ko-Ko is guided by Roy Snow’s colourful bureaucrat extraordinaire, Pooh-Bah, who – together with Rutene Spooner’s imaginatively rendered Pish-Tush and an exceptionally strong male chorus of gentlemen of Japan – sets the scene.
They are matched by a rainbow bevy of ‘little ladies’ in the female ensemble of school girls, and the trio whose ‘Three Little Maids from School’ is a sparkling success. Hannah Wheeler as Pitti-Sing, Chloé Zuel as Tammy-Gotchi and Lucy Porter as Peep-Bo play the comedy as well as the sweetness.
The Mikado is boldly cast as a dazzling Lynda Milligan .Together with a redoubtable ‘daughter-in-law-elect’ from Juliet Reynolds-Midgley, she ensures that the second half drives on to a glorious climax.
This of course involves the romantic leads, a charming Yum-Yum in Rachael Adams and the minstrel-prince-in-disguise, Nanki-Poo. Matt McFarlane delivers the role visually and vocally with polished ease.
In sum, there is creative wizardry in every aspect of the production. The summer season each year is marked by The Court’s musical production, always generous in scale and frequently overflowing with both experienced talent and fresh faces from NASDA. Many would have felt that the 2012 production of Grease, with its irresistible music and dance (and also featuring Matt McFarlane), would be hard to beat in the popularity stakes. The Mikado, theatrically delicious in an entirely different way, seems set to take up that challenge.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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