Show Gilbert and Sullivans Sullivan's Mikado and Pirates a Hit at Alder By Staff What do you get when tottering government officials meet a pair of young lovers in Century Japan The answer is The Mikado one of Gilbert arid and Sullivans Sullivan's most beloved operettas The Mikado tells a story that is at once familiar to any fan of romantic comedies Boy meets girl boy loses girl and through a series of events gets the girl back again Along the way the boy has a series of conflicts involving an intended execution execution execution exe exe- cution his an estranged woman and his beloved's to husband-to-be the Lord High Executioner of the town Sound Complicated That's only a taste of the plot And any Gilbert and Sullivan operetta requires a strong troupe of actors to make the farce not only funny but some how palpable Josh Christensen was a powerful presence as Poo Nanki-Poo the male romantic lead Not only a first rate actor Christensen is also a strong vocal presence His energetic performance performance performance mance of the first act aria A Wandering Minstrel was spellbinding spell bind ing to behold Kathryn Blanchard as NankiPoo's NankiPoo's NankiPoo's Nanki- Nanki Poo's love interest Yum-Yum Yum performed performed performed per per- formed in the same good form Her bright soprano voice radiated all the giggly innocence of her character This characteristic was best seen in her second second second sec sec- sec sec- ond act song The Sun and I as well as the famous first act trio Three Little Maids Her love scenes with Poo Nanki-Poo were very appropriately played for comic tenderness But no Gilbert and Sullivan musical musical musical musi musi- cal would stand without hard-core hard comedy to embellish upon the romance Rebecca Rodgers Hansen consistently consistently consistently steals the show as Katisha Poo's Nanki-Poo's jilted to bride She plays Katisha as a vain blustering woman who isn't above bellowing her songs to make her point The rest of the cast was also solid and with the strong orchestra really pulled off The Mikado The second of Gilbert and Sullivans Sullivan's musicals being played at the Alder Amphitheater is The Pirates of Penzance Pirates is the upbeat romantic comedy comedy comedy com com- edy of a young mans man's divided loyal loyal- ties As a baby Frederic was mistakenly mistakenly mistakenly enly apprenticed to a ship full of pirates On his 21 birthday his apprenticeship apprenticeship apprenticeship officially ended and he decides not only to leave his profession profession profession sion but to rid the coast of pirates A task which he later finds much harder than he thought Along the way he falls in love meets a force of cowardly coward coward- ly policemen and confronts a most ingenious paradox As in all Gilbert and Sullivan musi musi- cals characters are placed in a series of bizarre and improbable situations Much of the real humor appears in the way the actors as individuals react to these twists Matt Crawford as Frederic was the quintessential hero His character was a young highly charismatic man face with some very perplexing mas However he never treated his role any more seriously than was intended He played up the comic aspects well especially during the various various various var var- ious confrontational scenes in act two However his feigned British accent was often a detriment to his mance Rebekah Nye was charming in the therole therole therole role of Frederics Frederic's love interest Mabel While Mables Mable's role offers little in the way of dramatic development it makes up for it in vocal challenge Nye tackles the part with an amazing profi profi- She took the audiences breath away with amazement while simultaneously simultaneously simultaneously making us laugh However the other characters are essential in evoking the comedy of the piece Major-General Major Stanley Anthony Buck inevitably command the stage at the end of act one He handles the speed of the beloved song I am the Very Model of a Modern Modem Major General with both skill and humor In Ina a number which often falls easily apart into a mess of mushy syllables Bucks Buck's i tt e Y d fI 4 J I i 1 a The Pirates of Penzance along with The Mikado are the two plays of the Gilbert and Sullivan Festival being held at the Alder Amphitheater dictation remains consistency clear As in the Mikado Pirates supporting supporting supporting support support- ing cast and orchestra was also out out- standing Both The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado are very entertaining and enjoyable I recommend them both They are both being shown at the Alder Amphitheater until July Tickets may be bought at the Grand Theatres Theatre's Box Office or at the gate |