Gamut Theatre rolls its D’Oyly Carte straight up north to visit our Canuck neighbors in “The Mikado, Eh!” Set in Canada, this comedic operetta speaks the dual official languages of romance and violence, with just enough slapstick to give all its unconventional characters and silly dialogue a French accent.
Benjamin Krumreig not only adapted this famous Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, but he also serves as director and choreographer and plays the role of Chris Brooks. Why set “The Mikado” in Canada? Krumreig’s love for Canada runs deeper than The St. Lawrence River-Great Lakes Waterway. And the setting gives the cast carte blanche to dig their flannels and jeans out of the backs of their closets (costume designer, Michael Ciaramitaro), from back when we listened to Nirvan-eh. But unlike the grunge era, “The Mikado, Eh!” is a fast-paced, high-energy show from beginning to end.
We start out in the woods of Saskatoon, staring at the back of music director and conductor Nicholas Werner pounding out the prelude on his keyboard. It’s the perfect vantage point to watch his fingers flail, frantically flipping page after page, chair-dancing while he tinkle-tinkle-tinkle-tinkles 16th and 32nd notes, like an incredibly talented Mountie rhythmically riding a horse into a Dudley Do-Right cartoon.
Then we ride with him into the first singing number, the bold “If you want to know who we are,” a manly vocal blend from Canadian gentlemen (Krumreig, Christopher Ondeck, Ethan Goss, Alex Winnick, Tony Barber, and Quentin West). Their soft-shoe routine, to include swinging axes like batons, makes even the burliest of prancing lumberjacks feel approachable, like a murderous setting with a flirting wink.
Traveling minstrel Bertie-Lou (Timothy Lupia) enters next, singing “A wand’ring minstrel,” strumming his … trombone? No matter. That maple-leafed, denim-clad wanderer has an amazing tenor voice, which also features in harmonious duets with paramour Autumn (Madison Eppley) in “Were you not to Coco plighted” and “Brightly dawns our wedding day.” Eppley trills a triumphant solo with “The sun, whose rays are all ablaze.” And the addition of the other love triangle member, Coco (Eric Mansilla), amps up the comedy with “Here’s a how-de-do,” complete with fancy hand motions.
In addition to his strong tenor in every song he sings, Mansilla’s comedic prowess deserves its own paragraph. Although most of the play contains references from either Victorian era or Canadian stereotypes, Mansilla both authors and sings the genius “List Song” containing an updated list of people who should be beheaded. (Several times, I recognized myself on that list, and Mansilla assured me I won’t be missed.) Mansilla also had me laughing in the familiar “Willow, tit-willow” and “The criminal cried as he dropped him down,” graphically describing an execution while the oversized Ondeck (as The Mikado of Canada) wears a glittering hockey uniform and sips from a teeny-tiny teacup, pinkies up.
Paints a picture, does it not? Add to that picture Ondeck wearing a jester’s collar, clumsy ballet dancing attempts, and several adult tantrums, and you have his hilarious “A More Humane Mikado.” Ondeck is so funny to watch that I neglect to mention his excellent voice. The equal parts funny and vocally talented also goes to Preston Schreffler (as Big Bob), whose accented, multi-personalitied mimicry exceeds only the number of quirky job titles bestowed on him, my favorite being the Archbishop of Saskatoon. The most impressive tongue-twister song of the whole she-bang goes to Schreffler, Krumreig, and Mansilla for their rendition of “I am so proud,” sung in tempo-hopping round-style.
When it comes to beautifully synchronized harmonies, the lady lumberjacks (Bryden McCurdy, Becky Mease, Eppley, Maria Elena Petrilak, Dedeandrah Rodriguez, Victoria Debernardis, Erika McCandless, Larissa Curcio) combine their talents for vocal blends most pleasing to the ear, especially in singing “Comes a train of little ladies.” I did see – but not hear – a few lip-synchers, though. (You know who you are, little ladies.) Then Eppley (as Autumn), Petrilak (as Cleo), and Mease (as Josephine) find a pleasant vocal balance in “Three little maids from school are we,” with the latter delivering the pleasing solo “Braid the golden hair.”
After all the demure ladies grace the stage, Agatha (Sarah Anne Hughes) launches her fierce presence into the woods of Saskatoon. Although dressed as a sparkly Mountie, I swear I feel Wicked Witch of the West energy, especially in Hughes’s intensely angry solo, “Alone, and yet alive.” Her duet with Mansilla, “There is beauty in the bellow of the blast,” complete with tongue-twisters and square dancing, showcase their chemistry in their stage-combat-style courtship. At the end of their number, my plus-one leaned over to me and commented, “Those two are SO good together.”
In “The Mikado, Eh!” Gamut delivers audiences a rich and robust score. If the thought of trying to follow an operetta makes your stomach feel like Niagara Falls, fear not, fair maiden (or manservant). Unlike traditional opera, most lyrics are in English, with a little French (sore-ry a-boot that), but you won’t need sub-titles to follow the maple leaf-shaped bouncy ball. Even with all the tongue twisters, the beautifully performed song lyrics are both ridiculous and lovely, but not difficult to follow. Like most operas, the plot is an outlandish afterthought, and anyway, it’s tertiary to the eye-catching costumes and the ear-catching music. There are so many more beautiful numbers in this operetta, along with dance steps so achievable that I think even I could pull them off. Had I extra ink, I would credit all the different combinations of richly complex vocal mixes. Alas, if I prattle on here, I will again find myself on Mansilla’s beheading list. In short, don’t miss “The Mikado, Eh!”
“The Mikado, Eh!” runs through Nov. 23 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4th St., Harrisburg. Find more information at www.gamuttheatre.org/mikado.
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