The Mikado??

Did anybody get around to seeing this show? I was just interested to see how it was received.

i suppose i had better right this review as, i have promised a number of midnite members that i would.

Last friday i attended the Midnite Youth Theatre's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado". Of all Gilbert and Sullivan opperetta's the Mikado has to be my favourite. I found the Midnite production to be highly entertaining and to be filled with amusement and froth as a production like the Mikado should be.

All leads gave strong performances, but in particular i would like to point out the performances of Mark Desebrock, as a disturbingly kreepy koko, Kurt nourvillas(sorry Kurt if i spelt your last name wrong) as pooh-bar, Jaya Henderson as yum-yum, a rather apt name and claire (arggh, can't remember last name!) as a katicher who definentley got her charachter across well as i could have sworn that i was looking at Margret Thatcher (I think at this point i should point out that i was too cheap to by a program, so if i deeply offend anyone by not spelling names correctly i whole heartedly apologize).

The chorus, lacked the life and vitality of the principals and let the show down. Their projection was poor and alot of words became garbled and unclear leaving the audience to fill in certain gaps of what was happening within the story line.

For the most part the show managed to avoid putting injokes about their school, however it still occoured i think this left a large amount of the audience feeling as though they had been left out in the cold. His Maj is an amazing venue and the set equally reflected this, making good use the oriental fans for changes of scene instead of relying on blackouts or curtains. The humour of the tea set on the actors heads went straight over my head, perhaps they were just a little potty? sorry, i'll avoid from making bad puns like that in future. Nick Pinks' lighting design made a great addition to atmosphere and reflected the vibrant whites and greens and reds we find in japanese art work, it certainly gave the feeling that we were watching a story that had been painted onto a fan and had magically come to life before us.

The show was indeed quite lavish, and probably a tad too extravagant. I seem to remember a golf buggy appearing on stage at one point in the show, which made me scratch my head and think that perhaps the show had more money than it knew what to do with.

oh yes just before i finish, there was one thing that really had me squirming in my seat. This is my first review on theatre Australia and it probably won't be the last so get used to this coming up becuase it happens alot in productions. The makeup on certain principals was appaling. AGE LINES! BIG BROWN DIRTY LINES all over the actors faces, age lines are not necessary, i felt that they really detracted from an otherwise fantastic production, my hope is that some future directors will read this and put an end to those ugly guady age lines being plastered all over the faces of young actors in high schools and youth theatre productions around the country.

All in All however Midnite's Mikado was highly entertaining, funny and beautiful. The Guys and Gals at Midnite should congratulate themselves on yet another success

A wonderful, honest review Gareth.

By the way, my last name is Taylor ;)

-claire

Dammit, I just wrote a long and comprehensive review, attempted to post itÂ… and it promptly erased itself. So thus: a comparatively short review.

I saw The Mikado on Wednesday and Friday, and would like to acknowledge at this point that I am somewhat bias, as I know about 75% of the principals and 50% of the chorus.

Mark Desebrock did a great job with Ko-Ko (SO much energy for every performance – I want what he’s on); Erin Hutchinson and Jaya Henderson were, as always, fantastic sharing the role of Yum-Yum, and the lovely Miss Lara Thew was spectacular as the rather unlovely Katisha.

Justin Friend gave a polished performance as Nanki-Poo, and his lovely fiancé Monique Beaudoire was a scream as Pitti-Sing. Courtney Greig and Sam Devenport gave different but equally good portrayals of Pish-Tush, and Kurt Norvilas had his moments as Pooh-Bah. I hear each of these actorsÂ’ counterparts (split cast) also did a great job.

The dark-haired-cult chorus was so-so, and struggled with volume and articulation. However, I think what youÂ’ve got to remember is that a lot of the chorus was probably 13 years old and the like, and as such did a perfectly passable job.

The hot air balloon excited me to a fairly large extent, as did the golf buggy and strange bicycle contraption. Unnecessary, but fun.

The set was simple and effective, though on both nights several cast members had trouble maneuvering their way amongst the set and props. I hear that a certain someone fell off a dodgy chair whilst in a freeze during Saturday’s performance – Don’t worry mate, happens to the best of us…

The costumes/makeup and orchestra were so-so, as was the use (or rather, misuse) of the microphones. On Friday, The Mikado (AJ Ewers) sounded decidedly The Wizard Of Oz-esque, due to some pretty shocking reverb.

In terms of individual numbers, standout songs for me included “As Someday It May Happen” (The List), “I Am So Proud”, “Willow Titwillow” and “There Is Beauty…”, but the really great moments were when several of the leads interacted with each other, namely “Here’s a How-De-Do”, “The Criminal Cried…” and “The Flowers That Bloom…”. Gold, just fantastic.

I did enjoy the production, and the so-so aspects of it were outshined for me by the truly great moments.

One final note: Anyone else who also saw The Mikado are possibly wondering about the significance of the four topless, buff, bronzed and oiled boys (I hear they were recruited from the CCGS rowing team) walking around the stage throughout. And to that I say: no significance whatsoever. And yet, IÂ’m not complaining. Not complaining in the slightestÂ…

CheersÂ…



Thou artless rude-growing bugbear!

Kudoes go to the entire cast! It was a great night at the opera!
The principals were on fire and dealt with the technical screw ups very professionally. I saw it on wed night premiere and on the friday so i got to see pretty much the whole cast minus claire taylor. It was fantastic to see the improvement from the wednesday night to the friday, the entire cast lifted about 200% which would be expected as the wednesday was really like a dress rehersal. Marky Mark was brilliant as Ko Ko and milked the audience for all they were worth. His comic timing was amazing and the physicality, to die for. As Mark was the only lead without double casting, it was good to see that his energy levels were maitained although he was doing two shows a day! I expect we will see great things from Mark. Teamed with Miss Thew as Katisha, the pair were beautiful to watch. They played off and complimented one anothers unique styles. Lara was amazing with brilliant and very well sustained physicality. Her voice coped well the the irritating reverb from the mic, which should have been fixed within minutes not an entire act! Tit Willow was a beautiful moment to watch between these two talented young actors who, despite their comic characters pulled off an emotional and delicate scene without making it melodramatic. Miss Thews make up was amazing, from sitting in the fourth row she looked completely hideous, as expected to playing Katisha. But it was amazing that such a beautiful young lady could be so intensely transformed to an ugly old bag! And therefore Kudoes goes to the Makeup Artists! A lovely performance from Lara, but would we expect anything less? Monique was fantastic! What can I say? She was hillarious. Her facials were amusing to say the least and very well maintained. Monique teamed up fantastically with Kurt, Mark and Jaya for some very comic songs. Her voice was very strong and lovely to listen to!
The set was simple, which complimented the incredibly intricate comstumes and personal props. Some of the cast seemed to have a few problems with the set. The moveable seats were a very good idea, but perhaps they should rethink the ability of cast members to remain of them, unbalanced, for extended periods of time. Kurt covered it up very well, so kudoes to him! It did add to the comic effect however.
The hot air balloon was fantastic, as was the buggy, and the hats with teapots! The height differences between Mark and Kurt was fantastic and very well utilised! I loved Tit Willow...how does Mark make such amazing sound??? Its beyond me! and the Mikado's and Katisha's enterance with the Daughter in law elect was fantastic! Loved it! The one thing that did irritate me to a very large extent was the incomptent mic ing! There were a few moments when i thought we were actually seeing The Phantom of the opera of perhaps the Wizard of Oz! But other then that...It was GOLD Jerry GOLD! A fantastic performance from all of the cast! Cant wait to see 'a bit of musicality please', fantastic use of the Favourite Australian Movie of all time! Kudoes!