Milwaukee Opera Theatre is staging one of those funny Gilbert & Sullivan opera’s, “The Mikado,” and it’s adding just enough creative tweaks that local reviewers are noticing.
As Julie Steinbach writes in the Wisconsin Gazette, “when MOT stages the classic, it comes with a twist: a complete reinterpretation of the score and story that sets it in a ‘percussion playground’ where rhythm rules.”
Elaine Schmidt, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, says the Milwaukee Opera Theatre “traded what can be sticky questions of cultural representation for logistical concerns about cramming as many instruments, mostly percussion instruments at that, onto a small stage.”
And, David Luhrssen, writing in the Shepherd Express, explained how “the cast will be dressed like a contemporary rock band in T-shirts and black jeans and will play percussion instruments, moving between instruments to create a kinetic energy mirroring the infectious gaiety Gilbert and Sullivan intended.”
But don’t just believe what you read. Listen to WUWM’s Rachel Owens and Milwaukee Comedy’s Matt Kemple interview the actor, composer, and playwright who not only helped adapt the Mikado for this Milwaukee performance but also will be playing the role of the executioner. Jason Powell is the latest Milwaukee comedian featured in a new series on WUWM Radio – 89.7 FM.
The Mikado – March 19-29, Next Act Theatre
That’s 255 S. Water St. For details and tickets, please click here.