‘Hot Mikado’

Bucks County Playhouse presents this jazzed-up version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta.

By: Stuart Duncan
   Hot Mikado is cool. Real cool.
   It was exactly 20 years ago that Hot Mikado premiered at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. (Yes, the same spot where Lincoln was shot.) The show was the concept of producer David Bell, who took a popular Gilbert and Sullivan operetta and jazzed it up for modern audiences. There had been earlier attempts to turn the story into an African-American tale with accompanying music, but none that addressed the jazz idiom, so Bell did it himself.
   By 1995, the production had reached London’s West End and the reviews were overwhelmingly raves. There were a few critics who mentioned the irony of an American show "colonizing" Gilbert and Sullivan in the mother country. The melodies and lyrics were intact, but with a jazz/swing/blues base so that everything sounded American.
   Hot Mikado is now at Bucks County Playhouse for a short time, loaded with energy and talent — the mark of a Stephen Casey production at Bucks. The production also has enough bubbling enthusiasm to delight the most sour theater-goer. It might help if you know something about the original Gilbert and Sullivan score — it’s just plain more fun that way — but it’s not really necessary.
   All you need to know about the plot is that the son of the Mikado (who is the big Pooh-Bah of Japan), named Nanki-Poo, is in disguise when he falls madly for the pretty Yum-Yum. But since she is already promised to Ko-Ko, love is going to have to find a way. The solution is typical for these things: Nanki-Poo can marry Yum-Yum, but only for 30 days, at the end of which he will be executed. Nanki-Poo seems willing to spend a month in bliss, for an honorable end.
   And so numbers such as "A Wandering Minstrel I" are turned into zoot-suit songs and "Three Little Maids from School Are We" is turned into an Andrews Sisters-style number.
   Bucks veteran Louis Palena leads a wonderful cast as Ko-Ko, leaving a trail of laughs and spontaneous applause in his wake. Director/choreographer Casey is at his talented best in the ensemble numbers which range from tap to ballet — with all the stops in between. Others who stand out in the formidable company are Jillian Pirtle, Nicolas Dávila, Catrina Teruel, Kenneth Linsley, Jill Palena, Peter Martino, Jordan Brennan, Tressa McCallister, Lauren Brader and Motoko Miyama. Late in the evening, Doug Orleski shows up as The Mikado and solves all the dilemmas.
Hot Mikado continues at Bucks County Playhouse, 70 S. Main St., New Hope, Pa., through Oct. 1. Performances: Wed.-Thurs. 2, 8 p.m.; Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 4, 8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m. Tickets cost $22-$24. For information, call (215) 862-2041. On the Web: www.buckscountyplayhouse.com