Penn Singers to strut their stuff in 'Mikado'

Most people think Victorian light opera is stuffy. But in reality, Leigh Large, Penn Singers president and Wharton senior, explained, "Gilbert and Sullivan are not stuffy at all. Their work is filled with naughty second meanings and sexual innuendo." And that is exactly what students can expect from the Singers' spring production, The Mikado. The Mikado, will be performed tonight, tomorrow and Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Zellerbach Theatre of the Annenberg Center. An operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, The Mikado is duo's best known work, Large noted. The show has been touted as an "outrageous British comedy set to beautiful music." American humor relies on the obvious, Large explained, but the British wit of Gilbert and Sullivan is based on subtleties. "I always think of Gilbert and Sullivan as the forerunner of Monty Python," he explained. "It's kind of the same subtle humor." Though set in Japan, The Mikado makes light of Victorian England. "When you take typical English behavior and put it in a different setting," said David White, a Penn Singers alum, "it makes it look even sillier." "It's not high drama," said Marc Weitz, an Engineering junior who plays Ko-Ko. "It's silly farce, and it's fun to just let go every once in a while. You're not doing Hamlet, but it's fun to be doing this kind of farcing around." The story revolves around a case of mistaken identity and a sort of bizarre love rectangle. The actors are dressed in traditional Japanese garb, complemented by wigs and excessive make-up. "Everyone's transformed," said College sophomore Jennifer Rossell, who plays Yum-Yum. "It's going to be hard to recognize anyone on stage." White explained that the company attempts to perform Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas in a manner as close to the original as possible. Tickets for the shows are $5 for students and $8 for non-students, and will be sold today and tomorrow on Locust Walk and at the theater box office. Tickets can be reserved by calling 898-4533 and will also be available at the door.