July 3rd, 2015

Yum-Yum (Isabella Dawis), Ko-Ko (Jim Miller) and Nanki-Poo (Marcus Lee) discuss their problematic marriage situation.

 The College Light Opera Company (CLOC) is proud to present Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado to kick off its 47th season.

            Nanki-Poo—the son of the Mikado—has fled the imperial court in order to escape the amorous clutches of the overbearing Katisha.  Disguised as a wandering minstrel, he arrives in Titipu in search of his true love, Yum-Yum, only to find her engaged to Ko-Ko, a cheap tailor recently raised to the exalted rank of Lord High Executioner.

A letter arrives from the Mikado threatening to reduce Titipu to the rank of a village unless someone is executed at once.  Nanki-Poo agrees to be the victim in exchange for one month of married happiness with Yum-Yum.  Marriage preparations are halted by the unexpected arrival if Katisha, who claims Nanki-Poo as her own.

Eager to comply with the imperial will, Ko-Ko supplies the Mikado with a false certificate of Nanki-Poo’s execution, unexpectedly incurring the wrath of both the Mikado and Katisha.  To save everyone’s neck, the only solution is for Ko-Ko to woo and wed Katisha.  The Mikado is appeased by the reappearance of Nanki-Poo with his new bride Yum-Yum, and the curtain falls on yet another topsy-turvy plot filled with pithy lyrics and glorious music.

Stage director Mark A. Pearson and Music Director Jonathan Edward Brennand lead this production.  This is their 13th production together, and will be followed this season by West Side Story in two weeks.  Pearson, originally from Hull, MA, received his degrees from Boston College and Boston University and current resides in Germany. Brennand, originally from Middlesex, England, studied at Drew University and UMass: Amherst.

The company is full of new CLOC members.  Talents to look forward to are Matthew Brennan as Pooh-Bah (from Chicago, IL - Vanderbilt University ’14), Isabella Dawis as Yum-Yum (Minneapolis, MN – University of Minnesota ’13), Marcus Lee as Nanki-Poo (Minneapolis, MN - Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University ’18), Phillip Lopez as The Mikado (Avon, IL - Millikin University ’16), Patrick Lynch as Pish-Tush (Kansas City, MO - Northwestern University ’16), Jim Miller as Ko-Ko (Fort Wayne, Indiana - Wright State University ’16), Katharine Nunn as Katisha (Haslett, MI - Michigan State University ’16),  Abigail Rice as Pitti-Sing (Canandaigua, NY - Gettysburg College ’16), and Alyson Snyder as Peep-Bo (St. Joseph, MI - Wright State University ’16).

The Mikado will be running from Tuesday, June 30th through Saturday, July 4th at 8 p.m., with a Thursday Matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets are $35 and are available by calling the CLOC Box Office at 508-548-0668 or by visiting the CLOC Box Office, 58 Highfield Drive, Falmouth (open Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., 2:00 – 5:00 p.m., and 7:00 –9:00 p.m.). For more information, please visit www .CollegeLightOperaCompany .com.