‘Hot Mikado’ Review – Wright State University – Gotta Dance!

Excerpt

Without a doubt the first pleasant surprise of the fall is the area premiere of Wright State University’s highly entertaining and fabulously choreographed “Hot Mikado,” Rob Bowman and David H. Bell’s little-known 1986 jazz-era twist on Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1885 comic opera “The Mikado.”

With great skill and efficiency, Bowman and Bell impressively dusts off this silly, thin tale of love, law and customs in the quaint, cutely named Japanese town of Titipu. Instead of taking a more familiar, traditional approach to the material and Gilbert and Sullivan’s legacy as particularly evident in Mike Leigh’s acclaimed 1999 film “Topsy-Turvy,” this duo fills their adaptation with a colorfully clever assortment of musical flavors from gospel and swing to R&B and rock and roll. By all means, the sheer power of musicianship and distinctive arrangements (catapulted by the expertise of musical director Scot Woolley’s superb orchestra) is a key factor to the show’s conceptual appeal, which brilliantly doubles as a refreshing history lesson in American music and an enjoyable, respectful homage to one of the most beloved works in the Gilbert and Sullivan canon.

Read the review from Dayton Most Metro.