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Law is a crazy thing in ‘The Mikado,' opening tonight at LTOB

By Chip Dombrowski, Entertainment Editor

NORTH BEND - Two interesting facts about Titipu, Japan, the setting of Gilbert and Sullivan's “The Mikado”:

n Flirting is against the law and punishable by death.

n No one has been executed there in more than a year.

It seems it must not be a very happy place, but that picture doesn't match the Titipu seen on stage, where the singing and dancing locals appear too carefree to be living under such a harsh regime.

The contradiction fades with closer inspection of the government, which could be described as Barney Fife meets the Taliban. Lack of competent enforcement mitigates the severity of the law, preventing the city from becoming a total bore.

And even when death is on the line, no one takes it very seriously in “The Mikado,” which opens tonight at Little Theatre on the Bay in North Bend.

Aside from the bizarre legal environment, the most striking elements of the show are the visuals: the set by Josie Reid, costumes by Jeanne Woods and makeup by Gordon Freid that renders many of the local actors unrecognizable.

As in many Gilbert and Sullivan musicals, an exotic setting is used as a thin disguise for satire of British institutions. The Japanese character names often betray an English meaning when translated from baby-talk.

Nanki-Poo (Chris Beebe), who claims to be the second trombone in a traveling band, returns to Titipu to find his beloved Yum-Yum (co-director Kerry Oxford). Previously they could not be together because she was betrothed to her guardian, Ko-Ko (co-director Neville Cordell) - which is apparently perfectly legal in this place with stranger laws than Indiana.

Having heard that Ko-Ko is facing a death sentence for flirting, Nanki-Poo presumes Yum-Yum will be available - but instead Ko-Ko has been elevated to the post of lord high executioner, the highest official in Titipu.

Make that the higher of two officials: All other local government positions, from mayor to chief justice to attorney general to lord auditor to chief of police to dog catcher, are held by Pooh-Bah (Bob Hundhausen). Sometimes there are conflicts of interest inherent among his many offices, but none that can't be resolved with a generous bribe. Another nobleman, Pish-Tush (Bill Movius), doesn't have any titles.

But the promotion doesn't mean Ko-Ko's troubles are over. When the Mikado (Ed Martin) learns of the dearth of executions in Titipu, he threatens to abolish Ko-Ko's office and demote the city to a village - because, as any Texan knows, the greatness of a society is measured by the number of people it executes.

Though it was just a few songs ago that Ko-Ko was trumpeting his list of who's been naughty and nice, suggesting capital punishment for everything from liking health food to crimes against fashion, there are now no candidates for the ceremonial execution needed to seal Ko-Ko's status.

Luckily, he comes upon Nanki-Poo, who is preparing to hang himself because he can't live without Yum-Yum. Ko-Ko asks him to delay his death for a month in order to arrange a public ceremony, and Nanki-Poo bargains for the right to spend that month married to Yum-Yum.

That arrangement seems to satisfy everyone, but a few problems arise. While Pitti-Sing (Melissa Mimier King) and Peep-Bo (Jenny Walsh) are preparing their sister for her wedding, the men discover an obscure law mandating the widow of an executed man be buried alive.

Also, unbeknownst to the denizens of Titipu (Phyllis Anderson, Deryl Beebe, Bill Binnewies, Liz Cowden, Joanne Gates, Jeani Hamilton, David Jordan, Susan Jordan, Bob Peil, Betty Robertson, Mary Wargo and Don Williston), Nanki-Poo is the Mikado's only son and betrothed to another. He fled to avoid an arranged marriage to Katisha (Reid), an elderly woman.

Why the Mikado would have chosen such a bride, aside from the obvious lack of concern for the continuation of his royal line, is not adequately explained. But as capricious as the law of the land is, Nanki-Poo is probably lucky to have reached adulthood without being thrown into a volcano.

News that the Mikado is due to arrive in town makes Ko-Ko believe he must speed up Nanki-Poo's execution - or find a compromise to spare Yum-Yum. When the real purpose of the visit lands Ko-Ko another death sentence, his only way out may be to win the hand of Katisha. Hopefully, she doesn't know what happens to the wife of a condemned man.

Accompanist Tom Collins provides the music.

“The Mikado” runs through March 4, with performances at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $12, $10 for students and seniors, and $8 for children; other discounts are available under a new family plan.