TOM ARNOLD AND LARRY ANDERSON rehearse a scene from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, “The Mikado.”

The Swinney Conservatory of Music production of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta “The Mikado” will be performed Friday and Saturday, June 27 and 28, in the Little Theatre at Central Methodist University.

Curtain time is 8 p.m. both nights. Tickets are $8 adults, $6 for seniors and students.

Acting roles and the chorus feature CMU faculty, staff and students, in addition to residents from several Central Missouri communities.

The production is the culmination of a May 11 to June 28 Summer Performance Workshop sponsored by the conservatory. CMU music and theater arts faculty served as instructors.
Skills taught during the workshop included acting, singing and stage movement, as well as technical skills in set construction and painting, properties, costumes, stage management, lighting and set management.

“The Mikado” opened in England on March 14, 1885. The most popular of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, it has delighted audiences for more than a century and spawned a number of imitations. Many say that “The Mikado” represented both Gilbert and Sullivan at the height of their creative geniuses.

Key roles in “The Mikado” are being played by Larry Anderson as The Mikado and Lacey Eaton as Yum-Yum, both of Fayette. Ron Shroyer is Poo-Bah; Rebecca Shroyer is Peep-Bo; and Frank Duggan plays Pish-Tush, all of Boonville. Elaine Stevenson plays Pitti-Sing, of Huntsville. Tracy Crow Jones is Katisha, and Steve Jones is Nanki-Poo, both of Rocheport. Tom Arnold plays Ko-Ko, of Columbia.

The men’s chorus features John Flanders, Marshall Temple, Larry Anderson, Todd Borgmann, Frank Duggan, Ron Shroyer, Andrew Davis, Tom Arnold (Columbia) and Steve Jones.
The women’s chorus features Dani Perez, Teresa Gargas, Hannah Lillenkamp, Cassandra Coleman, Mary Beth Stevenson, Lacey Eaton, Rebecca Shroyer, Elaine Stevenson, and Eva and Anna Valencia.

Production coordinator and director of “The Mikado” is Dr. Susan Quigley-Duggan, a member of the Swinney Conservatory of Music faculty at Central Methodist University. Technical production is by Dr. Mark Kelty, director of the Little Theatre at CMU. Music professor Dr. Barbara Hamel is pianist, and the instrumental ensemble features Dori Waggoner, Katie Harris, Ted Spayde and Alex Lewis.
Financial assistance for CMU’s production of “The Mikado” has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

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