1987, Mikado
These history notes have been kindly provided by our long-term artistic director and co-founder, Graham Ford.
A final decision had not been made about the Gilbert and Sullivan to be performed later in the year. The Gondoliers had been in favour early, but with the potential difficulties in filling a large number of roles, it was eventually decided that The Mikado would be a better choice.
An innovation that year was an introductory night for those who would be interested in doing the show. It was organised by Rod Chappel, and consisted of an outline of the plot, with musical and dialogue excerpts. It was explained that those who filled roles had not been pre-cast, and that auditions the following week were open to all.
Again a number of new faces appeared, a clear indication that the company was continuing to grow. However, most of the major roles were filled by company regulars, with Mavis Ford as Yum-Yum, Rod Chappel as Ko-Ko, Graham Ford as Pish Tush, Judith O'Shea and Lynne Stevens sharing Pitti-Sing, Chris White as Pooh Bah and Rod Gorfine as the Mikado. Later Chris and Rod Gorfine swapped roles as Chris was extremely busy in other areas. Newcomers included Beryl Nichols as Katisha and Julie Cleeland, sharing Peep Boo with Emilie Johnson.
Suitable tenors for Nanki Poo were conspicuous by their absence, so, for the second year, the search for a lead tenor was on. It was not until mid-June that young John Tacey arrived on the scene. After some years of clarinet playing in a concert band and choral singing, this was John's first stint at a principal role. Nanki Poo was the first of many tenors leads he played for the company. He even found a wife, in the person of chorus member Janine Bardwell, so this year was a very profitable one indeed for John.
Many of the men in the cast were disconcerted to learn that they would have to dispense with their beards for the show. In a company with a high percentage of bearded men, this edict was particularly hard to comply with, especially for those whose wives and children had never seen their naked faces!
Rehearsals were held at Greensborough Uniting Church, and at the Chappel/Stevens home in Hurstbridge. Performances were again to be held at Eltham College Theatre, but this year there were to be six performances over two weeks, including two matinees.
Meanwhile, Rod Chappel had replaced Carole Driscoll as director. A lover of Gilbert and Sullivan since he was Ko-Ko's sword-bearer as a child, Rod had played straight theatre as well as appearing in Gilbert and Sullivan productions with Savoy and Loyola. He played Graham Ford's father-in-law in Kiss Me Kate in 1984.
The choreographer was new chorus member, Rhonda Webb, who volunteered! Rhonda was a very experienced dancer, choreographer and callisthenics instructor and proved very capable. Very early on she showed that she was one who "must be obeyed", but also exhibited a wonderful sense of humour.
World Vision were again to be the recipients of proceeds and in response agreed to assist by printing tickets and posters and providing refreshments. The publicity committee were right into the action, organising articles in local papers, T.V. and newspaper coverage and a banner to be placed across the Grimshaw Street overpass. Windcheaters with a "Mikado" logo were also ordered for the cast. A visitor's book was to be made available at performances, and would form the basis for a subsequent mailing list, which over the years has grown considerably. Costumes were to be hired from the Babirra Players. V.M.S. had become a highly organised group, with a more professional approach to activities.
Rehearsals were going well, although attendance was not always satisfactory. John was a little embarrassed to find that he had to woo a leading lady who had children older than himself, but made a good show of pretending that she was younger than springtime. Most cast members had by now acquired something of the Japanese idiom, including scintillating fan-snapping skills.
The charity performance took place in early September at Templestowe Retirement Village. In spite of the fact that there were no sets or makeup, the performance went remarkably well, and was enthusiastically received by the audience, who provided a sumptuous supper.
The Mikado - performances
Show Program
The following week all was ready for opening night. Chris White's impressive sets were in place, the costumes finalised, and Barbara Forbes, the makeup lady, instructed the cast in applying the traditional white Japanese makeup (which required entire jars of cold cream and boxes of tissues to remove). The makeup was so effective as a disguise that after one performance Mavis's son asked her "and which one were you?"
Opening night, though technically good, lacked a little spark, perhaps due to the fact that there were only about 100 in the audience. People seemed to steer clear of attending opening night - do they feel that this is when all the mistakes occur? Nothing could be further from the truth.
Subsequent performances drew larger audiences, which made for livelier performing, but at times there were variations on the text, and quite a bit of ab-libbing (mostly hilarious) on the part of some. Friends of Sue Kleins (now Bell) had videoed the show. Great picture - pity about the sound (there was none!)
Among the strong line-up of principals, Beryl's Katisha was particularly impressive. After numerous eisteddfod successes in her youth, including the Sun Aria semi-final, she had a long and varied involvement, both on and off stage, with Regent Dramatic Society.
Two cast parties were held, one in each week of performance, at the home of Lynne and Rod, who had also graciously hosted a number of rehearsals. The mood was euphoric, and presentations were made to those in positions of responsibility.
A concert performance of excerpts was planned for the Greensborough Festival in October, and took place in Greensborough Uniting Church, with a reasonably good audience. By now the Tacey/Bardwell romance was well and truly on the way.