SEQUIM — Summer’s here, and the time is right for a trip to Titipu.
That’s the town where flirting is a crime. Of course, the people risk the punishment, and then comes love, perhaps marriage and plans for an execution.
And with a premise like that, it could only be Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado,” the comic opera overtaking the Dungeness Schoolhouse for two weekends.
It’s a summertime tradition for Readers Theatre Plus, maestro Dewey Ehling and the Peninsula Singers.
“The Mikado,” starring Trent Pomeroy as Nanki-Poo, Susan Roe as his beloved Yum-Yum and Joel Yelland as Ko-Ko, Lord High Executioner of Titipu, opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
Oh, and there’s John Silver as Pooh-Bah, Lord High Everything Else.
Love in Titipu
Those are a few roles, while this is the story: Nanki-Poo arrives in Titipu disguised as a peasant and looking for Yum-Yum.
Trouble is, she’s already betrothed to Ko-Ko.
Nanki-Poo has learned that his rival has been found guilty of flirting.
Which means the death penalty. So it seems Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum have a chance.
The Peninsula Singers and Readers Theatre Plus put on a Gilbert and Sullivan musical every year at this time, and for 2013, they have chosen one of the pair’s most popular.
“The Mikado,” Gilbert and Sullivan’s satire of British politics set in Japan, opened in March 1885 and ran for 672 performances.
It’s still the most frequently performed Savoy opera.
Fundraising benefit
Sequim’s summer show is a benefit for Readers Theatre Plus’ college scholarships, awarded every spring to Port Angeles and Sequim high school students.
And when patrons come to the Dungeness Schoolhouse, they will have a chance to shop at the silent auction, another aspect of the fundraiser.
Certificates for the auction items, which range from tickets to “Oliver!” at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre to a barbecue from The Home Depot, will fill the downstairs hall while the musical goes on upstairs.
With Ehling at the helm, “quality and musicality are guaranteed,” said Readers Theatre Plus board member Paul Martin.
The fun factor is high, too, as indicated by “The Mikado’s” cast of characters.
There are Yum-Yum’s sisters Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo, sung and giggled by Bonnie Christianson and Valerie Lape, respectively. Pish-Tush the Noble Lord is played by Carl Honore, and the Mikado himself is Ric Munhall in a sun-gold kimono.
To find out more, phone 360-797-3337 or visit www.ReadersTheatrePlus.com.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
