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The Farndale LogoThe Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Operatic Society's Production of The Mikado

an operetta by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jnr based on The Mikado or The Town of Titipu by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan : Music arranged by Sue Van Colle

Abbey Theatre, St Albans, on 29th June 1991


Bolstered by the TWG's production of Macbeth, and further encouraged by the musical comedy aboard the SS FarndaleAvenue, Mrs Recce presents her latest theatrical endeavour - The Mikado! Her version is bounded by the usual constraints on casting and costume but she is ably assisted by the Rev. Reg who, as well as playing several parts, organises an origami competition during the interval - one of the high spots of the evening. 

Devotees and newcomers to the Farndale ladies will thoroughly enjoy this fun-filled romp, their most ambitious project to date, but if you hear the hum of a top it will be Gilbert and Sullivan spinning in their graves!

Cast:

Principals M2 F7,
Chorus F 12,
Conductor F 1

Characters wih Original Playing members

Principals

Flora (playing The Mikado) - Angela Fearnside
Angela (playing Nanki-Poo) - Lesley Addington
Ronnie (playing Ko-Ko) - Beverley Robley
Mrs Reece (playing Pooh-Bah) - Sheila Stewart
Thelma (playing Yum-Yum) - Pauline Kensett
Rev. Bishop (playing Pitti-Sing) - Gerald Sanctuary
Dawn (playing Peep-Bo) - Suzie Major
Felicity (playing Katisha) - Phyllida Whinney
The Producer -Tony Hiscocks

 

The Chorus

Pat - Jackie Williams
Sheila - Barbara Butler
Ann - Gladys Knight
Beryl - Marilyn Warminger
Doreen - Mo McCarthy
Janice - Joan Head
Kitty - Hannah Bone
Marjorie - Carole Williams
Shirley - Jacqui Golding
Hermione - Evelyn Whinney
Georgia - Dee Adkins
Liz - Liz Roberts

The Orchestra

Gwynneth (conductor) - Sue Van Colle
Joan (leader) - Alice Williams
Rosemary (violin) - Eleanor Harris/Jackie Edwards
Sarah (viola) Sarah Terry/Felicity Lowe/Steffi Cook
Joanne (cello) Joanne Gwinnell-Lee/Penny Rogers
Lily (double bass) Clive Jenkins
Nina (flute) Gill Goulder/Nicola Grimes/ Penny Warren
Viv (clarinet) Karen Thorpe/Sarah Williams
Nicola (oboe) Nicola Rampling
Judy (bassoon) Val Miller/Sarah Jackson
Petronella (tuba/percussion) Peter Jones
Louise (recorder/crumhom/percussion) Mary Webb

Directed by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jnr

Characters

  • Flora: dignified, Scottish scatterbrain; 50s.
  • Angela: attractive, resilient, talented soprano; 20s.
  • Ronnie: mousy, awkward, dull as ditchwater; 30s.
  • Mrs Reece: elegant, bossy, enterprising; 50s.
  • Thelma: quick-tempered prima donna; late 40s.
  • Rev. Bishop: plump, clumsy, jolly; 40s-50s.
  • Dawn: bespectacled femme fatale; 30s-40s.
  • Felicity: nervous, well-meaning but incompetent actress; late 20s.
  • The Producer: flustered, ineffectual; not young.
  • Pat: preoccupied stage manager doubling as solemn performer; 20s
  • Sheila: bright, keen, but all over the place; any age.
  • Ann: flu-ridden, but determined to go on; any age.
  • Beryl: anxious to impress, able to tap; not young.
  • Doreen and Janice: two friends who gossiped all the way through rehearsals and don't know where they're supposed to be; 30s-40s.
  • Kitty: somebody's daughter having a good time; 20s.
  • Marjorie: pregnant and delicate; 20s-30s.
  • Shirley: motherly ex-dancer who has put on weight; late 30s.
  • Hermione: mentally and physically infirm; extremely old.
  • Georgia: retired player of small parts whom stardom has passed by; 50s-60s.
  • Liz: ambitious new recruit with some ballet experience; early 20s.
  • Gwynneth: intense and fey, in a world of her own; any age.

The Scenes

  1. Courtyard of Ko-Ko's official residence
  2. Ko-Ko's garden

Musical Numbers

ACT I

Overture

  1. If You Want to Know Who We Are - Chorus of Men
  2. A Wand'ring Minstrel I - Nanki-Poo and Chorus of Men
  3. And the Brass Will Crash - Pooh-Bah, Nanki-Poo
  4. Behold the Lord High Executioner - Ko-Ko and Chorus of Men
  5. I've Got a Little List - Ko-Ko and Chorus of Men
  6. Comes a Train of Little Ladies - Chorus of Girls
  7. Three Little Maids from School Are We - Yum-Yum, Pitti- Sing, Peep-Bo and Chorus of Girls
  8. So Please You, Sir, We Much Regret - Yum-Yum, Pitti- Sing, Peep-Bo and Chorus of Girls
  9. Cheap and Chippy Chopper - Pooh-Bah and Ko-Ko
  10. The Threaten'd Cloud Has Pass'd Away - Finale Act I
  11. For He's Going to Marry Yum-Yum Finale Act I

ACT II

  1. Braid the Raven Hair - Chorus of Girls
  2. The Sun, Whose Rays Are All Ablaze - Yum-Yum
  3. Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day - Yum-Yum, Pitti-Sing, Peep-Bo, Nanki-Poo
  4. Here's a How-de-do! - Yum-Yum, Nanki-Poo and Ko-Ko
  5. Miya Sama, Miya Sama - Chorus of Men and Girls
  6. Let the Punishment Fit the Crime - Mikado and Chorus
  7. The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring - Nanki-Poo and Chorus
  8. Willow, Tit willow - Ko-Ko
  9. Derry Down Derry - Katisha and Ko-Ko
  10. For He's Gone and Married Yum-Yum (Reprise)
  11. Finale Act II
  12. The Threaten'd Cloud Has Pass'd Away (Reprise)

Orchestration

Details on application