Our Mikado just finished his other show and made it to his first rehearsal Thursday night, already off book (i.e., doesn't need to look at the score for lyrics, notes, or lines). This is gonna be good - he has a very solid stage presence, and his "laugh" is quite maniacal! His timing is wonderful - he's milking his lines, and drawing out some of the pauses to build a lovely dramatic tension. Think of the finest villainous performances from the old horror films and you'll have an idea of the kind of evil that lurks in the heart... Oops, wrong character.
When we do "The Criminal Cried", as Pitti is singing her version of the fabricated execution, the Mikado is alternately relishing the bloody scene he's hearing about and giving Pitti the eye. The latter business is still developing, but it's starting to grow from a "hmm, cute little thing" to something with a touch of the predatory lech about it. At the moment, I'm playing Pitti as enjoying the attention (she's only a teenager, after all) and terrified by the Mikado, given that he can order her execution on a whim. As we ran that number at today's rehearsal, I saw the assistant director enjoying the Pitti-Mikado byplay, so I guess that business is working. :)
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