Unfunny script misses easy target with IN Series’ Trump lampoon in updated “Mikado”
Andrew Adelsberger as “Koch-Co” (with Robin McGinness as Pooh-Bah) in the IN Series production of The M.A.K.A.Do. Photo: Bayou Elom
The Mikado, the 1885 operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, has fallen out of favor. Not only does the work play on what for some are cringe-worthy Japanese stereotypes, but two songs in the original libretto used the N-word.
For its goofy new production, IN Series has circumvented the problem by entirely rewriting the libretto. As seen Saturday evening, in Arena Stage’s Kogod Cradle, librettist Bari Bierns and director Timothy Nelson have transformed the story into a satire of President Trump.
Titled somewhat awkwardly The M.A.K.A.Do, the new show’s name plays on Trump’s favorite slogan, here changed to ”Make America Kingly Again!” In the renamed town of Split-in-Two, the criminal Koch-Co (in telltale blue suit and long red tie) has been appointed “Lord High Retributioner.” To save himself from execution at the end, Koch-Co has to woo and marry Kitty-KatiShaw, recast from an ancient contralto to a countertenor drag queen.
The singing, at least, is generally excellent. Andrew Adelsberger’s bass-baritone had plenty of heft and edge for Koch-Co, and his comic timing was impeccable. With a blond toupee, bronzer applied like a clown face, and a passable imitation of the president’s vocal mannerisms, he made a believably ridiculous Trump. Adelsberger’s courage to be humiliated for a joke seemed unlimited, including pretending to urinate and defecate into a golden toilet onstage.
Tenor Greg Sliskovich gave the role of Yankee-Poo the gee-whiz honesty of a boy scout, perhaps partly because he was costumed as one. His high notes and ensemble acumen impressed. Teresa Ferrara’s demure soprano suited the character of Num-Num, cast along with her “little schoolgirl” sidekicks Hayley Abramowitz and Melanie Ashkar as a trio of ditzy-blonde, red-suited TikTok influencers.
Robin McGinness and John Solomon Collins played the town officials, Poo-Bah and Pish-Tush, as billionaire sycophants, presumably savaging Elon Musk. The running gag about Poo-Bah holding many different positions at once certainly found its targets in the current administration. Hunter Shaner’s shrill, over-the-top Kitty Katishaw, camped up in drag queen sequins, towering platinum wig, exaggerated makeup, and fake breasts, gave Adelsberger’s Trump a run for his money in absurdity.
Cecilia McKinney as the Statue of Liberty and Hunter Shaner as “Kitty-KatiShaw” in The M.A.K.A.Do. Photo: Bayou Elom
Cecelia McKinley’s emperor provided the final gag, arriving costumed as the Statue of Liberty. With a belting chest voice and outrageous French accent, she seemed to be channeling Madeline Kahn in a Mel Brooks movie, to hilarious effect. The sense of this rewrite as an American satire had fallen apart long before her entrance, but that was not the fault of any of the performers.
The problem with Bari Biern’s libretto is that it is just not very funny. Trump and his administration are an easy target for mockery, as in Koch-Co’s updated “I’ve Got a Little (Enemies) List.” Gags about public execution as a political show and the town of Split-in-Two getting downgraded to “a district” got laughs, but too many of the jokes in this long show did not land. The big finish, in which Adelsberger’s Trump has to seduce a drag queen—recalling the president’s video “flirtation” with Rudolph Giuliani in drag for a charity event—is hardly trenchant or well-targeted satire.
Dana Scott led the small pit ensemble from an electronic keyboard; the other musicians were placed in a red, white, and blue bandstand on stage. Two string players were largely overshadowed by four woodwind and brass players and a drum kit. The chamber arrangement also wove in a number of other pieces, including “Hail to the Chief” and The 1812 Overture, as well as Sousa marches, complete with a spotlight-hogging solo by piccoloist Carrie Rose.
The Kogod Cradle is a black-box theater conveniently in the shape of an oval, so that the minimalistic set design suggested a certain distinctive office with just a desk, a presidential seal rug, and some columns and flags. William Linares’ technicolor costume design underscored the sense of heavy-handed parody. Despite the audience’s general desire to deride Trump, by the end of the evening the production had the feel of a Saturday Night Live skit that had long outstayed its welcome.
The M.A.K.A.Do runs through October 18 at Arena Stage, and from October 23 to 25 at Baltimore Theater Project. inseries.org
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