Jeff-nominated stage director Elizabeth Margolius brings her unique vision to Gilbert & Sullivan as the ever-popular The Mikado returns to the Savoyaires stage in Evanston for the first time this century.
Since this spring, Margolius has directed The Last Cyclist for Genesis Theatrical Productions, The Land of Smiles for Chicago Folks Operetta, and Death Takes a Holiday for Circle Theater.
A Jeff nominee for best director of a musical for Bailiwick Chicago’s Violet and for best adaptation for City Lit’s Opus 1861, she is cofounder and artistic director of Directors Lab Chicago.
Also joining the Savoyaires this year are set designer Alan Donahue, a multiple Jeff winner with numerous credits at Chicago’s Lifeline Theatre, and costume designer Kate Setzer Kamphausen, whose recent productions include Bailiwick Chicago’s Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and BoHo’s Tartuffe.
Returning for his sixth consecutive Savoyaires production is music director Timothy Semanik, recently named orchestra director at Bradley University.
Also returning is lighting designer Tom Rusnak, whose previous Savoyaires design credits include Iolanthe and Princess Ida. The Mikado is the company’s tenth consecutive production under producer Laima Day.
A hilarious tale about a make-believe “Japan” where flirting is punishable by decapitation, The Mikado overflows with Gilbert & Sullivan’s most infectious songs—including “A Wandering Minstrel I,” “I’ve Got a Little List,” “Three Little Maids from School,” “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime,” “Tit-Willow,” “The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring,” and “Here’s a How-De-Do.”
Performances will be held at Chute Middle School Auditorium, 1400 Oakton St. in Evanston, on Oct. 11, 12, 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 13 and 20 at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $25/20/15 ($20/15/10 for ages 12 and under) and may be purchased by phone at
(847) 563-0155, online at www.savoyaires.org/tickets, or by mail from Savoyaires, P.O. Box 126, Evanston, IL 60204.