Last year, Wye Operetta Workshop’s “An Evening with Gilbert and Sullivan” played in Easton to rave reviews and full houses. This year, the Workshop will present a Gilbert and Sullivan favorite, the rollicking comic operetta, “The Mikado.” The performances, which are free and open to the public, will be presented at the Talbot County Historical Society Auditorium, 25 S. Washington St. in Easton at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday July 23, Friday July 24, Saturday July 25, and at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday July 26. No tickets are necessary for the performances; admission is on a first come, first served basis.

Many of last year’s cast are returning, and they are joined in “The Mikado” by other auditioned and talented young performers from eighth grade through college. Performances of “The Mikado” are professionally costumed, staged, and directed. Tradition has it that each performance begins with the anthem “God Save the Queen” and frequently a member of the royal family makes an appearance. Who knows – maybe it could happen in Easton!

The Directors of the Wye Operetta Workshop are Bonnie Forgacs, Artistic Director, and Michael Lodico, Music Director. Ms. Forgacs, a mezzo soprano, has performed in Carnegie Hall and in many Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. She and Mr. Lodico are both graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Lodico earned his Master’s Degree in Music from the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he was a Netherlands-America Foundation/Fulbright Scholar. Director of Music for Wye Parish for the past three years, Mr. Lodico is currently Assistant Organist at St John’s Lafayette Square, the “Church of the Presidents” in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Forgacs regards the great success of the Workshop as an indication of both the quality of local young talent and the interest of the mid-Shore in this kind of theatre. A traveling troupe from the Workshop will also present outreach performances to senior citizen groups. The Workshop is under the auspices of the Wye Episcopal Parish in Wye Mills. The Parish website is www.wyeparish.org.