When everything is make believe

By Bob Gaydos

Took a break from the daily grind recently to visit the make-believe world of Gilbert and Sullivan in a thoroughly entertaining production of The Mikado presented by the Delaware Valley Opera. They were all there and in fine voice: KoKo, the Lord High Executioner, with an aversion to, among other things, executions; Poo-bah, the malleable Lord High Everything Else; Yum-Yum, the lovely desired one; handsome Nanki-Poo, the root of all the trouble, and, of course, The Mikado of Japan..

The comic opera, a satire on 18th century British government set for no good reason in Japan, adapted easily to modern day institutions and situations. It played to an enthusiastic full house of other music lovers also apparently seeking to escape the daily grind. Everyone left apparently satisfied, including the winner of the drawing for the fifty-fifty, and we exited the music hall to gaze upon beautiful Lake Huntington.

It was all make believe, but it was also reality. Two wonderful hours worth. But now we were back in reality, which was, it soon reminded us, totally make believe.

Yes, we're living in a land of make-believe. Mitch McConnell's staff is making believe the senator is alive and, if not well, certainly recovering from whatever mysterious ailment has caused him to be absent from the Senate for more than a month. Republicans in the Senate are making believe they believe that story.

Andy Beshear is making believe he's Kentucky's governor by yammering about McConnell's absence and refusal of his staff to make the senator available in person to at least prove he's not brain dead, if not totally dead. Beshear is making believe he doesn't have an entire National Guard -- never mind various laws -- at his disposal to either force McConnell to come out of hiding or rise from the dead or to kick down the senator's front door to see whatever is going on behind it because the people of Kentucky are entitled to two living working senators. And the governor is entitled to appoint a temporary replacement for McConnell and set a special election for the post, even though Fox News personalities and some Republicans in Congress have told make-believe stories that they had 10-minute conversations with the AWOL McConnell.

Then there's the secretary of health making believe Americans aren't suffering from measles and diarrhea in frightening numbers. There's the drunken "war" secretary making believe America is winning a war that he and his Mikado started but can't figure out how to get out of as they make up lower American casualty numbers. And, of course, there's the daily make believe, fed by make-believe journalists, that the American Mikado, who goes by the name of Trump, is actually capable of anything at this point (when he can stay awake) other than belittling women, insulting our allies, thinking of new ways to scam true believers out of their money and finding new Poo-Bahs to try to keep him out of jail.

It's all make believe, but without the booming baritones and soaring sopranos. No lively chorus either and no funny Lord High Executioner. No lovely lake. Sorry, no fifty-fifty.

It's funny how make-believe can sometimes seem so real.

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Note: The Delaware Valley Opera is a not-for-profit (they love what they do) professional local organization located in Sullivan County in upstate New York. It draws its members and performers locally and from the New York Metropolitan area. I am in no way qualified as a music or theater critic, however, I would like to give special recognition in the recent production to Andrew Wannigmann as Pooh-Bah, Margaux Frohlich as Yum-Yum and Nicholas Wuehrmann, as a hilarious Ko-Ko, Lord High Executioner. And a special nod to the one-man orchestra, Martin Yadzik, pianist and music director. Again, it was all wonderful and all for real.