Last weekend, The Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan Players mounted a production of The Mikado headed by Conservatory juniors Ilene Pabon as stage director and double degree junior Dan Rodriguez as music director. The show was uniformly well-acted and sung, but it was a mixed success due to some poor direction choices.

The cast was surprisingly young — all first-years and sophomores, except for Pabon herself, who appeared as the domineering Katisha. Still, they brought an incredible amount of energy and humor to the production. Particular gems were Conservatory first-years Nathan Medley and Doug Balkin and College first-year Kevin Carr as the raucous, bumbling trio of Pooh-Ba, Pish-Tush and Ko-Ko. When joined with Conservatory first-year Luther Lewis’s expertly sung Nanki-Poo, they filled Wilder Main with laughter.

Another highlight was double degree first-year Kendall Pinkney, who brought a comedic instability to his portrayal of the Mikado. The leading women — College first-year Christina James and Conservatory sophomores Alex-andra Becerra and Kathleen O’Reilly as Pitti-Sing, Yum-Yum and Peep-Bo — acted well, but had some problems with their diction.

Their diction issues were augmented by the breakneck tempi at which most of the songs were performed. Even classic Gilbert and Sullivan patter songs like Ko-Ko’s “I Have a Little List,” that arguably cannot be taken too fast, were too fast, pushed beyond the threshold of comprehensibility. Some of the male singers heavily exaggerated their enunciation to compensate, but it was a widespread problem.

Even the slower songs were taken a bit too fast. Two of the more beautiful, lyrical songs of the work, “The Sun Whose Rays” and “Tit-Willow,” were sped up; “Tit-Willow” could even have been called jaunty. They were also staged comically, which was a questionable choice.

“The Sun Whose Rays,” Yum-Yum’s gorgeous aria, was staged as a dialogue between two Cookie Monster dolls in Yum-Yum’s hands. Meanwhile, “Tit-Willow” was interrupted by much over-the-top crying from Pabon.

It is true that, contextually, the songs aren’t as earnest as they sound. “The Sun Whose Rays” is sung to justify Yum-Yum’s narcissistic attitude and “Tit-Willow” is a spur of the moment love ballad that Ko-Ko sings to Katisha, not out of sincerity, but rather to save his life. Regardless, the songs usually provide opportunities for brief changes of pace from the normal humor of the rest of the show.

On the other hand, if not for the quick tempi all around, the show probably would have dragged and seemed too long. So, in spite of those grievances, The Mikado made for a delightful evening and any issues of the production were salvaged by superb acting and singing all around.