The Ohio Light Opera 2016 Season Brochure

Premiere

(1948) Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter Book by Sam and Bella Spewack

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nother op’nin’, another show.” If ever a musical dispelled persistent rumors that its composer was “washed up,” it was Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate. Not only the crowning achievement of his remarkable Broadway career, but one of the supreme glories of American musical theater, the show bristles with captivating “Top 40” tunes in a dazzling variety of musical styles, all set, as an extra bonus, to Shakespeare’s comedy of the sexes The Taming of the Shrew. Stage stars Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi are divorced, but nevertheless still working together in a Baltimore stage production of the Bard’s comedy. Complications arise when Fred hires a perky cabaret performer Lois Lane to perform the role of Bianca, Fred winds up on the wrong side of two gangsters trying to collect a gambling debt, and Lilli hits the ceiling when she is mistakenly delivered flowers from Fred that he intended for Lois.

Virtually every song in the score became a hit: “So in Love,” “Why Can’t You Behave?”

“Always True to You in My Fashion,” “I Hate Men,” and “Brush Up Your Shakespeare,” to name just a few. Join us in celebrating Cole Porter’s 125th birthday in the season-opening production of Kiss Me, Kate. Wunderbar!

Conductor: Steven Byess Director: Stephen Carr Cast includes: Ted Christopher, Brad Baron, Sarah Best, Tanya Roberts, Hannah Kurth and Stephen Faulk

Premiere

(1946) Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin Book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields

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rving Berlin has no place in American music. HE IS AMERICAN MUSIC.” With these words, penned in 1924, Broadway composer Jerome Kern captured the essence of the Russian-born immigrant who wrote words and music to some of our most touchingly eloquent song classics, including “God Bless America,” “Always,” “Easter Parade,” and “White Christmas.” But he could let his hair down, too . . . and in 1946 Berlin wrote music and lyrics to a humorous, homespun tale—yet another battle of the sexes—of American folk hero Annie Oakley.

Naïve as they come, but a whiz with a rifle, Annie wins a job with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and falls hard for its handsome shooting star, Frank Butler. When he feels upstaged by her shooting antics and higher marquee billing, he leaves the show and joins a rival company. Attempts at a merger fail and it remains for Chief Sitting Bull to give Annie a lesson on how to win herself an obstinate man. Berlin churned out one winsome song after another, including “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly,” “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun,” “The Girl that I Marry,” “Anything You Can Do,” and what became the unofficial entertainment anthem, “There’s No Business like Show Business.”

Conductor: J. Lynn Thompson Director: Jacob Allen Cast includes: Alexa Devlin, Nathan Brian, Emily Hagens, Brad Baron, Julie Wright Costa

(1885) Music by Arthur Sullivan Libretto by William Gilbert

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ore than 130 years after its premiere, The Mikado—in the timelessness of its characters and situations, its witty lyrics, and succession of engaging tunes— remains a wonder of lyric theater. Tailor Ko-Ko, condemned to death for flirting, is reprieved and appointed Lord High Executioner of Titipu. He is betrothed to his ward Yum-Yum, but she has fallen in love with the Mikado’s son Nanki-Poo. Displeased with the lack of executions in Titipu, the Mikado orders that the situation be rectified.

Nanki-Poo, distraught because he cannot marry Yum-Yum, agrees to be executed in a month, provided that he can marry her in the meantime. When the Mikado sees NankiPoo’s name on Ko-Ko’s falsified execution affidavit, he condemns Ko-Ko to death for compassing the death of the heir-apparent.

“A Wand’ring Minstrel I,” “I’ve Got a Little List,” “Three Little Maids from School,” “The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring,” and “TitWillow” are but a few of the song gems that have made this the most popular of the G&S shows.

Conductor: J. Lynn Thompson Director: Ted Christopher Cast includes: Nathan Brian, Emily Nelson, Emily Hagens, Benjamin Krumreig, Stephen Faulk, Gretchen Windt, Alexa Devlin, Samus Haddad

Premiere

(1917) Music by Jerome Kern Book and Lyrics by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse

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ollowing on the heels of The Cabaret Girl and Oh, Lady! Lady!!, the Ohio Light Opera continues its survey of Jerome Kern’s early groundbreaking musicals with his 1917 Have a Heart. In addition to its predictably enchanting Kern score—one of his most tuneful—the show features book and lyrics by Guy Bolton and master British humorist P. G. Wodehouse (whose wit won over audiences last season in Gershwin’s Oh, Kay!), marking his Broadway full-score debut.

The story centers on department store owner Ruddy Schoonmaker and his estranged wife Peggy, who try to salvage their marriage by spending a night at a Rhode Island beach resort. Their reconciliation efforts seem doomed by the appearance there of Ruddy’s recent paramour, movie actress Dolly Brabazon, and of Peggy’s recent wooer, the counterfeiter Capt. Charles Owen.

Only at the intervention of elevator boy Henry—whose lines throughout the show, according to Wodehouse and Bolton, had the customers rolling in the aisles—do the romantic entanglements get resolved. Hit songs include the irresistibly catchy “You Said Something,” Henry’s comical “Napoleon,” and the sublime “And I Am All Alone.”

Conductor: J. Lynn Thompson Director: Steven A. Daigle Cast includes: Nathan Brian, Sarah Best, Tanya Roberts, Kyle Yampiro, Stephen Faulk, Spencer Reese

(1866) Music by Jacques Offenbach Original French Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy English Translation by Richard Traubner

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ew artists stand as tall above their field as does Jacques Offenbach above French operetta. Following his groundbreaking Orpheus in the Underworld in 1858, he teamed in the mid-1860s with librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy to produce six shows—La belle Hélène, Bluebeard, La vie parisienne, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, La Périchole, and The Brigands—that remain among the greatest of all French operettas.

La vie parisienne, featuring Offenbach at his most effervescent, is the zany tale of a pair of Parisian wannabe bon vivants Gardefeu and Bobinet, who, having failed in their attempts to woo the cocotte Métella, turn their attentions to the visiting Swedish Baroness de Gondremarck. Her husband, the Baron, seeking a fun Parisian holiday, arrives with a letter of introduction to Métella. All wind up at a jolly party at Gardefeu’s home, which the naïve visiting royalty have been led to believe is a hotel. Offenbach’s first attempt at a fulllength domestic operetta comedy, the score teems with waltzes, patter songs, ensembles, and a most recognizable can-can.

Conductor: Wilson Southerland Director: Julie Wright Costa Cast includes: Kyle Yampiro, Benjamin Krumreig, Gretchen Windt, Ted Christopher, Meagan Sill, Tanya Roberts

Premiere

(1939) Music and Book by Ivor Novello Lyrics by Christopher Hassall

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LO has had request after request over the years . . . finally, here it is: the first American stage production in almost 70 years of Welsh-born Ivor Novello’s The Dancing Years. Novello had a remarkable career: as songwriter (“Keep the Home Fires Burning”), as silent film matinée idol (Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger), as Hollywood scriptwriter (credited with the lines “Me Tarzan, You Jane”), as playwright, and as a composer who virtually single-handedly brought romantic musicals (operettas . . . if you like!) back to life in Britain in the 1930s, 40s, and early 50s. The Dancing Years is the tear-jerking story of an opera diva, Maria Ziegler, who befriends and encourages aspiring operetta composer Rudi Kleber.

When she misunderstandingly overhears Rudi making a mock marriage proposal to a young woman to whom, years before, he had playfully promised “right of first refusal,” Maria leaves her lover, marries her old admirer, Prince Metterling, and loses all touch with Rudi. Some 12 years later, Rudi and Maria meet again and passions flare . . . but she is accompanied by her 12-year-old son. Song gems include “I Can Give You the Starlight,” “My Dearest Dear,” “Primrose,” and “Waltz of My Heart.”

Conductor: Steven Byess Director: Steven A. Daigle Cast includes: Nathan Brian, Sarah Best, Ted Christopher, Julie Wright Costa, Emily Hagens, Hannah Kurth

Premiere

(1920) Music by Emmerich Kálmán Original German Libretto by Leo Stein and Béla Jenbach English Translation by Steven A. Daigle

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he year 2015 marked the 100th anniversary of Hungarian-born Emmerich Kálmán’s operetta Die Csárdásfürstin (The Gypsy Princess). With this work, the composer began a remarkable—and virtually unprecedented—string of eight consecutive operetta masterpieces for the Vienna stage, all achieving great international popularity. In the third of these, Das Hollandweibchen (The Little Dutch Girl), Kálmán set out to “scale back the . . . modern dance genre and . . . assign a larger role to the chorus . . . modeled on our grand classical operettas.” German Princess Jutta is stood up at her arranged royal wedding by groom Prince Paul, whom she has never met, but who prefers to spend the day sailing on a lake in Holland. Through the machinations of her prime minister, she is nevertheless married by proxy to the absent Prince. She seeks revenge and travels to Holland, disguises herself as “a little Dutch girl” Bella, and gets the unsuspecting Prince to fall hard for her—she then reveals her identity and dumps him. The lovesick Paul follows her back to Germany, but to no avail . . . or so it seems. Kálmán’s musical score is masterful, highlighted by a most fiery Hungarian quartet and frenzied dance sequence.

Conductor: Steven Byess Director: Steven A. Daigle Cast includes: Meagan Sill, Clark Sturdevant, Jessamyn Anderson, Gretchen Windt, Samus Haddad

THE 2016 SUMMER FESTIVAL SEASON Dear Friends of Ohio Light Opera,

A Laura Neill

Executive Director

Steven A. Daigle Artistic Director

Julie Wright Costa

Associate Artistic Director

s America’s Premier Lyric Theater Festival, The Ohio Light Opera presents outstanding productions of classic operettas and musicals, including shows not staged for many years. Our summer season for 2016 continues this unique company’s mission to offer its patrons the very best of the lyric theater tradition. The repertoire for our 38th season features famous composers of Golden Age musicals, renowned 19thcentury operetta masters, and one of the most popular British composers and personalities of the 20th century. Ivor Novello’s The Dancing Years (1939), Jerome Kern’s Have a Heart (1917), Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate (1948), Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun (1946), and Emmerich Kálmán’s The Little Dutch Girl (1920) will be OLO premieres. Rounding out the repertoire will be two famous operettas: La Vie Parisienne (1866) by Jacques Offenbach and The Mikado (1885) by Gilbert and Sullivan. Visit us online at ohiolightopera.org for more information and announcements about the upcoming season.

Building on the success of and enthusiastic response to the 2014 and 2015 events, there will be a Festival Symposium on the Lyric Theater Tradition in the 2016 season. It is scheduled for August 2nd through 5th and will feature new lectures, events, and guest speakers.

The works produced during the summer season offer our patrons highlevel musical artistry (from both the performers and the orchestra) and visually engaging theatrical values (from sets, costumes, lights, and the actors themselves). Most importantly, through an historical musical journey, whimsical dialogue, satirical plots, memorable melodies, rousing choruses, lovable characters, and full orchestrations, our festival season offers a chance for patrons to escape, be entertained, be amused, and discover the intimate environment of Wooster and the Freedlander Theatre.

Thank you for your commitment to the mission of The Ohio Light Opera.

We hope to see you in the inviting atmosphere of our 2016 festival celebration.

Your generous and sustaining support makes each season possible.

With warmest regards,

J. Lynn Thompson

Artistic Director e-mail: ohiolightopera@wooster.edu

Music Director

Executive Director e-mail: lneill@wooster.edu

32 Steven Byess

Associate Music Director

of the finest young instrumentalists in the country perform in The Ohio Light Opera Orchestra. In addition to accompanying all productions in Freedlander Theatre, they will again be featured in a special holiday event.

The Company announces the sixteenth annual Pops Concert, to be performed on the evening of July 4th. This is a free concert on the public square in Downtown Wooster and has become a very well-attended annual event.

All production photography in this brochure by Matt Dilyard.

ohiolightopera.org

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AMERICA’S PREMIER LYRIC THEATER FESTIVAL OUR MISSION

Brigadoon, OLO 2015

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or thirty-seven seasons, The Ohio Light Opera has dedicated itself to the exploration and production of the best of traditional operetta and musical theater.

Founded by James Stuart as a Gilbert and Sullivan repertory summer festival, the company has grown to encompass all forms in the light opera canon. This includes the complete Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire, as well as the recognized treasures from the Viennese, French, Hungarian, German, British, and American repertoire. Along with this unique mission, the company also reconstructs and produces those rare operetta titles of artistic value that were popular in their own times but have long since been forgotten.

The historical performance practices of each work premiered are delicately balanced with the resources of a state-of-the-art theater and engaging and entertaining performance values. Each summer, between seven and nine titles are presented in a revolving format of approximately 60 performances over a sevenweek period. Nearly 20,000 patrons each season see productions in The College of

We love having you here.

• Cloud Nine – the Hampton Bed experience • Guestrooms feature mini-refrigerator, microwave & coffeemaker • On the House® hot breakfast • Indoor pool & all new JumpStart® fitness center 4253 Burbank Road, Wooster, Ohio 44691 330-345-4424 • www.wooster.hamptoninn.com 10 Box Office: 330.263.2345

Wooster’s intimate Freedlander Theatre. Over 100 company members from around the United States are selected each year to become a part of our residency program. The 38 performing artists who make up the vocal ensemble are chosen for their abilities to perform and work at the highest level in all disciplines demanded by the company’s specialized repertoire: singing, acting, and dancing. With over 125 titles produced, over 200 productions, and 575,000 patrons watching, The Ohio Light Opera has become the forerunner in promoting the light opera genre. The company’s contribution to the preservation and promotion of traditional lyric theater has received recognition in prominent national and international publications and its work is frequently cited by leading scholars of operetta and light opera. In residency on The College of Wooster campus, the summer festival offers a country setting with an inviting community that is proud of the unique service this company has given to its many patrons and to the art form.

—Steven A. Daigle

• Refreshed lobby & fitness facilities • The Garden Grille & Bar • Heated indoor pool, whirlpool • Guestrooms feature microwave oven, refrigerator & Keurig® Brewer.

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Oh, Kay!

The Yeomen of the Guard

Can-Can

One Touch of Venus

Brigadoon

Friederike

Ruddigore

2015 Season Photos by Matt Dilyard

Wooster Country Club invites you to visit and experience a rich tradition of fine service and relaxing recreation.

Casual dining in a Country Club atmosphere.

Tues-Sun 11am-9pm Come play golf during your stay!

Call ahead for tee times.

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A FESTIVAL SYMPOSIUM ON THE LYRIC THEATER TRADITION

Taking Light Opera Seriously Tuesday, August 2 - Friday, August 5 PRESENTERS WILL INCLUDE: MARJAN KIEPURA AND JANE KNOX have devoted a significant part of their married life to preserving the legacy of Marjan’s parents, Marta Eggerth and Jan Kiepura, two of operetta’s most luminous superstars—on stage, on film, and on record. Marjan is an internationally acclaimed pianist, among whose concert appearances are many in which he accompanied his mother, whose last public performance was in 2011 at age 99.

Australian-born Jane has spearheaded research and curating on the life and times of Marjan’s parents, and served as executive producer of the 2004 two-CD tribute to Marta.

DANIEL HIRSCHEL, from Weida, Germany, is the true epitome of an operetta factotum. Since finishing theatre history studies at the University of Leipzig, he has served as dramaturg, translator, producer, director, and performer for operettas and operas—both popular and those unjustly neglected. He has lectured and written extensively on Hungarian composer Paul Abraham and collaborated with ARTE TV on the documentary “Paris, Wien, Berlin: A Short History of Operetta.” He maintains one of the world’s largest archives of operetta recordings, and is currently working on a comprehensive encyclopedia of international operetta.

LIVE CONCERTS: AUGUST 2—PLAY GYPSIES! DANCE GYPSIES! A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO EMMERICH KÁLMÁN An intimate OLO ensemble takes us on a musical journey into the life of one of operetta’s most performed and revered composers. In this autobiographical entertainment, Kálmán discusses how family tragedies and political persecution led to his creation of some of the most haunting and uplifting melodies in the operetta repertoire. This gala evening, a revival of a program first produced at OLO in 2004, features songs from all 18 of Kálmán’s stage shows.

SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

AUGUST 3—SONGS FROM THE CUTTING-ROOM FLOOR The path from conception to opening night of an operetta or musical was typically a long one, with songs reworked, reassigned, deleted, or added to fit the evolving demands of the show and its stars. This concert, presented by SESSION

REXTON BUNNETT, from London, has written extensively on musical theater and revue, and is a co-author of London Musical Shows on Record and Collins Guide to Musicals. He has served as consultant at London’s Theatre Museum, is the chairman of the Bunnett-Muir Musical Theatre Archive Trust (known as Overtures), which will be housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, has produced BBC radio series, including a six-part Harold Arlen appreciation, publishes regular historical profiles of British and American musicals, and is the author of numerous liner notes for CD releases of British musicals.

RICHARD NORTON is the co-author of American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle and the author of the threevolume A Chronology of American Musical Theatre, which reproduces complete playbill information for every musical that has played Broadway since 1866.

He has contributed to numerous musical theater publications, including a German monograph devoted to White Horse Inn, and is currently authoring a book on Frederick Loewe.

MICHAEL MILLER is the chair of the Ohio Light Opera Board of Directors and the president of Operetta Foundation, which has produced staged versions of long-forgotten shows and released more than 30 CDs and DVDs of rare operetta and early musical comedy. members of the OLO cast, will feature discussion and performance of songs that were originally cut from the shows of this season’s repertoire.

AUGUST 5—THE LATEST IN OPERETTA AND MUSICAL COMEDY . . . A CENTURY AGO In its mission to promote the finest of lyric theater, OLO presents extended highlights from two shows that opened during the World War I years. Viktor Jacobi’s Sybil, which premiered in Budapest in 1914, is a romantic operetta about an opera diva who is mistaken for the grand duchess. In 1916, Broadway welcomed a musical comedy entitled Follow Me, whose plot centers on the romance of Parisian variety star Claire LaTour. Music was primarily by Harry Tierney, although, interestingly, Sigmund Romberg was credited as composer. The hit tune, “Oh, Johnny, Oh, Johnny, Oh!,” was interpolated into the show during its Broadway run.

AUGUST 2*/**

AUGUST 3*

AUGUST 4*

AUGUST 5*

Lyric Theater Roundtable 1

Lecture

Lecture

Concert: Operetta and Musical Comedy . . . A Century Ago (Part 1)***

Lecture

Concert: Songs from the Cutting-Room Floor***

Lecture

Concert: Operetta and Musical Comedy . . . A Century Ago (Part 2)***

Lecture

Lecture

Lecture

Lecture

Concert: Play Gypsies!

Dance Gypsies!***

Lecture

Lecture

Lyric Theater Roundtable 2

Morning Coffee Session I Break Session II Lunch Afternoon Session Dinner Evening Session

*Boxed Lunches available **Cocktail Reception & Dinner. Shuttle service to and from off-site dinner is included

SYMPOSIUM TICKETS—$45/Day—$150/Week • ***Individual concert tickets available, $25/ticket See page 23 for more detailed cost information 12 Box Office: 330.263.2345

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The  2016 Cast Will Include:

Jessamyn Anderson

Isaac Assor

Brad Baron

Sarah Best

Matthew Brennan

Nathan Brian

Cameron Brownell

Alexandra Camastro

Tom Carle

Ted Christopher

Jacob Clanton

Katherine Corle

Bailey Cummings

Alexa Devlin

Stephen Faulk

Hannah Joy Gauthier

David Geist

Samus Haddad

Emily Hagens

Matt Kelly

Hilary Koolhoven

Benjamin Krumreig

Hannah Kurth

Audrey Lee

Amy Livingston

Spiro Matsos

Hannah Miller

Emily Nelson

Katherine Nunn

Spencer Reese

Tanya Roberts

Christopher Sapp

Meagan Sill

Royce Strider

Clark Sturdevant

Gretchen Windt

Julie Wright Costa

Kyle Yampiro

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(Package available Sunday through Thursday during the OLO season, subject to availability.)

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10% Discount Offer: Valid July 3, 2016 through July 23, 2016 

10% Discount for Overnight stay at The Wooster Inn for guests attending an Ohio Light Opera performance.

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18.

For our special OLO packages, see page 18.

Warm Q Sensibly Priced WarmACHospitality Hospitality Q Sensibly Private bath in each suite • Central • Complimentary WiFi • Priced Cable TV • Delicious full breakfast Private bath in each suite • Central AC • Complimentary WiFi • Cable TV • Delicious full breakfast

Rox Gastropub ARTISAN BREADS BAKED DAILY Hand Crafted Pasta

✜

Pizza

✜

Soup

✜

Salad

✜

Sandwiches

✜

Steaks

✜

Coffee

✜

Desserts

Wine List & Full Bar

123 East Liberty Street, Wooster, OH 44691 20 Box Office: 330.263.2345

(330) 263-2949

TICKET INFORMATION & PRICES Season Subscriptions: Subscribe for the Season!

Choose four, five, six, or seven performances at a discount from individual ticket prices.

Individual Ticket Pricing (Musicals/Operettas) Single Tickets..........................................................$52/$48 Students (ages: 16-23).................................................. $20 Children (ages: 3-15)....................................................... $10

Subscription Rates (Musicals/Operettas—Price Per Ticket) 7 Different Performances....................................$45/$41 6 Different Performances................................... $47/$43 5 Different Performances.................................. $48/$44 4 Different Performances.................................. $50/$46 Ordering Tickets: The Ohio Light Opera accepts Visa, MasterCard, and Discover Card. You may call 330-2632345, order tickets online at ohiolightopera.org, or mail your order to the box office at: The Ohio Light Opera The College of Wooster 1189 Beall Avenue Wooster, OH 44691 If you have requested your tickets to be mailed, you will receive them at least one month prior to the performance. No refunds. No cancellations.

Box Office Location & Hours: (Please note the locations of our winter & summer offices) January 13-May 20, 2016: The Ohio Light Opera The College of Wooster Westminster Church House (Corner of College and E. Pine) Wooster, OH 44691 May 23-August 13, 2016: Freedlander Theatre 329 East University Street Wooster, OH 44691 Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Saturday* 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Sunday* 12 noon-3 p.m. *Weekend hours begin June 11, 2016 24-Hour Order Online: Visit our secure web site, ohiolightopera.org, to view available seats, order, and pay for your tickets. Subscription rates are available for phone, fax, and mail order only.

Group Discounts: Last year, more than 2,000 people saw Ohio Light Opera performances with our group discount plan. (Musicals/Operettas) 20-46 people...................................... $49/$45 per ticket 47-100 people....................... $48.50/$44.50 per ticket over 100 people................................. $48/$44 per ticket Put together a group of people and come to Wooster for an afternoon or evening of operetta—a joy for all at wonderful savings! Call the Box Office at 330-263-2345 or 330-263-2329 to order tickets for your group. Our group sales coordinator will be glad to assist you with your plans.

Ticket Exchanges: You have the privilege of exchanging tickets, subject to availability, within the 2016 season.

Tickets being exchanged must be RECEIVED in the ticket office no later than 48 hours prior to the performance date on the original tickets. Exchanges may be made in person or by mail. There is a $2.00 PER TICKET charge for exchanges. No other exchanges are possible.

Unused Tickets: Ticket holders unable to use or exchange their tickets may notify the ticket office so that those tickets can be resold. These “turnbacks” make seats available to other music lovers and can provide additional income to the Opera.

Lost Tickets: If you lose your original tickets, duplicates can be made for you.

Student Tickets: Patrons may purchase tickets for students. Babes in arms will not be admitted to performances.

Air Conditioning: Freedlander Theatre is air conditioned. Some Ohio Light Opera patrons might like to bring a sweater or jacket to wear during the performance.

Decorum Reminder: Freedlander Theatre is an intimate space. Please keep in mind that talking during the overture and/or throughout the performance is distracting to fellow audience members as well as to the performing company. Also, please refrain from opening noisy candy or gum wrappers during the show. Please turn off all noise-emitting devices before entering the theater. Photography and recordings of any kind are prohibited.

Late Seating: All performances begin promptly at 2 p.m. for matinees and 7:30 p.m. for evening shows. In deference to the comfort and listening pleasure of the audience in the house, late-arriving patrons will not be seated while the performance is in progress. Latecomers are asked to wait quietly until the first convenient break in the program, when ushers will assist you into the theatre. These arrangements are at the discretion of the House Manager in consultation with the artistic director and performing artists. Thank you for your cooperation.

Pre-Performance Talks Friday and Saturday Evenings at 6:30 p.m.: Enhance your enjoyment of the evening’s performance by learning lesser-known facts about the show’s history and tips to recognize the unique special pleasures of each show. We feature lecturers seasoned in the experience and study of operetta. No reservations are necessary. Lectures begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. and are held in the Lean Lecture Room, down the hall from Freedlander Theatre Lobby.

Check for signs in the lobby for the location of these informative and free gatherings!

A Festival Symposium on the Lyric Theater Tradition:

Daily Price........................................................................$45

4 Day Price.................................................................... $150

See page 12 for details and schedule

ohiolightopera.org 21

THE OHIO LIGHT OPERA 2016 PERFORMANCE CALENDAR All Performances at Freedlander Theatre, 329 East University Street, Wooster, OH 44691 SUNDAY

MON

2PM

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

2PM

2PM

7:30PM

THURSDAY 2PM

7:30PM

FRIDAY 2PM

7:30PM

SATURDAY 2PM

7:30PM

June 18

June 19 June 20 June 21

★ Kiss Me Kate* June 22 Kiss Me Kate

June 26 June 27 June 28 Kiss Me Kate July 3

July 4

June 29

July 5

July 11

July 6

July 12

July 13

★ Annie Get La Vie Your Gun Parisienne July 17

July 18

July 19 ★ The Dancing Years

July 24

July 25

The Little Dutch Girl August 7 Kiss Me Kate

Aug 1

August 2 The Little Dutch Girl

July 14 Kiss Me Kate

July 20 Kiss Me Kate

July 21 The Mikado

July 27

July 28

August 3

August 4

The Kiss Me La Vie Dancing Kate Parisienne Years

June 25 Annie Get Kiss Me Your Gun Kate*

July 1 Kiss Me Kate

The Mikado

July 8 The Mikado

Annie Get Your Gun*

July 9 Annie Get Your Gun

July 15 Have A Heart

July 2

Have A Heart*

July 16

Annie Get La Vie The Your Gun* Parisienne Mikado*

July 22

July 23

The La Vie Have A Dancing Parisienne* Heart Years July 29 Have A Heart*

August 5

Annie Get Your Gun*

July 30 Kiss Me Kate

The Mikado*

August 6

Annie Get Your Gun* The Little Kiss Me Dutch Girl Kate* Festival Symposium On The Lyric Theater Tradition, August 2-5

Aug 8 August 9

The Mikado

June 24

The La Vie Annie Get Dancing Parisienne Your Gun Years

★ Kiss Me The Little Kate Dutch Girl

Annie Get Your Gun July 31

July 26

July 7 ★ Have A Heart

Kiss Me Kate

POPS

June 30 ★ The Mikado

Annie Get Your Gun

CONCERT

July 10

June 23 ★ Annie Get Your Gun

August 10

Annie Get La Vie Your Gun Parisienne

August 11 The The Little Dancing Dutch Girl Years

Have A Heart

August 12 Kiss Me Kate

Have A Heart*

August 13 Annie Get The Your Gun Mikado*

★ Indicates an Opening Performance * Indicates a Pre-Performance Talk at 6:30 p.m. prior to Friday & Saturday evening performances.

Informative & Free!

OLO 2016 Festival Special Events JUNE 18 Opening Night Gala The audience is invited to celebrate the opening of our 38th Summer Season by attending our Opening Reception in Freedlander lobby following the 7:30 p.m. performance of Kiss Me, Kate.

JULY 4 Pops Concert 7-8 p.m. Downtown Wooster

AUGUST 2-5 A Festival Symposium on The Lyric Theater Tradition Individual tickets available for Symposium Concert Series, $25/ticket • 8/2 Play Gypsies! Dance Gypsies!—$25/ticket • 8/3 Songs from The Cutting-Room Floor—$25/ticket • 8/5 Operetta & Musical Comedy Part I & II—$25/ticket

JULY 12 “Children’s Introduction to Theater” 1-2 p.m. Freedlander Theatre Lobby For more detailed information regarding our events, please log on to ohiolightopera.org or call The Ohio Light Opera box office at 330-263-2345.

22 Box Office: 330.263.2345

THE OHIO LIGHT OPERA TICKET ORDER FORM Please list alternate dates, when possible, to allow for sold-out performances.

Name

Individual Shows

Address

State

(

)

The Mikado OPERETTA

E-mail My check #

Have a Heart MUSICAL

in the amount

La Vie Parisienne OPERETTA

of $ is enclosed and made payable to The Ohio Light Opera.

The Dancing Years OPERETTA

Please charge my

❑ VISA ❑

MasterCard

❑

The Little Dutch Girl OPERETTA

Discover

TOTAL

Card No.

*Single Tickets: Musicals $52/Operettas $48 Students $20 (ages 16-23) • Children $10 (ages 3-15)

Expiration Date Signature

*Subscription pricing can be found on page 21.

❑ Please check this box ONLY IF you wish to have your tickets held at the Box Office. ❑ Please send me information about The College of Wooster.

Please send me ❑ The Ohio Light Opera Gift Shop price list. ❑

TOTAL

Annie Get Your Gun MUSICAL

Zip

Phone with answering service

❑

Price*

Kiss Me, Kate MUSICAL

City

❑

Number of Tickets Date

My employer, has matching funds available for my contribution.

Symposium Tickets—$45/Day $150/4 days Individual tickets available for Symposium Concert Series, $25/ticket Boxed Lunches—$12/day $40/4 days Aug. 2 Cocktail Reception & Dinner—$55.

Number of Tickets ,

Send a brochure to:

Symposium Tickets Boxed Lunches Reception & Dinner*/** *limited availability

Mail to: The Ohio Light Opera The College of Wooster 1189 Beall Avenue, Wooster, Ohio 44691 Phone: 330-263-2345 Individual Tickets Available Online at ohiolightopera.org

Circle Dates

8/2

8/3 8/4 8/5

8/2

8/3 8/4 8/5

Total

8/2 Please check for vegetarian option

** Cocktail Reception & Dinner off site.

Shuttle service to and from dinner is included.

Please include my tax-deductible contribution in the amount of TOTAL ENCLOSED

ohiolightopera.org 23

One Touch of Venus

Brigadoon

The Yeomen of the Guard

Friederike

Ruddigore

Oh, Kay!

2015 Season Photos by Matt Dilyard

THE LITTLE DUTCH GIRL

Emmerich Kálmán

THE DANCING YEARS

Ivor Novello

LA VIE PARISIENNE

Jacques Offenbach

HAVE A HEART

Jerome Kern

THE MIKADO

Gilbert & Sullivan

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

Irving Berlin

KISS ME, KATE

Cole Porter

Resident Professional Company of The College of Wooster Wooster, Ohio

THE OHIO LIGHT OPERA

2016 FESTIVAL SEASON S JUNE 18 - AUGUST 13

Can-Can

Oh, Kay!