The Ohio Light Opera 2025 Season Program

THE OHIO LIGHT OPERA 2025 PERFORMANCE CALENDAR

Cousin from Batavia

★ Indicates an Opening Performance

* Indicates a Pre-Performance Lecture at 6:30 p.m. prior to Friday & Saturday evening performances. Informative & Free! There will also be a lecture at 1 p.m. on 6/21 prior to the Carousel performance.

£ Limited seating availability – get your tickets today!

OLO 2025 FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENTS

JULY 4 – 7-8 p.m. – POPS CONCERT Downtown Wooster

JULY 5 – 1-2 p.m. – KIDS DAY Lean Lecture Room (adjacent to Freedlander Theatre). We’ll be “Once in the Highlands!” Join us for Brigadoon and get a backstage tour of the theatre, meet cast members, make a craft, and learn a song from the show!

JULY 31 – 10 a.m. – SPECIAL CONCERT 103 and Still Kicking: The 1920s saw 500 musicals open on Broadway, and no year was more diverse in its presentation of operetta and musical theater gems than 1922. This concert, presented by members of OLO’s vocal ensemble, will feature songs drawn from the stage works that year of Irving Berlin, Leo Fall, George Gershwin, Victor Herbert, Emmerich Kálmán, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and others. Please contact the box office at 330-263-2345 for additional details.

For ticket information and prices, please see page 79.

Steven A. Daigle

Artistic Director

Laura Neill

Executive Director

Michael Borowitz Music Director

Jacob Allen

Associate Artistic Director

Wilson Southerland Associate Music Director

Greetings from Wooster, Ohio!

You are among the champions of Ohio Light Opera! Your enthusiasm for the repertoire, appreciation of the ever-increasing production values—onstage and in the orchestra pit—and insatiable curiosity over what’s coming each summer have confirmed our commitment to providing you, our patrons, with a continuing slate of the very best in operetta and classic musical theater.

Welcome to our 2025 summer festival, which features a terrific repertoire of show titles. All were extremely popular in their day and had long shelf lives but are becoming increasingly difficult to see in their original versions.

The season opens with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved 1945 Carousel, which in its musical and dramatic poignancy appreciably elevated the art form. Just two years later, Lerner and Loewe continued their steep ascent of the Broadway ladder with their other-worldly Brigadoon. For a century, George Gershwin has maintained his position as “America’s composer.” His 1925 flapper musical Tip-Toes truly captures the “roar” of the decade and is capped off by a rollicking tap-dance sequence. Returning to OLO after a 15-year absence, Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1881 Patience is a bitingly witty, ever-melodic, satire of the (Oscar Wilde-inspired) aesthetic movement that was sweeping England. Not without its own mockery of aesthetics, Noël Coward’s 1929 Bitter Sweet unfolds as a flashback romantic operetta set in both London and Vienna in the late 19th and early 20th century. And finally … you won’t want to miss a rare opportunity in this country to see Eduard Künneke’s 1921 operetta The Cousin from Batavia, an engaging story of mistaken identity in Holland set to one of operetta’s most beguiling musical scores.

Please review this program and the OLO website (ohiolightopera.org) for additional information about the current season.

The continuing dedication of our performers, musicians, technicians, and administrative staff in achieving OLO’s position as America’s premier lyric theater company is matched only by the loyalty, devotion, and generosity of our patrons. For that, we offer to you our heartfelt thanks.

As we enjoy the 2025 season and plan for seasons to come, we are dedicated to maintaining both the highest production values and the continued exploration of the lyric theater repertoire. Through the continued support of the College of Wooster, the enthusiastic Wooster community, and YOU, these goals will be met.

Cordially,

Artistic Director

Executive Director e-mail: sdaigle@wooster.edu e-mail: lneill@wooster.edu

THE OHIO LIGHT OPERA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Michael Miller, Chair

Steven Daigle, Vice Chair

Nan Miller, Secretary

Marlene Kanipe, Treasurer

Glen Grumbling

Ron Holtman

Amelia Laing

Sara L. Patton

David Rice

John Schambach

Laura Neill, Executive Director

EMERITUS DIRECTORS

Jean W. Knorr

Boyd & Eloise Mackus

The Honorable John Ong

Richard Seaman

Show illustrations in this program by

Daniel Hobbs

THE OHIO LIGHT OPERA 2025 ANNUAL FUND

We are grateful for the generosity of the following donors to the 2025 Ohio Light Opera Annual Fund.

Lord Chancellors ($10,000 and above)

Clark R. Green Charitable Foundation

Norman Keller

Dr. Joseph Loewenstein

Mikados ($5,000 to $9,999)

David & Carol Briggs Charitable Fund

Nancy & Steve McGraw Gfell, in memory of William R. and Barbara Ward McGraw

Ron & Prue Holtman

Ralph R. & Grace B. Jones Foundation

David Knapp

Mimi Lewellen

Mimi McCain

Sorcerers ($2,500 to $4,999)

Dr. Ted Bromund

Virginia Cassady

Michael & Susan Clark

Glen & Lisa Grumbling

Pirate Kings ($1,250 to $2,499)

Bob Baer & Judy Cohen-Baer

Kristen Briggs

Evan & Terry Buck

Carlton Conrad

Eugene L. Cox

Clarence & Connie Drennon

John & Lee Eyre

Marvin Fletcher

Stan & Diane Hales

Tom Jorgensen & Ms. Jocelyn Ruf

Bruce Kinsel

Dwight & Christine McCawley

Englishmen ($750 to $1,249)

Anonymous

Anonymous, in memory of Arthur Elliot Marshall Jr.

Mary L. Abbott

Michael Acree

Michele Anderson, in memory of Elsa G. Anderson

Robert C. Anderson

Steven & Lisa Armstrong

Mike Berliner

Mr. & Mrs. Brian Bishop

Lucille Bowers & Lue Schwing

Donna & Ted Connolly

Richard Dean

Lon & Leslie Deckard

Michael & Nan Miller

Ambassador John Ong

Marlene & Joe Toot

Pamela Mellor

Julie Mennes

Burton D. Morgan Foundation

Richard C. Norton

John Schambach

Seaman Family Foundation

Tim & Jenny Smucker

Mary Alice Streeter

Heuer Foundation

Dr. Amelia Laing

Sara L. Patton

Betty McNutt

Stephen Miles

Bill & Jane Miller

Robert & Jane Moore

Gordon Musch

John Petures

Christine & Robert Rosenow

James & Linda Rybak

Richard Springman & Pamela Elsass

Andrea Traubner

Lynn & Cindy Willett

Jean Wingate

Kurt Erichsen & John Widmer

Owen & Clarie Faut

Bill & Claudette Finke

Robert Goss

Gretchen Green & Stan Kronenberger

Martha Hancock

LeRoy W. Haynes

Jay & Mary Beth Henthorne

Mr. Willard Johnson

Richard LeSueur

Daniel & Sharon Lowenstein

Eric Lozier & Dwite Barger

Roy & Cindy Moore

Joyce Neill

Gail Jones-Nemeth & Gary Nemeth

Robert & Sally Norton

Jonathan Orser

Robert Palmer

Alan Petrov

Stephen & Cheryl Shapiro

Carol Stewart

Mary Stockton & Jeffrey Perkins

Family Charitable Fund

Timothy Strope

Sheldon & Rebecca Taft

Tom Woodward

Mr. & Mrs. W. Steven Woodward

Peers or Peris ($400 to $749)

Anonymous

William Ballam

Ronald J. & Janet Borton

Robert & Constance Bouchard

Betha & Ted Christopher

Lois Clemmer

Donna & Ted Connolly

John & Julie Wright Costa

Ruth & Paul Crowley

Tim Crump

Judith Driskell

Joe & Mary Dulle

Dee Durbin

Brian Durdle

Howard & Pam Eagle

Linda Earley

Mrs. Lisa Egan

Anne & Tom Engel

Lori & Bob Everett

Tom & Renee Flowers

Yeomen ($250

Tom & Michelle Ardillo

Greg & Linda Barbu

Ramona & George Bause

Joy Bredenbeck

Robert Burger

Bill & Janet Burkholder

Howard & Terry Epstein

Alan Hamburger

Richard & Heidi Hillson

Connie Hodgdon

Susan L. Hubbell MD

Katherine M. Hull

Kenneth Acuff

Elaine Arnold

Bruce & Judy Banks

Eric Friedenthal & Felicity Beil

Drs. Andrew & Ilze Bekeny

Karen Hollo, in memory of Elaine Bielmick

Harry Binswanger

Pauli Bokor

Alison Brown, in memory of Mag. Siegmund Haider

Kathleen B. Burke & William S. Gaskill

Richard & Susanne Campbell

Dave & Susan Chadwell

Wendell & Ruth Cole

Alan Crittenden

Peter & Sue Danford

Robert DeGraff

Sarah Efremoff

Louise & Leo Eggert, in loving memory of Dick & Julia Newton

Sara Jane Fondiller

Richard & Patricia Gordon

John Gross

Ray & Marge Gunther

Louise E. Hamel

Drs. Dennis & Kathy Helmuth

Roger & Sheila Hollenbaugh

Teresa Y Houston

Beth & Herb Huffman

Kathleen Kapp

Mr. Allan Kazdan

Bob & Marilyn Kuhn

Dr. & Mrs. Stan Levy

Joan Long

Steve & Chris Matthew

Randall & Karen Moore

Mrs. Rebecca Moore

Ted & Laura Motter

Jeffrey & Jackie Nicholls

Ms. Grace Chamberlin Kelly

Steve & Carolyn Kuerbitz

Craig & Susan Larson

Anne E. Carey & W. Berry Lyons

Judy Mallonn

Mrs. Kathy Mast

Jan & Lynda Menuez

Robert Mindek

Elizabeth Mitchell, in memory of Joan Strope

Lynn Moomaw

Daniel Neer

Rev Dr. Jon & Mary Fancher

Stuart W. Grigg, in memory of Joseph Katulic

Mary Hickey

Doug & Suzanne Hicks

Jennifer & Brent Hofstetter

Doug & Joan Hoover

Holly & Norma Horn

Richard & Ruth Jacobs, in memory of

Robert DeCoursey

Dr. Robin E. Kelly

Eleanor Kennedy

Stefani Koorhan & Ira Hinden

Raymond & Allyson Leisy

Charles & Connie Lepold

Ms. Ann Lewellen

Lynette Mattson

Beverly McCall

Catherine McGraw

Antoinette S. Miller

Marc Miller

Gifts in Memory of Spiro Matsos

Shirley H. Allen

Thomas Ardillo

John Centenaro

Judy & Robert Cohen-Baer

Jennifer Coopmans

Ruth & Paul Crowley

John & Adriana Dryer

Tom Flowers

Nancy & Steve Gfell

Thomas & Catherine Graves

Jay & Mary Beth Henthorne

Holly Hobbs

Carrie & Michael Johnson

Louise Walsh Keating

Sarah & Scott Krushinski

Charles Love

Boyd & Elly Mackus

Scott & Cindy McGraw

Susan Peters, David & Mark Gardner, in memory of Dr. Frank Wayne Quillen

Stanley Ransom

Arlie Rodhe

Sarah Ridenour & Amy O’Linn

J. Rufener & J. Young

Martin I. Saltzman

John & Rebecca Schmidt, in memory of Charles & Mary Ann Cureton

Mark Shalonis

Jack Shepherd

Talia Starr

Janice Steinbrenner

Fred & Betsy Stueber

J Lynn & Adelia Thompson

Bonnie B Thurston

Robert Weppler

Luisa Westfall Family, in memory of David J. Westfall

Harry & Kathy Zink

Don & Pam Peterman

Ilona Pinzke

Patricia Radigan

David & Karolyn Rice

Ms. Louise Shoemaker

Jim Smith

Monica Smolka

Marion M. Sutton

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Weller

Linda Wilcox

Randall Wilkins & Dianne Sattinger, in memory of Dan Rothermel

Betty Dorow Moore

David & Pamela Oliver

Joanne Poderis

Elin Quigley & C. Andrews

Kevin Reeks & Cathy Woodward

William Reinhart

Dr. & Mrs. David Reynolds

Stanley & Kim Robinson

Patricia A. Rodgers & David H. Cullis

John & Nancy Maria Schuesselin

Rose Ella Sears

Michael Seider

John & Sondra Siegenthaler

Hiram Lee Smith

STAR Plastics, in memory of William Blanchard

Phil & Karen Steiger

Myron Bud Stern

David Tovey

Elizabeth A. Young

Nedra Zachary

John Miller

Jon & Laura Neill

Michele Parsons

Tim & Debbie Seibert

Mark Shanda

Talia Starr

Lynn & Cindy Willett

Corporate Matching Gifts

Battelle Memorial Institute

Robert Half Management

The Ohio Light Opera Annual Fund provides essential financing for each OLO season, and we are grateful for the loyal support of so many donors through the years. If you want to help ensure that the unique mission of the Ohio Light Opera continues, we ask that you make a gift to the 2025 Ohio Light Opera Annual Fund. Please contact: Laura Neill at 330-263-2090, lneill@wooster.edu for more information.

The donor list includes gifts received prior to June 2, 2025. Please let us know if your name has been inadvertently omitted or incorrectly listed.

The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Ohio Arts Council is committed to the economic, educational, and cultural development of the state. The Council believes the arts should be shared by the people of Ohio. The arts arise from public, individual, and organizational efforts. The OAC supports and encourages these efforts.

Production Sponsors

The Ohio Light Opera appreciates the generous support from the following corporations, foundations, and individuals who have helped underwrite production costs for the 2025 season:

David & Carol Briggs Charitable Fund

Nancy & Steve Gfell in memory of William R. & Barbara Ward McGraw

Clark R. Green Charitable Foundation

Ron & Prue Holtman

Ralph R. & Grace B. Jones Foundation

Norman Keller

David Knapp

Dr. Joseph Loewenstein

Julie Mennes

Mimi McCain

Pamela Mellor

Michael & Nan Miller

Sincere thanks goes to the Wayne County Community Foundation for its ongoing support of our donors and their planned estate giving.

Planned

Burton D. Morgan Foundation

Richard C. Norton

Ambassador John Ong

John Schambach

Seaman Family Foundation

Tim & Jenny Smucker

Mary Alice Streeter

Marlene & Joe Toot

Estate Giving

Ohio Light Opera, Resident Professional Company of the College of Wooster, is grateful for the hundreds of generous annual gifts from our patrons that help produce each season and ensure that the artistic magic of OLO continues well into the future. Thank you!

There is also a longer-term option for securing the financial future of Ohio Light Opera. Planned estate giving helps to create both a lasting legacy for you and opportunities for OLO to build on and expand its mission to preserve, promote, and produce the very best in operetta and classic musical theater. There are multiple ways to achieve these goals, reflecting your passion for the company’s work and your vision for its future.

Please contact Laura Neill, Executive Director, at 330.263.2090 or lneill@wooster.edu. She will be happy to work with you and the College of Wooster Office of Advancement to prepare an estate giving plan.

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• Free – Hot “Deluxe” Breakfast & Wi-Fi

• On site Fitness Center, Jodi’s Closet, & Ana’s

THE OHIO LIGHT OPERA ENDOWMENT

The Ohio Light Opera Endowment was established in 1993 by a generous gift from founding Artistic Director James F. Stuart. Additional gifts have helped ensure the current and future financial stability of the Company. A restricted fund in The College of Wooster’s endowment, the Ohio Light Opera Endowment is managed professionally and provides support for a portion of annual OLO expenses. We encourage you to consider making a gift or estate commitment to the Ohio Light Opera Endowment. Please contact Laura Neill at 330-263-2090, lneill@wooster.edu to receive information on how to make an endowment gift.

The Brian Woods Award

Twenty years ago, the company lost one of its most talented and supportive young company members. Tenor Brian Woods exemplified in so many ways the best that the Ohio Light Opera has to offer. He was a devoted and enthusiastic supporter of this company’s unique mission. Brian’s love for operetta extended far beyond this company. As a performer and educator, he gave selfless hours to bringing his love for operetta into the hearts of thousands of patrons and to many students. As part of his legacy, the company (along with his widow, Jessie Wright Martin) established an endowment in his honor. As part of this endowment, each year a company member is presented the Brian Woods Award. This is given to a returning company member who exemplifies some of the qualities that made Brian a champion for this company and the lyric theater art form. A few years ago, it was decided that in the future the award would be vetted by past award winners who are presently in residency (two performers), along with key artistic and administrative personnel. Although the majority of awards have been given to singers in the past, any company member may receive the award.

The 2025 Recipients of The Brian Woods Award:

Kiah Kayser, Production Manager/Scenic Designer

Daniel Hobbs, Assistant Production Manager/Scenic Designer

Past Recipients of The Brian Woods Award:

’07 Peter Nathan Foltz—singer

’08 Todd Strange—singer

’09 Stephen Carr—stage director

’10 Boyd Mackus—singer

’11 Ted Christopher—singer and stage director

’12 Nathan Brian—singer

’13 Benjamin Krumreig—singer

’14 Stephen Faulk—singer

’15 Eric Andries—coach/accompanist

’16 Jacob Allen—performer/director

’17 John Schuesselin—trumpet and orchestra personnel manager

’18 Katie Humphrey—stage manager

’19 Mark Snyder-Schulte—wardrobe master/tenor

’22 2020 Virtual Festival Company

2021 OLO Light! Company

2022 OLO Company

’23 Spencer Reese choreographer, stage director, and cast member

’24 Spiro Matsos—cast member

On May 9 of this year, Ohio Light Opera artistic director Steven Daigle announced that he will be stepping down from his leadership position at the end of the 2026 summer season. He, and OLO, are grateful that associate artistic director Jacob Allen will then assume his stewardship role. Steve’s contributions to OLO’s mission and to ensuring the survival of our national and international lyric theater legacy are nothing short of remarkable. OLO executive director Laura Neill and board chair Michael Miller reflect on Steve’s tenure at OLO.

The meaningful preservation of our culture’s lyric theater heritage—whether operetta or classic musical theater—requires both a fount of stellar material (of which there is no shortage) AND a commitment to represent it on stage with innovation, imagination, and inspiration, but always with full respect for the creators’ original concepts—whether musical or dramatic. Ohio Light Opera artistic director Steven Daigle, for 36 seasons and more than a quarter century in his current leadership role, has fulfilled these requisites and, in so doing, elevated OLO to its current position as the nation’s premier purveyor of the works that enchanted past—and now current—generations. The numbers themselves are impressive: Steve has directed for OLO 111 productions, introduced into the repertoire 86 titles by 29 composers, and overseen the artistry and design for 175 productions and 1300 performances.

But these statistics only begin to tell the full story. Steve has championed the works of Hungarian-born composer Emmerich Kálmán— to the tune now of 14 titles, more than those offered by any operetta company in the world, past or present. For eight of these presentations, Steve provided first-ever faithful English translations of the German-language originals. His love for Victor Herbert has brought six new

titles to the Freedlander stage, including the first fully-staged, fully-orchestrated performances in more than a century of the zany Dream City and The Magic Knight and The Lady of the Slipper In addition to directing revivals of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow, The Count of Luxembourg, and The Land of Smiles, Steve has treated OLO audiences to the composer’s rarely done The Czarevitch, Friederike, Cloclo, and The Mock Marriage. America had all but totally ignored the beloved Welsh composer Ivor Novello—until Steve introduced us to The Dancing Years and (in its American premiere) Perchance to Dream. In 2000, with Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot, Steve took the bold step of introducing mid-20th-century musicals to the OLO show roster. His objectives were multifold: to increase the company’s patron base, to promote “cross-fertilization” between the company’s operetta and new musical theater devotees, and to remedy what was evidently, across the country, a decreasing interest in staging “golden age” Broadway musicals. Since that initial foray, Steve has programmed 25 of the longestrunning Broadway musicals from the 1940s onward—from Oklahoma! to Silk Stockings to Man of La Mancha to Into the Woods. These have all done exceptionally well at the box office and thus provided the necessary financial cover for OLO’s rarer titles.

No less significant in furthering the company’s mission was Steve’s choice for celebrating, in 2008, Ohio Light Opera’s 100th show title. With his production of the American full-stage premiere of Jerome Kern’s 1922 The Cabaret Girl, OLO opened its doors to the staggeringly rich musical theater gems of the 1920s and 1930s. In the intervening years, the Freedlander stage has welcomed six titles of both George Gershwin and Cole Porter, four of Jerome Kern, two each of Irving Berlin and Rodgers and Hart, to say nothing of the toe-tapping marvels of Vincent Youmans’ No, No, Nanette and Noel Gay’s Me and My Girl. For the vast majority of these works, OLO remains—over the past many decades—the only company to offer these titles in full stagings with original orchestrations. Steve’s contributions to rejuvenating these show gems have not gone unnoticed by scholars and the musical theater community, who have increasing presence at OLO’s summer festival.

The all-too-common perception that Ohio Light Opera magically appears every June and then, in August, goes into hibernation for ten months is readily dismissed by a simple look at Steve’s offseason schedule. To eventually settle on six or seven titles for the following summer, he typically begins with as many as 15 candidates. He must assess the availability of materials, the artistic and technical demands of each show, their box office potential, and how they mesh in fulfilling OLO’s mission. Trips to the Library of Congress—and, recently, the University of Texas—generally entail two or three days of copying thousands of pages of orchestrations, vocal scores, scripts, and promotional material. The preparation of the season calendar demands attention to past—and evolving—ticket sale trends, rehearsal requirements, the choice between evening and matinee performances, and the grouping of shows to maximize opportunities for out-of-town patrons. In late fall, Steve begins conferencing with the conductors, stage directors, choreographers, and costume, set, sound, and lighting designers. His commitment to honoring and preserving the original spirit of each show requires a significant amount of research, especially for the many OLO titles that have period settings. For selected shows, he has been known to provide the artistic staff with dozens of pages of photographs and historical documentation—all with the goal of focusing the company on that very spirit that he is trying to preserve and convey on stage.

Steve’s initial work at OLO, beginning in 1990, was as a stage manager—responsible for overseeing onstage and backstage activities,

facilitating communications between the stage director and the artists and crew, and calling cues during performances. That he typically served in this role for every OLO performance over many years provided him with an exceptional sense of the inner workings of lyric theater and positioned him ideally to assume, within just a few years, increasing responsibilities as a stage director and, eventually, artistic director. His early directorial efforts—including The Gypsy Princess (1993), Countess Maritza (1994), Robinson Crusoe (1996), and Patience (1997)—remain among OLO’s most revered stage representations. Through the intervening years, in more than 100 additional OLO directing assignments, Steve has only added to this reputation and solidified his position as a highly studied and insightful interpreter of the composer and librettist’s artistic visions, but always with his own sparks of stage originality and creativity. His mastery of organization—from the first day of rehearsals in May to the last performance in August—is legendary among the thousands of OLO vocalists, musicians, and technical staff who have called OLO their summer home.

When Steve took over in 1999 as OLO artistic director, he also assumed coordination and oversight of the company’s nascent recording series, which now numbers 43 CDs and nine DVDs. These releases have appeared in worldwide record shops and earned critical praise in numerous music periodicals. All the DVDs and many of the CDs represent world-premiere complete recordings. For all their myriad LP and CD releases over the years, many of the Gilbert and Sullivan shows were enjoying in these OLO discs their first offerings with complete dialogue.

Concurrent with his leadership activities at OLO—and garnering ever-positive reviews from performers and the public—Steve served for 28 years as professor of opera at the Eastman School of Music and as artistic director of Eastman Opera Theatre. He directed, or oversaw the production of, 85 complete operas, ranging from late 18th century to the cutting-edge works of recent decades, whose composers—including Carlisle Floyd, Ricky Ian Gordon, Missy Mazzoli, Jake Heggie, Lori Laitman, and Charles Strouse— collaborated with Steve and EOT in bringing their works to life on stage.

As he has since the late 1990s, Steve will be guiding Ohio Light Opera through this and the next summer season. His steadfast commitment to serve lyric theater, and to instill in the company the will to do likewise, has provided a solid foundation for OLO’s future in serving the art and its patrons.

The Steven A. Daigle Years

The Gypsy Princess, 1993

Photos by Matt Dilyard

La Vie Parisienne, 1999

White Horse Inn, 2005

The Carp, 1999

Countess Maritza, 1994

Candide, 2018

The Music Man, 2006

The Cousin from Batavia, 2000

Camelot, 2023

Le Petit Duc, 2000

The Little King, 2014

The Cabaret Girl, 2008 The Zoo, 1999

Of Thee I Sing, 2009

The Little Dutch Girl, 2016

Fifty Million Frenchmen, 2018

Can-Can, 2015

Iolanthe, 2018

Cloclo, 2018

Patience, 2004

Ruddigore, 2015

The Grand Duke, 2003

Princess Ida, 1999

H.M.S. Pinafore, 2017

Anything Goes, 2017

Autumn Maneuvers, 2002 Oh, Lady! Lady!!, 2014

Countess Maritza, 2017

Music in the Air, 2019

TAKING LIGHT OPERA SERIOUSLY!

THE LEGACY OF OLO FOUNDER

S JAMES F. STUART S

“I had long realized that operetta requires no less a commitment to quality than does grand opera, both in front of and behind the curtain. My objective from the beginning with OLO was to return artistic integrity to operetta. Through coaching on the importance of taking light opera seriously, the company has nurtured an audience that has itself gained a new appreciation for a once seemingly moribund art form.”

When James Stuart, in 1979, began the Ohio Light Opera at The College of Wooster, he had already built a successful career as a musical and theatrical educator, producer, director, and performing artist. Born in Baton Rouge in 1928, he studied at LSU and earned a doctor of musical arts degree at the Eastman School of Music. For seven seasons, he performed the principal tenor roles with Dorothy Raedler’s American Savoyards and the Martyn Green Gilbert and Sullivan Company. Over several decades, he appeared with opera companies in New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chautauqua, Atlanta, and New Orleans. He sang the Husband in the world premiere of Raffaelo de Banfield’s Lord Byron’s Love Letter, opposite Patricia Neway, and performed the title role in the American premiere of Rameau’s Platée. Among the distinguished musical artists with whom Stuart performed are singers Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, Richard Tucker, and Robert Merrill; and conductors Franz Allers, Richard Bonynge, Boris Goldovsky, Louis Lane, Julius Rudel, and Robert Shaw.

Under Stuart’s vision and guidance, the Ohio Light Opera evolved into the nation’s premier venue for the presentation of both the masterworks and forgotten gems of the lyric theater repertoire. His translations for the Company include those for Auber’s Fra Diavolo, Lecocq’s La fille de Madame Angot, Hahn’s Ciboulette, Kálmán’s Die Bajadere and Der Zigeunerprimás, Strauss’ Der lustige Krieg, and Offenbach’s Monsieur Choufleuri. In recognition of his contributions to lyric theater, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by The College of Wooster, and was invested in the College of Fellows of the American Theatre in a ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Stuart was further honored by his inclusion in several standard biographical works: Dictionary of International Biography, International Who’s Who in Music, Who’s Who in America, and International Who’s Who of Intellectuals.

To make a lasting gift to the Ohio Light Opera, contact Executive Director Laura Neill at 330-263-2090.

James F. Stuart Founding Artistic Director 1928-2005

James F. Stuart

James Stuart in The Gondoliers, 1996

America’s Premier Lyric Theater Festival

OUR MISSION

Vision

As a resident professional company of The College of Wooster, the Ohio Light Opera seeks to preserve the tradition of operetta and musical theater with engaging and accessible productions that uplift, educate, and entertain a diverse present-day audience.

Mission

For 46 seasons, The Ohio Light Opera (OLO) has dedicated itself to exploring and producing the best of traditional operetta and musical theater. Although the repertoire has evolved over the past four decades, “Light Opera” in our title reflects the rich tradition of OLO’s origin. The company was founded by James Stuart as a Gilbert and Sullivan repertory summer festival and has grown to encompass all forms in the light opera canon. This includes the complete Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire and both the recognized treasures of Viennese, French, German, British, and American operetta and the rare gems of artistic value that were popular in their day but have long since been forsaken. In recent years, the company has expanded its offerings to include traditional musical theater—its forgotten musical gems and popular Broadway titles that are nevertheless being produced less often today.

The historical performance practices of each work are delicately balanced with the resources of a state-of-the-art theater, audience accessibility, and engaging performance values. A revolving repertoire season with at least six titles and over 50 performances allows patrons, throughout the summer, to attend performances of a specialized grouping of titles: three operettas or three musicals in two days, or all the titles of a summer season in four days. No other company offering a similar repertoire can provide this unique performance opportunity.

Between 15 and 20 thousand patrons each season see productions in The College of

Wooster’s intimate Freedlander Theatre. Over 100 company members from throughout the United States are selected each year to participate in our residency program. The 30 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. The 30 members of OLO’s orchestra perform full and original orchestrations of each season’s historical titles.

The Ohio Light Opera has built and earned a reputation for producing historical titles in the spirit of fidelity and faithfulness to the original material. This commitment over 45-plus years has brought over 800,000 patrons to our festival seasons. OLO balances past artistic practices with the sensitivities expected from today’s society. Whereas the music and orchestrations remain sacred, modifications to lyrics and dialogue and elimination of blatant stereotypes are at times undertaken to mitigate prejudices prevalent at the time of a work’s creation. To completely ignore these prejudices would be the same as not acknowledging or recognizing that they existed.

With 156 titles produced, and almost 2900 performances, the Ohio Light Opera has become the forerunner in promoting the lyric theater 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, light opera, and musical theater. 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 that this company has given to its many patrons and the art form.

—Steven A. Daigle, Artistic Director

The Arcadians, 2024

OHIO LIGHT OPERA 2025 FESTIVAL COMPANY

ADMINISTRATIVE, ARTISTIC, AND LEADERSHIP TEAM

LAURA NEILL, Executive Director

STEVEN DAIGLE, Artistic Director

MICHELLE FRAZIER, Business & Data Manager

MICHAEL BOROWITZ, Music Director

JACOB ALLEN, Associate Artistic Director

WILSON SOUTHERLAND, Associate Music Director

SPENCER REESE, Choreographer/Director/ Tenor

KIAH KAYSER, Production Manager/Scenic Designer

DANIEL HOBBS, Assistant Production Manager/Scenic Designer

LAURA KELLOGG, Orchestra Personnel Manager/Flute

ERIC ANDRIES, Pianist

JULIE WRIGHT COSTA, Director

MICHELLE HUNT SOUZA, Costume Designer

JENNIFER SALTER, Costume Designer

JAYSEN ENGEL, Costume Design Assistant/Costume Designer

CARLY HOLZWARTH, Costume Designer

BRITTANY SHEMUGA, Lighting Designer

RACHEL LAUREN, Lighting Designer

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, Sound Designer

CHYNA L. MAYER, Scenic Designer

NAOKO SKALA, Scenic Designer

K’NYIA BUMPERS, Technical Director

TESSA VERNER, Production Stage Manager

SARAH GREENE, Costume Shop Manager

ALLISON CARTMILL, Props Supervisor

MADELEINE GUY, Scenic Charge

ELLE HARTMAN, Wardrobe Supervisor

MADELEINE CARROLL, Sound Assistant

CHRISTINE HOLT, Wig Technician

HELEN KNUDSEN, Resident Assistant Director

MAGGIE LANGHORNE, Assistant Director

CAST

KATE BILENKO

CONNOR BURNS

WESLEY DIENER

LYDIA DUNLAP, Youth Cast

CAMRYN FINN

LEAH FINN

ADAM GRIFFITHS

NIGEL GRIMES, Youth Cast

TREVOR GRIMES, Youth Cast

JENNA GRISSOM

CAROLINE HAWTHORNE

JENNA JUSTICE

SAFIN KARIM

QUINLYN KESSLER

VIVIENNE KIST, Youth Cast

JORDAN KNAPICK

HELEN KNUDSEN

AMIA KORMAN

MAGGIE LANGHORNE

OWEN MALONE

TIMOTHY McGOWAN

JOSEPHINE McILVAINE, Youth Cast

JAMES MOOREHEAD

JACK F. MURPHY

NORA MYERS, Youth Cast

ARIANNA PAZ

ASHER RAMALY

NATHANIEL RICHARD

JERON ROBINSON

ISABELLA RODEMAN, Youth Cast

KYRA RODENBORN, Youth Cast

NOAH SICKMAN

GUINEVERE STEENSEN

YUMEKO STERN

NIKO THERIAULT

THOMAS VALENTI

MEGGIE VINCENT

STELLA VODILKO, Youth Cast

ACADIA WEBB

RACHEL WEINFELD

SPENCER WILDE

RACHEL WRESH

ORCHESTRA

JEFFREY ANDERSON, Clarinet

JACOB BODNAR, Horn

STEPHANIE BUECHE, Clarinet

EJ BUSBY, Harp

MOISES CHIRINOS, Bass

NEIL FAULKNER, Percussion

ELIAS FREDERICKS, Violin

EMILY GRISSING, Cello

LAUREN HINKLE, Trumpet

CHRISTOPHER LUDWIG, Flute

ISAAC MORTON, Trumpet

GOZDE EVE PARLAKTUNA, Violin

JOHAN PEPPER, Violin

CAMERON RANDALL, Trombone

LEV ROSHAL, Violin/ Concertmaster

JOHN SAMPLE, Cello

NASR ALI SHEIKH, Viola

GER VANG, Oboe

LAUREL WALTHER, Violin

ABREAL WHITMAN, Violin/ Assistant Concertmaster

LEAH WIDMAIER, Viola

JENNELLE WILLIAMS, Horn

SPENCER WILSON, Bassoon

TECHNICAL AND FRONT OF HOUSE TEAM

PARIS ASANTE, Front of House

ALLY BAKER, Stitcher

CHANCE BECK, Sound Technician

JILLIAN BENTLEY, Properties Artisan/Run Crew

IVORY BESSE, First Hand

SEPH CARTIER, Run Crew

HALLIE CHARLEFOUR, Assistant Stage Manager

EMMA CHARLTON, Box Office Manager

RYLEE CREED, Assistant Technical Director

CAMERON DAMESWORTH, Carpenter

JULIANNA DEVANEY, Draper

OLLI DiBENEDETTO, Wardrobe/ Wigs

MADELEINE RAE FRAZIER, Box Office Assistant/House Manager

MAEVE GORHAM, Sound Technician

ALEX GRAY, Carpenter

JULIANNA GRIMES, Scene Shop Foreman

KENDALL GUNTNER, Assistant Costume Shop Manager

ANDI HARVEY, Run Crew

CARRIGAN HUGHES, Assistant Stage Manager

GRACELYN JACK, Front of House

LINNE JOHNSTON, Costumer

LANA KATHRYN JEFFCOAT, Assistant Lighting Designer

JAMES KIRICHOK, Carpenter

DANNY KRINER, Stitcher

HANNAH LoGIUDICE, Props Artisan

DILLON LORDEN, Carpenter

ARABELLA MASON, Scenic Painter

AMELIA MINDLIN-LEITNER, Assistant Stage Manager

TRINITY NETT, Run Crew

LYDIA OTTO, House Manager

ROBERT PFOST, Master Electrician

ANNE PLUMMER, Painter

ABIGAIL RAHZ, Wardrobe Technician

MOIRA SEGER, Assistant Props Supervisor

LUMI SHALAEV, Electrician

KEN WATTS, Stitcher

MAZE WETZEL, Stagehand

EMILY WINNICKI, House Manager

AIDAN WUNDERLEY, Carpenter

RED YASAR, Front of House

BORENYI HABIB ZAKARIAH, Front of House

CAROUSEL

(1945)

Music Richard Rodgers

Book and Lyrics ....................................... Oscar Hammerstein II

Conductor Michael Borowitz

Stage Director Steven Daigle

Choreographer Spencer Reese

Set Designer Daniel Hobbs

Costume Designer ................ Jaysen Engel, Carly Holzwarth

Lighting Designer........................................... Brittany Shemuga

Sound Designer Christopher Plummer

Assistant Directors Helen Knudsen, Maggie Langhorne

Assistant Choreographer/Dance Captain Kate Bilenko

Assistant Sound Designer Madeleine Carroll

Carrie Pipperidge ............. Jordan Knapick* Yumeko Stern**

Julie Jordan Rachel Weinfeld* Amia Korman**

Mrs. Mullin Meggie Vincent

Billy Bigelow Connor Burns* Nathaniel Richard**

First Policeman Asher Ramaly

David Bascombe .................................................... Niko Theriault

Nettie Fowler .......................................................... Jenna Grissom

Enoch Snow Owen Malone* Timothy McGowan**

Jigger Craigin Jeron Robinson

Arminy Arianna Paz

Second Policeman ......................................... James Moorehead

Captain ............................................................................. Safin Karim

First Heavenly Friend (Brother Joshua) ........... Jack Murphy

Second Heavenly Friend Spencer Reese

Starkeeper Stella Vodilko

Louise Bigelow Kate Bilenko

Hannah .................................................................... Quinlyn Kessler

Sailor ........................................................................... Noah Sickman

Enoch Snow, Jr. ....................................................... Noah Sickman

Principal Thomas Valenti

Dr. Seldon Adam Griffiths

Enoch’s Daughter Lydia Dunlap

Young Billy ................................................................ Trevor Grimes

Young Julie ........................................................... Kyra Rodenborn

Enoch’s Daughter ..................................................... Lydia Dunlap

CAROUSEL is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. www.concordtheatricals.com

Ensemble: Kate Bilenko, Wesley Diener, Camryn Finn, Leah Finn, Adam Griffiths, Jenna Justice, Safin Karim, Quinlyn Kessler, James Moorehead, Jack Murphy, Arianna Paz, Asher Ramaly, Spencer Reese, Jeron Robinson, Noah Sickman, Thomas Valenti, Meggie Vincent, Spencer Wilde, Rachel Wresh

Youth Cast: Lydia Dunlap, Nigel Grimes, Trevor Grimes, Kyra Rodenborn, Stella Vodilko

Understudy for Nettie Fowler: Caroline Hawthorne

Understudy for Young Billy: Nigel Grimes

Understudy for Young Julie: Lydia Dunlap

* 6/14, 6/21, 7/1, 7/9, 7/15, 7/24, 7/29

** 6/18, 6/27, 7/6, 7/12, 7/18, 7/26, 8/1

330.263.2345

This production has been partially underwritten by gifts from: Burton D. Morgan Foundation

Seaman Family Foundation

Ralph R. & Grace B. Jones Foundation

A message from the artistic director

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s  Carousel  is a powerful and emotionally complex musical that explores themes of love, loss, and redemption. It depicts situations involving domestic abuse, violence, and selfharm. While written in a different era, some moments in the show portray these issues in ways that may feel troubling by today’s standards. We believe it is important to acknowledge the realities of abuse and mental health struggles—not to excuse them, but to open dialogue and foster understanding. No act of violence or harm should ever be romanticized or justified. Rodgers and Hammerstein, in the canon of their musicals, were revolutionizing the form of past musical theater conventions by incorporating more serious themes (and how they are portrayed) into the stories they created. As we present  Carousel, we do so with the hope that its story will encourage empathy, spark meaningful conversations, and ultimately affirm the possibility of growth and healing—even in the face of hardship. If you or someone you know is experiencing any abuse or mental health challenges, please know that help is available and you are not alone.

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - Dial 988 or https://988lifeline.org/ National Sexual Assault Hotline - 800-656-HOPE (4673) or https://rainn.org/resources – Steven Daigle

SETTING

Time: 1873–1888

Prelude

An amusement park on the New England Coast—May

ACT I

Scene 1 A tree-lined path along the shore—a few minutes later Scene 2 Nettie Fowler’s Spa on the ocean front—June

MUSICAL NUMBERS

Prologue

(The Carousel Waltz)

ACT I

ACT II

Scene 1 On an island across the bay—that night

Scene 2 Mainland waterfront—an hour later

Scene 3 Up there

Scene 4 Down here … on a beach— 15 years later

Scene 5 Outside Julie’s cottage

Scene 6 Outside a schoolhouse—same day

Mister Snow Carrie, Julie If I Loved You Julie, Billy June Is Bustin’ Out All Over Carrie, Nettie, Chorus Mr. Snow (reprise) Carrie, Mr. Snow, Girls When the Children Are Asleep Mr. Snow, Carrie Blow High, Blow Low Jigger, Billy, Men Hornpipe

Soliloquy ...................................................................................................................................................... Billy

Finale Act I ............................................................................................................................................ Chorus

15-Minute Intermission

ACT II

Entr’acte

A Real Nice Clambake Ensemble Geraniums in the Winder Mister Snow, Jigger What’s the Use of Wond’rin Julie, Girls You’ll Never Walk Alone Julie, Nettie Entrance of Heavenly Friend

The Highest Judge of All Billy Ballet

Incidental ................................................................................................................................................. Carrie

Porch Scene ............................................................................................................................................... Billy

Finale Ultimo ................................................................................................................................... Ensemble

ARGUMENT

Billy Bigelow, a favorite barker at Mrs. Mullin’s carousel, has taken a shine to the introspective mill worker Julie Jordan, who—as with all the local girls—is not indifferent to his charms. Jealous of the particular attention that Billy shows towards Julie, Mrs. Mullins fires Billy. Julie’s friend Carrie updates her on her own latest catch: the upstanding fisherman Enoch Snow. Despite Billy’s reputation as a sponger and ladies’ man, Julie and Billy soon marry and move in with her cousin Nettie, who runs a snack bar at the beach. The community excitedly readies for the upcoming clambake, as Carrie and Enoch look forward to their wedding day and children. The jobless Billy is having a hard time making his marriage work, but gains a new sense of financial responsibility when Julie informs him that she is expecting. Billy’s acquaintance, whaler Jigger Craigin, proposes a plan to rob the mill and ship owner Mr. Bascombe as he is delivering a payroll to the ship’s captain. Despite misgivings—but sensing a solution to his money woes—Billy decides to join in as an accomplice. Things turn from bad to worse when the robbery is foiled, Billy fears imprisonment, and has to face his destiny.

BACKGROUND

Ferenc Molnár’s 1909 play Liliom, like Lynn Riggs’ Green Grow the Lilacs (the basis for Oklahoma!), would seem at first glance an unlikely source for a Broadway show. Liliom, a Budapest carousel barker, mistreats his wife Julie, bungles an armed robbery, takes his own life, and fails to do a good deed when the heavenly powers, years later, permit him a brief return to earth. But the Theatre Guild’s Theresa Helburn and Lawrence Langner thought that Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II could do for Molnár’s work what they had done for Riggs’.

Initially, both men were skeptical, especially about the setting and the pessimistic ending. Then Rodgers suggested shifting the locale to New England, and Hammerstein saw the attraction of characters “who were

strong and alive and lusty.” Julie, he later wrote, with her courage, strength, and outer simplicity, “seemed more indigenous to Maine than to Budapest. Liliom, of course, is an international character, indigenous to nowhere.” The partners were concerned that Molnár, who had rejected Puccini’s offer to set Liliom as an opera, would disapprove of their softened final scene. But at an early rehearsal, the playwright told them: “What you have done is so beautiful. And you know what I like best? The ending!”

Several members of the team responsible for the staging of Oklahoma! were reunited for Carousel: producers Helburn and Langner, director Rouben Mamoulian, and choreographer Agnes de Mille. From the start, it was clear that Carousel, like Oklahoma! was not to be a conventional Broadway musical but a musical play integrating song, dance, and dialogue. In a deliberate departure from convention, Rodgers dispensed with an overture and began with a pantomime scene accompanied by the “Carousel Waltz.” The goal of an integrated musical play, however, necessitated considerable tinkering (especially in Act II) during the out-of-town tryouts. De Mille’s ballet was radically shortened, and Hammerstein substituted the Starkeeper for his original New England minister and wife as symbols of God.

Opening on April 19, 1945 at New York’s Majestic Theatre (across the street from the St. James Theater, where Oklahoma! was into its third year), Carousel began a run of 890 performances. A road company toured for two seasons, and 20th Century-Fox’s movie version—with Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones—was released in 1956. The 1992 revival, directed by Nicholas Hytner for both London’s National Theatre and (two years later) Broadway, probed the darker elements of Carousel, prompting British journalist Benedict Nightingale to label it “a surprisingly tough-minded show for the 1940s.” New York Times critic Frank Rich resorted to paradox to capture the show’s allure: “a luminescent musical shot through with pain and bewilderment, an uplifting musical in which the lives of most

of the major characters are either miserable or misspent.” It should perhaps surprise no one to learn that Time magazine, in its December 31, 1999 issue, named Carousel as “the best musical of the 20th century.”

Adapted from the original of Raymond McCall

BRIGADOON

(1947)

Music Frederick Loewe

Book and Lyrics ....................................................... Alan J. Lerner

Conductor ...................................................... Wilson Southerland

Stage Director Jacob Allen

Choreographer Spencer Reese

Set Designer ...................................................................Kiah Kayser

Costume Designer Michelle Hunt Souza

Lighting Designer....................................................Rachel Lauren

Sound Designer Madeleine Carroll

Assistant Director

Helen Knudsen

Dance Captain .........................................................Spencer Wilde

Tommy Albright .......................................................... Jack Murphy

Jeff Douglas

Spencer Reese

Maggie Anderson ....................................................... Kate Bilenko

Archie Beaton Niko Theriault

Angus MacGuffie Wesley Diener

Meg Brockie ............... Maggie Langhorne* Helen Knudsen**

Stuart Dalrymple

Jeron Robinson

Sandy Dean .................................................................... Safin Karim

Harry Beaton

Andrew MacLaren

Spencer Wilde

James Moorehead

Fiona MacLaren ............... Rachel Wresh* Rachel Weinfeld**

Jean MacLaren Camryn Finn

Charlie Dalrymple ....... Timothy McGowan* Owen Malone** Fish Monger

Mr. Lundie ................................................................

Ian McGregor

Sword Dancers

Adam Griffiths

Thomas Valenti

Adam Griffiths

Asher Ramaly, Noah Sickman, Niko Theriault, Spencer Wilde

Frank Asher Ramaly

Jane Ashton ...........................................................Jordan Knapick

Ensemble: Kate Bilenko, Wesley Diener, Camryn Finn, Leah Finn, Adam Griffiths, Jenna Grissom, Jenna Justice, Safin Karim, Jordan Knapick, Amia Korman, James Moorehead, Arianna Paz, Asher Ramaly, Nathaniel Richard, Jeron Robinson, Noah Sickman, Yumeko Stern, Niko Theriault, Thomas Valenti, Meggie Vincent

Youth Cast: Lydia Dunlap, Vivienne Kist, Nora Myers, Isabella Rodeman, Josephine McIlvaine, Acadia Webb

Understudy for Tommy Albright: Connor Burns

Understudy for Maggie Anderson: Quinlyn Kessler

Understudy for Jean MacLaren: Quinlyn Kessler

* 6/19, 6/28, 7/5, 7/13, 7/19, 7/26

** 6/25, 6/29, 7/11, 7/17, 7/22, 8/1

330.263.2345

LERNER AND LOEWE'S BRIGADOON Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com

This production has been partially underwritten by gifts from:

Julie Mennes

Nancy & Steve Gfell in memory of William R. and Barbara Ward McGraw

David & Carol Briggs Charitable Fund

Ron & Prue Holtman

May of This Year

ACT I

Scene 1 A forest in the Scottish Highlands —about five on a May morning

Scene 2 A road in Brigadoon, then MacConnachy Square—later the same morning

Scene 3 The Brockie open shed—just past noon

Scene 4 The MacLaren House—midafternoon

Scene 5 Outside the house of Mr. Lundie— immediately following

MUSICAL NUMBERS

ACT I

Scene 6 Outside the Kirk of Brigadoon—at dusk

ACT II

Scene 1 A forest inside Brigadoon—later that night

Scene 2 A road in Brigadoon—later Scene 3 The glen—soon after

Scene 4 A bar in New York City—four months later

Scene 5 The forest in the Scottish Highlands—three nights later

Introduction and Prologue Chorus

Brigadoon and Vendors’ Calls Chorus Down on MacConnachy Square .....................................

Sandy, Meg, Stuart, McGregor, Chorus Waitin’ for My Dearie Fiona, Girls I’ll Go Home with Bonnie Jean Charlie, Chorus Dance

The Heather on the Hill Tommy, Fiona Rain Scene Chorus

The Love of My Life ................................................................................................................................. Meg Jeannie’s Packin’ Up Girls Come to Me, Bend to Me Charlie Dance

Almost Like Being in Love Tommy, Fiona Entrance of the Clans Wedding Dance Sword Dance and Reel Chorus

15-Minute Intermission

ACT II

Entr’acte

The Chase Tommy, Stuart, McGregor, Men There But for You Go I Tommy My Mother’s Weddin’ Day .................................................................................................... Meg, Chorus Funeral

From This Day On Fiona, Tommy Farewell Music ..................................................................................................................................... Chorus

Reprises Fiona, Charlie, Tommy, Chorus Finale Ultimo Chorus

“What a day this has been! What a rare mood I’m in!”

ACT I: Americans Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas are on a hunting trip in Scotland when they stumble on a little village. A fair is in progress, as citizens discuss the upcoming wedding of Jean MacLaren and Charlie Dalrymple—a match that does not go over well with Harry Beaton, who has his own eyes set on Jean. Brash village lass Meg Brockie questions Jean’s demure older sister Fiona about her own marriage plans. Fiona assures her that, although no village lad has yet come along, one will indeed appear some day. Tommy and Jeff, informed that they are in Brigadoon, are thoroughly perplexed—no such city appears on their map, they don’t understand the native dress, and Fiona seems oblivious to the concept of a telephone. Charlie offers a toast to a Mr. Forsythe, thanking him for postponing the “miracle.” Fiona deflects Tommy’s request to explain what that means. The two of them hit it off immediately, even after he tells her that he is engaged back home to a girl named Jane. Meanwhile, Meg and Jeff find themselves in the Brockie family shed— he wants nothing more than to nap, as she tries to convince him that there are better things to do in a shed. When Tommy glances at a bible and notes reference to the wedding of Jean and Charlie, but with a date of 1746, he questions Fiona. She admits that there is an explanation, but that they must pay a visit to the schoolmaster Mr. Lundie, who relates to Tommy and Jeff a most unbelievable tale about Brigadoon and its special place in the world. All head off for the wedding of Jean and Charlie, but find themselves dealing with a sword-wielding Harry Beaton, who eventually dashes off.

ACT II: The village men try to track down Harry, as his unbridled jealousy finally catches up with him. Back at the wedding, Tommy questions Fiona about securing permission to stay in Brigadoon, as Meg regales the guests with the story of her mother’s wedding day. When Tommy informs Jeff of his desire to remain in the village, the surprised Jeff questions the

wisdom of settling in a kooky dream town. Tommy informs Fiona that he is leaving, but will never forget her and the love that they shared. As Fiona confesses her undying love for him, she and Brigadoon disappear. The scene shifts to a bar in New York City, four months later. Jeff, Tommy, and his fiancée Jane are engaged in conversation. Tommy’s attention is diverted from the dialogue by some haunting images of his time in Brigadoon. Should he and Jeff return and … if they do … will the village still be there?

BACKGROUND

Brigadoon opened at the Ziegfeld Theater on March 13, 1947, during one of Broadway’s golden ages. Other musicals on tap at the time included Annie Get Your Gun, Carousel, Oklahoma! Finian’s Rainbow, Street Scene, and revivals of The Chocolate Soldier and Sweethearts. Playgoers could savor performances by Tallulah Bankhead, José Ferrer, Helen Hayes, Ingrid Bergman, Lunt and Fontanne, Frank Fay, and John Gielgud. The new arrival garnered a glowing tribute by Brooks Atkinson in the New York Times: “It has fulfilled the old theatrical ideal of weaving music, dancing, and story into a single fabric of brightness and enchantment … additional proof that the musical stage is the most creative branch of the American commercial theater.” Yet, as is often the case, the road to Broadway triumph was bumpy. The Theater Guild refused to accept the show unless the setting was changed from Scotland to America, and every other producer rejected it until Cheryl Crawford agreed to take charge. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe had to give 58 “performances” to lure angels. Tryouts in New Haven and Philadelphia attracted good notices, but the show drew a roasting in Boston. Early in Brigadoon’s initial run of 581 performances (later topped by London’s 685), Lerner was accused of plagiarism. A letter published in the “Drama Mailbag” section of the New York Times on March 30 charged that he had lifted his story (except for the happy ending) from “Germelshausen” by Friedrich Gerstäcker,

a 19th-century writer. Lerner replied that he had read “Germelshausen” only after completing his first draft, that legends about disappearing towns are numerous, and that the happy ending was actually the first scene that he had written. He later claimed that his story was influenced by his admiration for J. M. Barrie’s fiction, notably Auld Licht Idylls and A Window in Thrums. He also credited as inspiration a muttered remark by Loewe that faith moves mountains. “For a while, I had a play about faith moving mountains. From here we went to all sorts of miracles occurring through faith, and eventually, faith moved a town.”

The Lerner and Loewe collaboration began as the result of a chance meeting of the two men at the Lambs Club in New York City in 1942. The Harvard-educated

Lerner had at that point established a career as a writer of radio scripts. Loewe, born in Berlin of Viennese parents, had come to the United States in the mid-1920s and had engaged in a variety of activities, musical and nonmusical. After two forgettable shows, they hit pay dirt with Brigadoon. Music and lyrics combine to create a range of moods—from the wistful “Almost Like Being in Love” to the raucous “My Mother’s Weddin’ Day.” Although one critic has described the score as more Irish than Scottish, the “sword dance” and “reel” near the end of act one are calculated to stir the spirit of any latter-day Celt, whether from Hibernia or Caledonia.

Adapted from the original of Raymond McCall

OCTOBER 22

AKRON CONCERT SERIES

TUESDAY MUSICAL PRESENTS: the Akron Concert Series, our 137th season: 2024-2025.

TUESDAY MUSICAL PRESENTS: the Akron Concert Series, our 138th season: 2025-2026

OCTOBER 21

FEBRUARY 11

FEBRUARY 10

MICHAEL FEINSTEIN’S

MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN

TRIBUTE TO TONY BENNETT

NOVEMBER 18

NOVEMBER 19

SIMONE DINNERSTEIN

VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS AT 300 with Les Arts Florissants

DECEMBER 3

NOVEMBER 30

JOYCE DIDONATO WITH KINGS RETURN

CHRISTMAS WITH CANTUS

CZECH NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC

IMANI WINDS & BOSTON BRASS

MARCH 4

MARCH 3

ISIDORE STRING QUARTET WITH PIANIST JEREMY DENK

BRANFORD MARSALIS & FRIENDS

APRIL 22

APRIL 21

RENéE FLEMING

AKRON BICENTENNIAL CONCERT WITH

Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene

TIP-TOES (1925) PREMIERE

Music George Gershwin

Lyrics ............................................................................... Ira Gershwin

Book Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson

Conductor ........................................................... Michael Borowitz

Stage Director Jacob Allen

Choreographer ....................................................... Spencer Reese

Set Designer Daniel Hobbs

Costume Designer Jennifer Salter

Lighting Designer....................................................Rachel Lauren

Sound Designer Christopher Plummer

Assistant Director ................................................. Helen Knudsen

Associate Sound Designer Chance Beck

Sylvia Metcalf .................................................. Maggie Langhorne Rollo Metcalf, her husband Timothy McGowan Vaudeville Trio

Tip-Toes Kaye ..........................................................

Kate Bilenko

Al Kaye, her brother Noah Sickman

Hen Kaye, her uncle .............................................. Jack Murphy

Steve Burton, Sylvia’s brother Spencer Reese

Attendants at the Beach Club

Jeron Robinson, Asher Ramaly

Binnie Chester, Steve’s teacher Rachel Wresh

Denise Miller, Steve’s teacher .......................... Quinlyn Kessler Steward of the Yacht Wesley Diener

House Detective .............................................. Nathaniel Richard

Ensemble: Connor Burns, Wesley Diener, Camryn Finn, Leah Finn, Caroline Hawthorne, Safin Karim, Quinlyn Kessler, Jordan Knapick, Owen Malone, James Moorehead, Arianna Paz, Asher Ramaly, Nathaniel Richard, Jeron Robinson, Noah Sickman, Yumeko Stern, Meggie Vincent, Rachel Weinfeld, Spencer Wilde, Rachel Wresh

SETTING

The story takes place in the mid-1920s.

ACT I

Scene 1 Platform of the Palm Beach station, Florida

Scene 2 The gambling casino

MUSICAL NUMBERS

Overture

ACT I

ACT II

Scene 1 Deck of Steve’s houseboat Scene 2 Lobby of the Everglades Inn Scene 3 The Everglades Inn

Opening Act 1: Florida Chorus Nice Baby! Rollo, Sylvia Looking for a Boy............................................................................................................................. Tip-Toes Lady Luck Chorus When Do We Dance? ............................................................................ Steve, Binnie, Denise, Chorus

These Charming People Al, Hen, Tip-Toes Nice Baby (reprise).................................................................................................................. Rollo, Sylvia That Certain Feeling Steve, Tip-Toes Sweet and Low-Down Binnie, Denise, Al, Professor, Chorus Finale Act 1 ...................................................................................................................................... Ensemble

15-Minute Intermission

ACT II

Entr’acte and Opening Act 2

Our Little Captain Tip-Toes, Boys Looking for a Boy (reprise) ............................................................................................ Steve, Tip-Toes It’s a Great Little World Steve, Chorus Looking for a Boy (reprise) Nightie-Night Tip-Toes, Steve Tip-Toes Binnie, Denise, Chorus Finale Act 2 ..................................................................................................................................... Ensemble

“Knew it from the start … love would play a part.”

ARGUMENT

ACT I: At the Palm Beach train station, fashionable Sylvia Metcalf informs her new husband Rollo of the arrival of three vaudevillians whom she has engaged to entertain at a party that she is throwing to introduce her glue magnate brother Steve into society. When the three troupers— Tip-Toes Kaye, her brother Al, and uncle Hen—are informed that the party has been cancelled, the scheming Al and Hen suggest that they all assume upper-class identities and try to snag Tip-Toes a rich husband. Assuming the persona of socialite Roberta van Renssalaer, she has a brief encounter with Steve and is immediately smitten. At a local gambling club, Sylvia has hired two girls—Binnie and Denise—to put some polish on the less-than-worldly Steve, whose romance with Tip-Toes has heated up. Upset with herself for deceiving Steve with her phony social status, she is intent on returning to New York. A car accident, however, leaves her with amnesia, thinking that she really is the wealthy Roberta.

ACT II: When Steve, on his houseboat, distressedly confronts Tip-Toes after Rollo informs him that his new girlfriend is simply a vaudeville dancer, Tip-Toes suddenly regains her memory and admits that her Roberta impersonation was all a ploy to secure a millionaire husband. When she tries to convince the disbelieving Steve that she seeks more than money in a beau, he hurls a bombshell at her: he is actually broke. Al, Hen, and Tip-Toes have run up an enormous hotel bill, but are given the opportunity to work it off by entertaining the guests. When Steve, convinced of Tip-Toes’ true love, informs Al and Hen that a marriage is imminent, but that he is broke, they put their familial foot down. But … there is still five minutes before final curtain.

BACKGROUND

With perhaps little argument, the 1920s represented Broadway at its most exciting, diverse, and frenzied. After more than four decades in the making, American

operetta finally hit its stride in the works of Rudolf Friml (Rose Marie and The Vagabond King) and Sigmund Romberg, whose 1924 The Student Prince became— at 608 performances—the longest-running of the 500 musicals that graced Broadway stages during the decade. Jerome Kern’s 1927 Show Boat represented, in the words of theater historian Gerald Bordman, “the most important breakthrough in the history of our musical stage.” Sissle and Blake’s 1921 Shuffle Along opened Broadway doors for black performers and inspired the Harlem Renaissance. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart took Broadway by storm with their 1925 Garrick Gaities and its hit tune “Manhattan.” By the end of the decade, Cole Porter had struck gold with Fifty Million Frenchmen (“You Do Something to Me” and “You’ve Got That Thing”).

And … George Gershwin had triumphed in both the classical (Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris) and Broadway worlds (Lady, Be Good! and Oh, Kay!). His 1925 musical Tip-Toes, which opened on December 28 and ran a respectable 194 performances at the Liberty Theatre, featured much of the same artistic team as in the composer’s 1924 Lady, Be Good! Brother Ira served again as lyricist, and Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson contributed the book. The show was produced by Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley, who ultimately assumed producing credits on eight (resp. seven) Gershwin brothers musicals.

The title role in Tip-Toes was assumed by the diminutive Queenie Smith, who in 1916, at age 18, began a three-year stint as a dancer with the Metropolitan Opera, appearing in nine titles, including Aida, Francesca da Rimini, Le Coq d’Or, and Le Prophète. In 1919 she turned her attention to Broadway in the musical Roly-Boly Eyes, playing a character Ida to whom star Eddie Leonard sang what would soon become Eddie Cantor’s signature tune, “Ida! Sweet as Apple Cider.” (Cantor’s wife was also named Ida.) Socialite Sylvia Metcalf in Tip-Toes was played by Jeanette MacDonald, who was still some years away from achieving Hollywood superstardom,

teaming there first with Maurice Chevalier and then, in eight films, with Nelson Eddy. Her husband in the show, Rollo Metcalf, was played by Robert Halliday, who soon went on to lead roles in The Desert Song and The New Moon.

Not unique to Tip-Toes, but certainly not the norm among Broadway musicals of the period, the score includes two pianos as part of its orchestration. The famed piano-duo team of Victor Arden and Phil Ohman had already done similar honors on Lady, Be Good! and would continue, after Tip-Toes, on three additional Gershwin shows.

During its one-month out-of-town (Washington, DC; Newark; Philadelphia; Baltimore) tryout period, five songs

from Act II were dropped and ultimately replaced by the tune “It’s a Great Little World.” Following its June 1926 closure on Broadway, the show toured the country and appeared on stages in Canada, Australia, and London. Its 1929 production in Paris starred celebrated chanteuse Loulou Hégoburu, who a few years before had assumed the title role in the Parisian staging of No, No, Nanette.

Witty lyrics, engaging dance elements, and charming storyline aside, Tip-Toes’ staying power lies in what Gershwin biographer Howard Pollack labels as “perhaps the most sweetly exuberant score of his career.”

Michael D. Miller

PATIENCE

(1881)

Music Arthur Sullivan

Libretto William S. Gilbert

Conductor Wilson Southerland

Stage Director ................................................ Julie Wright Costa

Choreographer Spencer Reese

Set Designer ................................................................. Naoka Skala

Costume Designer Michelle Hunt Souza

Lighting Designer Rachel Lauren

Sound Designer ....................................... Christopher Plummer

Assistant Director Helen Knudsen

Associate Sound Designer ................................Maeve Gorham

Patience, a dairy maid Jordan Knapick

Reginald Bunthorne, a fleshly poet .............. Thomas Valenti Mr. Bunthorne’s Solicitor Jack Murphy

Archibald Grosvenor, an idyllic poet............. Spencer Reese Officers of Dragoon Guards

Colonel Calverley............................................... Niko Theriault

Major Murgatroyd Jacob Allen Lieut. The Duke of Dunstable Adam Griffiths

Rapturous Maidens

The Lady Jane Maggie Langhorne

The Lady Saphir .................................................... Camryn Finn

The Lady Angela Amia Korman

The Lady Ella Meggie Vincent

Ensemble: Kate Bilenko, Connor Burns, Camryn Finn, Leah Finn, Adam Griffiths, Jenna Grissom, Caroline Hawthorne, Jenna Justice, Safin Karim, Amia Korman, Maggie Langhorne, Owen Malone, Timothy McGowan, James Moorehead, Jack Murphy, Arianna Paz, Asher Ramaly, Nathaniel Richard, Noah Sickman, Guinevere Steensen Yumeko Stern, Meggie Vincent, Rachel Weinfeld, Spencer Wilde

Understudy for Patience: Rachel Wresh

Understudy for Reginald Bunthorne: Jeron Robinson

Understudy for The Lady Saphir: Yumeko Stern

Understudy for The Lady Angela: Quinlyn Kessler

SETTING

Time: Late 19th century

ACT I: Exterior of Castle Bunthorne

ACT II: A nearby glade

MUSICAL NUMBERS

Overture

ACT I

Twenty Love-Sick Maidens We Maidens, Angela, Ella Still Brooding on Their Mad Infatuation! ...............................Patience, Saphir, Angela, Maidens I Cannot Tell What This Love May Be Patience, Maidens The Soldiers of Our Queen ....................................................................................... Dragoons, Colonel If You Want a Receipt for That Popular Mystery Colonel, Dragoons In a Doleful Train / Now Is Not This Ridiculous? .............................................Maidens, Dragoons Mystic Poet, Hear Our Prayer Angela, Maidens, Bunthorne, Dragoons, Saphir What Time the Poet Hath Hymned Bunthorne When I First Put This Uniform On .......................................................................... Colonel, Dragoons Am I Alone? / If You’re Anxious for To Shine Bunthorne Long Years Ago—Fourteen, Maybe .......................................................................... Patience, Angela Prithee, Pretty Maiden Grosvenor, Patience Though to Marry You Would Very Selfish Be Patience, Grosvenor Finale: Let the Merry Cymbals Sound ................................................................................... Ensemble

15-Minute Intermission

ACT II

On Such Eyes as Maidens Cherish Maidens Silvered Is the Raven Hair Jane Turn, Oh Turn in This Direction ................................................................................................... Maidens A Magnet Hung in a Hardware Shop Grosvenor, Maidens Love Is a Plaintive Song ................................................................................................................. Patience So Go to Him and Say to Him Jane, Bunthorne It’s Clear That Mediæval Art Alone Retains Its Zest Duke, Colonel, Major If Saphir I Choose to Marry................................................... Duke, Major, Colonel, Angela, Saphir When I Go Out of Door Bunthorne, Grosvenor Finale: After Much Debate Internal ........................................................................................ Ensemble

“Let the merry cymbals sound!”

ARGUMENT

ACT I: Twenty lovesick maidens pine for the aesthetic poet Reginald Bunthorne, who is in love with the milkmaid Patience. The previous year, the maidens were all engaged to the local dragoon guards, but the girls’ tastes have since been “etherealized” by their ideal, Bunthorne. Alone, Bunthorne confesses that he is indeed an aesthetic sham—his only motivation stems from his love of female adoration. No sooner has Lady Angela explained to Patience that true love must be totally unselfish than the milkmaid’s handsome childhood sweetheart, Archibald Grosvenor, arrives. They instantly fall in love, as he explains that his fate is to be madly loved by every woman he meets. Realizing that he is perfection, Patience is forced to reject him—true love must be unselfish, and there can be nothing unselfish in loving such a man. Also rejected by Patience, Bunthorne plans to raffle himself off to the maidens, but is halted when Patience declares that she has decided to love him unselfishly. When Grosvenor appears, the maidens abandon Bunthorne and huddle around their new ideal.

ACT II: Bunthorne’s train of admirers has been reduced to only the elderly Lady Jane; the pair resolves to defeat his new rival. Meanwhile, the Duke, Colonel, and Major appear dressed in “aesthetic” garb, determined to win back their fiancées. Bunthorne confronts Grosvenor and threatens to curse him unless he will “deaestheticize.” Grosvenor yields, as Bunthorne becomes jovial and agreeable. Guided by her ever-changing moral compass, Patience must now choose between her two suitors.

BACKGROUND

The Bab Ballads, W. S. Gilbert’s collection of light verse that had generated ideas for characters in H.M.S. Pinafore, also provided the impetus for Patience. Gilbert at first drew on a ballad that satirized two rival curates competing for the reputation of being the mildest man in the country, but then he hesitated, fearful of offending the

clergy. (Richard D’Oyly Carte boasted in an ad that his theater was “visited by the clergy, who have given it a support which they withhold from many others.”) A breakthrough occurred when he decided to transform the curates into rival poets and to play off these “aesthetes” against the virile Royal Dragoons. Cartoonist (and later novelist) George du Maurier’s caricatures of aesthetes were appearing in Punch, and F. C. Burnand’s satire of aesthetic hypocrisy, The Colonel, was a hit with the public when it opened on February 2, 1881.

Some aesthetes were members of the PreRaphaelite Brotherhood, which originated in the middle of the 19th century as a protest against materialism and progress. By the late 1870s, their posturing made them vulnerable to the charge of preciousness. Although Oscar Wilde is sometimes cited as the prototype of Reginald Bunthorne, the character appears to be a composite of Wilde, Algernon Swinburne (whose verse style is parodied), and James McNeill Whistler (whose famous white lock of hair was part of George Grossmith’s makeup on opening night). Archibald (originally Algernon) Grosvenor (the name of a wellknown London gallery) has the physical traits of William Morris and an “idyllic” verse style that links him perhaps to English poet and critic Coventry Patmore.

Gilbert not only directed the first production of Patience but also, with his customary zeal for authenticity, designed “aesthetical dresses” for the lovesick maidens and ordered his fabrics from Liberty’s, which specialized in “aesthetic” materials. Yet for all of Patience’s topicality, it continues to delight because, as one of the original reviewers asserted: “It is a satire of human weakness, more than a society craze.”

Wilde, who had a gift for self-publicity, showed up on opening night, daffodil in hand. Carte, another canny publicist, later arranged for Wilde to help plug the show in America. He wrote to Helen Lenoir, his assistant: “I suggested to [Wilde] that it would be a good boom for him [while on his American lecture tour, which Carte

organized] if he were to see Patience and we were to let it be known beforehand, and he would probably be recognized. This idea he quite took hold to.... I told him not to mind my using a little bunkum to push him in America.” Wilde did indeed attend a performance at New York’s Standard Theatre on January 5, 1882. On the day of his lecture in Cleveland (February 18), the Plain Dealer ran a front-page cartoon showing Wilde with a lily in his lapel and surrounded by adoring females, the one nearest him holding a sunflower. Beneath the cartoon were printed several extracts from Patience, including Bunthorne’s “If you’re anxious for to shine in the high aesthetic line.” A Wooster newspaper later

commented: “Report has it that Oscar Wilde is worn out and says he hasn’t had a sunflower fit to eat since he set foot in this bloody country.”

Sullivan completed the music for this “Entirely New and Original Aesthetic Opera” (as it was designated in the program) with his usual last-minute rush, sending pages by courier to the theater while rehearsals were in progress and finishing the scoring just two days before the premiere on April 23, 1881. After conducting the premiere, he recorded in his diary that the performance elicited eight encores.

Adapted from the original of Raymond McCall

BITTER SWEET

(1929)

Music and Libretto .................................................... Noël Coward

Conductor Michael Borowitz

Stage Director .......................................................... Steven Daigle

Choreographer Spencer Reese

Set Designer ...................................................................Kiah Kayser

Costume Designer Jennifer Salter

Lighting Designer Brittany Shemuga

Sound Designer ...............................................

Madeleine Carroll

Assistant Director Helen Knudsen

Marchioness of Shayne (Sarah Millick/Sari) Jenna Justice

Carl Linden Adam Griffiths

Manon Caroline Hawthorne

Dolly Chamberlain Rachel Weinfeld

Lord Henry Jekyll ...........................................

The Hon. Hugh Devon

Timothy McGowan

Nathaniel Richard

Mrs. Violet Millick...................................................... Amia Korman

Fräulein Schlick Quinlyn Kessler

Lady Devon Yumeko Stern

The Marquis of Steere ........................................... Niko Theriault

Vincent Howard Spencer Reese

Lord Edgar James, rifle brigade officer

James Moorehead

Lord Sorrel, artillery officer Spencer Wilde

Mr. Vale, naval officer Noah Sickman

Mr. Bethel Asher Ramaly

Mr. Proutie, Scottish officer ...................................... Safin Karim

Victoria Rachel Wresh

Harriet .............................................................................. Arianna Paz

Gloria Maggie Langhorne

Honor Meggie Vincent

Jane ................................................................................. Camryn Finn

Effie Leah Finn

Margaret Devon .................................................... Quinlyn Kessler

Gussi Jenna Grissom

Lotte Amia Korman

Freda Rachel Weinfeld

Hansi Kate Bilenko

Lieutenant Tranisch ................................................. Connor Burns

Capt. Schensi Wesley Diener

Fritz ............................................................................ Spencer Reese

Captain August Lutte

Timothy McGowan

Marquis of Shayne Wesley Diener

Nita ..............................................................................Jenna Grissom

Helen Yumeko Stern

Jackie .............................................................................. Kate Bilenko

Parker, butler Wesley Diener

This production has been partially underwritten by gifts from:

Ambassador John Ong

Clark R. Green Charitable Foundation

Mary Alice Streeter

“Green Carnation” Quartet

Vernon Craft Noah Sickman

Bertram Sellick .................................................... Asher Ramaly

Cedric Ballantyne Niko Theriault

Henry Jade Spencer Wilde

Ensemble: Kate Bilenko, Connor Burns, Camryn Finn, Leah Finn, Jenna Grissom, Safin Karim, Quinlyn Kessler, Amia Korman, Maggie Langhorne, Timothy McGowan, James Moorehead, Arianna Paz, Asher Ramaly, Spencer Reese, Nathaniel Richard, Noah Sickman, Yumeko Stern, Niko Theriault, Thomas Valenti, Meggie Vincent, Rachel Weinfeld, Spencer Wilde, Rachel Wresh

Understudy for Marchioness of Shayne (Sarah Millick): Jordan Knapick

Understudy for Carl Linden: Owen Malone

SETTING

ACT I

Scene 1 Lady Shayne’s house in Grosvenor Square, 1929

Scene 2 The Millick’s house in Belgrave Square, 1875

Scene 3 The ballroom of the Millick’s house, 1875

MUSICAL NUMBERS

ACT I

That Wonderful Melody ....................... Chorus

The Call of Life Lady Shayne, Chorus If You Could Only Come with Me Carl

I’ll See You Again Carl, Sarah Polka

What Is Love? ............................. Sarah, Chorus

The Last Dance Chorus

Finale Act I .......................... Sarah, Girls Sextet

15-Minute Intermission

ACT II

Ladies of the Town ..................... Girls Quartet If Love Were All Manon Evermore and a Day Sari, Carl

ACT II

Scene 1 Fräulein Schlick’s café in Vienna, 1880, early morning

Scene 2 Same day, before midnight

ACT III

Scene 1 Lord Shayne’s house in London, 1895

Scene 2 Same as Act I, Scene 1

Dear Little Café Sari, Carl Tokay Schensi, Chorus

Dance of Prater Girls

Bonne Nuit, Merci! Manon

Kiss Me ........................................................ Manon

Waltz

Finale Act II Ensemble

There will be no intermission between Acts II and III

ACT III

Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom Chorus Alas! The Time Is Past Girls Sextet

Green Carnation ......................... Boys Quartet

Zigeuner Sari

I’ll See You Again (reprise) ........................ Sari

Finale Ultimo Ensemble

“I’ll see you again.”

ARGUMENT

ACT I: At a party at Lady Shayne’s London home in 1929, Dolly Chamberlain must choose between Henry Jekyll, her stuffy fiancé, and Vincent Howard, a musician who declares his love for her. Lady Shayne relates to all her belief that a young person must yield to the prompting of the heart. The scene shifts to 1875, when the 17-yearold Sarah Millick (the future Lady Shayne) is engaged to the stuffy Hugh Devon but is loved by her Austrian music teacher, Carl Linden. At a party celebrating her imminent marriage to Hugh, it becomes clear that her heart belongs to Carl, with whom she soon elopes.

ACT II: At Fräulein Schlick’s cafe in Vienna, where Carl is employed as orchestra leader and Sarah (now called Sari) as a professional dancing partner, the patrons include ladies of the night and cavalry officers. Sari does not enjoy her role and worries about the future. She shares Carl’s dream of some day opening their own little café. Carl’s former flame, the café singer Manon, warns Sari that Captain August Lutte has designs on her. Sari snubs the Captain, but, after Schlick threatens to fire her, she agrees to dance with him. When the Captain kisses her, Carl strikes him but finds himself on the losing end of a sword fight with the professional soldier.

ACT III: In Lord Shayne’s London home in 1895, party guests gossip about their host’s pursuit of Sari Linden in recent years. Although still pining for her long-departed Carl, Sari resignedly accepts her host’s proposal of marriage. The scene changes back to 1929, as Sarah/Sari/Lady Shayne looks back on her eventful life.

BACKGROUND

In 1928 the 29-year-old Noël Coward was well established as a leading man, playwright, and lyricist and composer of revues. In the early summer of that year, according to his autobiography, he chanced to hear a recording of Die Fledermaus, which evoked “a confused picture of uniforms, bustles, chandeliers, and gas-lit cafes” that in turn

became the basis for the story of a proper English girl who spurns an arranged marriage to elope to Vienna with her music teacher and is left with bittersweet memories when he is killed in a duel.

In creating his first full-scale musical, Coward deliberately countered what he called “slick American ‘vo-do-deo’ musical farces.” Moreover, his choice of subject matter and his musical style reflected his admiration for the light operas of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, an admiration subsequently emphasized by one London reviewer of Bitter Sweet who compared the score to those of Johann Strauss and Franz Lehár and observed that Sir Arthur Sullivan would not have hesitated to claim the sextet “Alas! The Time Is Past.” Coward wrote the book for act one on a ship returning from a visit to New York and act two while hospitalized for a minor operation. The score took longer and was finished in early 1929, while he was appearing in the Broadway production of his revue This Year of Grace. He claimed that, after a matinee one day, “I’ll See You Again” dropped into his mind “whole and complete, during a twenty minutes’ traffic block.”

Coward’s original choice for the heroine, Sari Linden, was Gertrude Lawrence, but they both agreed that her voice was not strong enough. Evelyn Laye, who subsequently played the role on Broadway (and later in London) passed on the opportunity because of “marital problems” for which she partially blamed Coward. The American Peggy Wood was enlisted and created (in Coward’s words) a “distinguished performance.” After a successful tryout in Manchester, Bitter Sweet had its London premiere at His Majesty’s Theatre on July 12, 1929. Although the fashionable audience, expecting sharp wit rather than sentiment, was initially “almost as responsive as so many corn-flower blancmanges,” the gallery girls cheered, and the show began a two-year run. A food company capitalized on the show’s title by launching an advertising campaign for its new Bitter Sweet Marmalade, which Peggy Wood described as “yummy.”

Florenz Ziegfeld, who co-produced Bitter Sweet on Broadway, made Coward’s life miserable during rehearsals by insisting that a dozen ravishing show girls be added to the cast and predicting failure when Coward adamantly rejected his advice. Glowing word-of-mouth reports of the Boston tryout contributed to an eagerly awaited Broadway opening on November 5, 1929, with scalpers selling some seats for $150. A few days earlier, Wall Street—in Variety’s memorable headline—had laid an egg. Bitter Sweet, along with The New Moon, Mlle. Modiste, and Die Fledermaus, served that fall to distract Broadway audiences from the stock market crash. Brooks Atkinson, in the New

York Times, praised “the radiant splendor” of Evelyn Laye and hailed Coward as a master craftsman.

In 1940 M-G-M adapted Bitter Sweet as a technicolor epic for Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Coward grumbled: “It was vulgar, lacking in taste, and bore little relation to my original story,” a judgment echoed by film critic Bosley Crowther’s dismissal of “Metro’s battered screen version” in which MacDonald played with “self-conscious high spirit” and Eddy with “painful pomposity.”

from the original of Raymond

Adapted

McCall

THE COUSIN FROM BATAVIA (1921)

Music Eduard Künneke

Original German Libretto Herman Haller and “Rideamus”

English Translation ........................................... Richard Traubner

Conductor ...................................................... Wilson Southerland

Stage Director Spencer Reese

Choreographer Spencer Reese

Set Designer ........................................................... Chyna L. Mayer

Costume Designer Jaysen Engel

Lighting Designer............................................ Brittany Shemuga

Sound Designer Madeleine Carroll

Assistant Director ................................................. Helen Knudsen

Julia de Weert Jenna Justice Hanna, her friend ......................................... Maggie Langhorne

Josef Kuhbrot (called Josse), Julia’s uncle Niko Theriault Wilhelmina (called Wimpel), his wife Caroline Hawthorne Stranger I Adam Griffiths Stranger II.................................................................. Wesley Diener

Egon von Wildenhagen, an aristocratic neighbor .................................... Jack Murphy Hans, servant Jeron Robinson

Carlotta, servant Amia Korman

Understudy for Julia: Jenna Grissom

Understudy for Stranger II: Thomas Valenti

SETTING

Outside of Josse Kuhbrot’s villa in southern Holland – Early 1920s

ACT I: Afternoon

ACT II: The next morning

ACT III: Later, the same day

MUSICAL NUMBERS

ACT I

One More Glass of Bordeaux Carlotta, Wimpel, Hanna, Hans, Josse Uncle and Auntie Hanna, Hans, Carlotta, Wimpel, Josse Glistening Moon ........................................................................................................................................ Julia In Matters of Passion Julia, Hanna, Egon Finale Act I

Now We Must Clean Julia, Hanna Holdrioh! Stranger I, Julia, Hanna I Drink to Your Laughing, Enchanting Eyes......................................................... Stranger I, Julia I’m Only a Wandering Minstrel Stranger I, Hanna, Julia

15-Minute Intermission

ACT II

Now, What’s This All About? Hanna, Julia You Can’t Depend on Fortune’s Kiss ...................................................... Stranger I, Josse, Wimpel If You Think That I Know Who He Is Josse, Wimpel, Stranger I It’s Roderich! It’s Roderich!........................................................................................................ Ensemble Sweetheart, What Horrible Thoughts You Are Thinking Julia, Stranger I Men, Oh Men Egon, Hanna Seven Years I Spent Out in Batavia .................................................................. Stranger I, Ensemble Finale Act II: Forever! Forever! Ensemble

There will be no intermission between Acts II and III

ACT III

Storm Prelude

In Such a Storm, I’m in Good Form ........................................................................................ Stranger I Ta-Ti-Ta! Ta-Ti-Ta! Hanna, Stranger II Finale Ultimo

You Can’t Depend on Fortune’s Kiss (reprise) Stranger I, Josse, Wimpel He’s Spoiling Our Revel! Wimpel, Josse, Stranger I, Hans, Carlotta In the Name of Holland’s Justice ........................................................................................ Ensemble

“Glistening moon in that dreamy lagoon.”

ARGUMENT

Julia, the niece of Josse Kuhbrot and his wife Wimpel, informs her good friend Hanna that she longs for the day when her childhood sweetheart Roderich will come home from “nowhere” in the East Indies. As a result, she refuses both the attentions of the local mayor’s son Egon and her uncle’s wish that she wed his brother’s son August. One day, a handsome stranger arrives at the house. Julia tells him that her heart belongs to Roderich, whom she has not seen for a long time. She also mentions that her uncle wants her to marry August, someone who she claims will never have her hand. Seeing some potential for romance, the stranger deceptively informs Julia that he is in fact Roderich. They fall in love, as he calls on his full imagination to describe his seven years in Batavia. When Julia learns eventually that the stranger is not really Roderich, she sends him packing. The plot thickens when the real Roderich arrives from Batavia, is amazed to find that Julia still loves him, but falls instantly for Hanna.

BACKGROUND

An immediate success at its Berlin premiere on April 15, 1921, Eduard Künneke’s Der Vetter aus Dingsda (roughly, The Cousin from Nowhere) quickly enjoyed productions all over Europe and remains a popular repertoire piece today on the Continent. New York audiences in 1923 were subjected to a version titled Caroline, which transferred the action from Holland in the 1920s to Virginia during the Civil War and had a short run. Ohio Light Opera happily returns to the original story in Richard Traubner’s English translation.

Based on a comedy by Max KempnerHochstadt and somewhat reminiscent of Oliver Goldsmith’s 1773 British play She Stoops to Conquer, the libretto by Herman Haller and Rideamus (the pen name of Fritz Oliven) centers on Julia, a Dutch girl who

rebels against her family’s engagement plans for her and longs for the return of Roderich from “Dingsda” in the East Indies.

Unusual among the works in OLO’s repertoire in that it features a unit set and lacks a chorus, the “suitably intimate” score of The Cousin from Batavia, operetta historian Kurt Gänzl says, neatly mixes “the fox trot, the tango, and the boston into its elsewhere plaintive and pretty music.” These dances identify the show as a transition between operetta and the modern musical. Künneke also supplies waltzes that rival the best of the Gold and Silver Ages of operetta—notably, Julia’s act one song about the magical moon that conveys her love and kisses to the distant Roderich. The composer gives the stranger a solo, “I’m only a wandering minstrel,” that provides unmodified rapture for tenor and audience.

The German-born Künneke (1885–1953) studied composition in Berlin with Max Bruch before launching a career as a conductor. His 1909 comic opera Robins Ende marked his beginning as a composer for the theater. He turned his attention to operetta in 1919 with the quite popular Das Dorf ohne Glocke (The Village without a Bell) and, over the next three decades, churned out more than 30 operettas. With an eye on the potentially lucrative Broadway market, he came in 1924 to the United States, where he worked for the Shuberts on two Broadway musicals, both only minimally successful: The Love Song (a 1925 Offenbach pastiche) and, later that year, Mayflowers, featuring soon-to-be Hollywood star Nancy Carroll. His commission to write a musical comedy for London resulted in the shortrunning Riki-Tiki. Back on his home turf in Germany, he reignited his operetta career and achieved notable successes with Lady Hamilton (1926) and Glückliche Reise (Bon Voyage, 1932).

Adapted from the original of Richard Traubner

ADMINISTRATIVE, ARTISTIC, AND LEADERSHIP TEAM

Listed alphabetically … respectful of the ensemble spirit that has characterized OLO since its founding.

JACOB ALLEN, associate artistic director, returns for his 20th season with OLO (18th in residency), having directed last summer’s productions of Me and My Girl and Guys and Dolls, and performed as Basil Basilovitch in The Count of Luxembourg. A member of the administrative team since 2022, Jacob has been instrumental in season casting and creative planning, and was recently named OLO’s next artistic director, succeeding Steven Daigle in 2026. Past OLO directing credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Arizona Lady, Hello, Dolly! The Student Prince, South Pacific, The Pajama Game, Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, The King and I, and the 2011 “Triple Bill.” Onstage, he has appeared as Frosch in Die Fledermaus, Hale Underwood in Oh, Lady! Lady!! Mordred in Camelot, The Prince in Jubilee, Horace Gripps in The Cabaret Girl, Benny in The Desert Song, and Jimmy Jack John Bondy in The Duchess of Chicago. A native of Oxford, ME, Jacob chairs the Department of Theatre & Dance and serves as interim director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis. He holds degrees in acting and voice from Lawrence University, a graduate degree in stage direction from the Eastman School of Music, and a doctoral degree in performance from the University of Memphis. He has directed and performed extensively across the Midwest and New England, with favorite projects including The Wedding Singer, West Side Story, Oklahoma! Titanic, Chess, Fiddler on the Roof, Children of Eden, The Phantom of the Opera, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Bat Boy, The Winter’s Tale, and She Loves Me. Jacob is passionate about helping young artists find the intersection of authentic acting and dynamic singing.

ERIC ANDRIES, pianist, is pleased to return to Ohio Light Opera for a 15th year. He has a wide range of musical experience in several genres. Over the past few years, he has been the rehearsal pianist for several opera companies, including Wichita Grand Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, First Coast Opera, Voices Immersion Program at Castleton, Omaha Opera, Des Moines Opera, Amarillo Opera, Opera Tampa, Shreveport Opera, Mobile Opera, Syracuse Opera,

Indianapolis Opera, Ashlawn Music Festival, and Opera Idaho. Eric has been the musical director for touring educational opera troupes with Opera Iowa, Portland Opera, and Nashville Opera. In addition, he is an avid jazz pianist and has worked with Princess Cruise Line as piano player for the showband. He was also the keyboardist/arranger for a local salsa music group that was featured at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Eric has been band leader and pianist for several musical shows as well. A native of Baton Rouge, he holds degrees from LSU in piano performance and has studied abroad in France and Austria.

MICHAEL BOROWITZ, music director, is currently in his 17th year as associate professor and music director of the Turner-Fischer Center for Opera at LSU, where this season he conducted performances of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, J. Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, and Chabrier’s L’Étoile. Next season he will lead performances of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. As artistic director with Opéra Louisiane, he led performances of Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. Next season he will conduct performances of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, along with collaborating on a recital featuring soprano Lisette Oropesa and mezzosoprano Susan Graham. His recordings include Offenbach’s Bluebeard, Kern’s The Cabaret Girl, Herbert’s Mlle. Modiste (also released on DVD), Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore and Patience, DVDs of Kálmán’s The Duchess of Chicago and Youmans’ No, No, Nannette, and with soprano Lisette Oropesa, a recital entitled “Aux filles du désert.”

K’NYIA BUMPERS, technical director, is thrilled to be at OLO for the first time. In previous work, K’Nyia was an assistant technical director at Brevard Music Center for its 2024 summer season of Flight, The Threepenny Opera, and La bohème. This Georgia native received her BFA at Valdosta State University and is working towards her MFA at Indiana University.

MADELEINE CARROLL, sound assistant, is excited to be joining OLO for her second season. She is a rising senior in University of Illinois

at Urbana Champaign’s BFA theater program, with a concentration in sound design and technology. Her favorite shows that she worked on in the 2024–25 season were Oklahoma! (audio engineer), The Winter’s Tale (assistant sound designer), and Spring Senior Dance Thesis (sound designer). She is now in the process of audioengineering A View from the Bridge presented by Illinois Theatre and sound-designing Little Women presented by Lyric Theatre at UIUC.

ALLISON CARTMILL, props supervisor, is excited to make her OLO debut this summer in the props department. She recently graduated from West Virginia University with a BFA in theater design and technology. Starting in high school, Allison has had a passion for theater and creating props, with specialty skills in sewing and upholstery. She previously worked at Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick and Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre in Logan. When she’s not in the prop shop, Allison enjoys birdwatching and ceramics at her local studio.

STEVEN A. DAIGLE, artistic director, is an emeritus professor of opera and former artistic director of the Eastman Opera Theatre program at the Eastman School of Music. He has served as part of the artistic staff for more than 300 lyric theater productions and called over 400 professional lyric theater performances as a production stage manager. Daigle’s experience as a stage director encompasses over 180 productions and a wide range of lyric theater repertoire. Productions include collaborations with legendary Broadway composer Charles Strouse and Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Robert Ward and Carlisle Floyd. With OLO, Daigle has served on the technical or artistic staff for over 150 productions, for well over 100 serving as stage director.. As artistic director with OLO, he has expanded the offerings to include traditional musicals and introduced over 70 new titles to the company’s unique repertoire. Daigle has served on the faculty of Kent State University, the Oberlin Conservatory, and on the faculty of the Oberlin in Italy summer program in Urbania. In the spring of 2006 he received the Outstanding Alumnus award from Southeastern Louisiana University. From 2008–13 and 2017–18, he served as chair of the voice and opera department at the Eastman School of Music. In May 2015, Steven received the Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester. In May 2023, he received the Inclusive Excellence Award from the Eastman

School of Music. Steven is an avid luthier and a member of the Guild of American Luthiers.

JAYSEN ENGEL, costume design assistant/ costume designer, is excited to be at OLO for his first season. Jaysen is a costume designer based out of New Haven, CT. He graduated from SUNY Purchase in 2020 with a BFA in costume design. Some previous design credits include The 39 Steps, The Tempest, Waiting for Godot (Colonial Theatre of Westerly), Constellations, The Plein Air Plays (Ancram Center for the Arts), Peter and the Starcatcher (The Norwalk Conservatory), and A Body of Water (Shakespeare & Company). Website: jaysenengeldesign.com

MICHELLE FRAZIER, business & data manager, is excited to be back at OLO for her tenth season. Michelle is a 1994 graduate of Mount Union College, where she studied accounting and business administration. She has spent the majority of her professional career in the consumer packaged goods industry in various capacities. During those years, Michelle worked in sales and marketing with Kraft Foods, Inc. and The J.M. Smucker Company, where she was manager, category development. Michelle spends most of her extra time restoring homes. Working as business and box office manager for OLO not only allows Michelle to work in a field that she loves, but it also allows her to utilize her previous business experience.

SARAH GREENE, costume shop manager, is thrilled to return to OLO this summer. Having recently finished her first year as the instructor of dance costume at The University of Alabama, Sarah’s most recent (and most rewarding) credits include costume-designing Cabaret and working with student, faculty, and guest choreographers on various dance productions during her time at UA. A native of Clemson, SC, Sarah previously designed and constructed all of the costumes for Romeo & Juliet at the Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, SC, and worked for several years at both the South Carolina Children’s Theatre and the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities as a costume designer and technician for theater and dance. Sarah is so grateful for the opportunity to work with the wonderful cast and crew members at OLO.

MADELEINE GUY, scenic charge, is beyond excited to return to Ohio Light Opera for its 2025 summer season. A recent graduate from Coastal Carolina University, she has designed and painted

shows including Cabaret, Cinderella, and The Green Bird at CCU, as well as designed the 2023 summer season for Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, NY. She also starts her new journey— getting her master’s in scene design at Boston University this upcoming fall.

ELLE HARTMAN, wardrobe supervisor, joins OLO for her very first season all the way from Columbus, GA. A Texas native, Elle graduated with a BA from Auburn University in the spring of 2024 and has spent the last year as the cutter/ draper at the Springer Opera House, the historic state theater of Georgia. Her most recent successes have been drafting and draping Xanadu, wigsupervising Jersey Boys, and wardrobe-leading Jesus Christ Superstar at the Springer Opera House. She also worked as stitcher for Suor Angelica at the Schwob Opera. Elle spends her time outside the theater sunbathing with her corgi and planning her 2026 wedding.

DANIEL HOBBS, assistant production manager/ scenic designer for Carousel and Tip-Toes, is a scenic and projection designer as well as assistant professor of scenic design at Coastal Carolina University. He is excited to return for his tenth season with the Ohio Light Opera. Past shows with OLO include recent titles such as Camelot, Guys and Dolls, and No, No, Nanette. His recent credits include Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet for Toledo Opera, and Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson –Apt 2B for PURE Theatre.

CHRISTINE HOLT, wig technician, is elated to be joining the OLO theater family for the first time. Entering the theater world with wardrobe work on Death of a Salesman at the Hudson Theatre in Manhattan, Christine learned to prep costumes, launder, and dry-clean, as well as transitioning into wigs and learning to ventilate, style, wash, block, sew, glue, color, and repair lace. Such experiences have taught Christine to be resilient and to keep going, and afforded appreciated opportunities to go places.

CARLY HOLZWARTH, costume designer, is joining this season of OLO as the costume designer for Carousel. She is an assistant professor of costume design and history, and C. Graydon and Mary E. Rogers Faculty Fellow at Bucknell University. Carly holds an MFA in costume design and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in art education at The Pennsylvania State University. Her research is focused on ethical costume pedagogies and how costume design and production are taught

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in varying contexts. She currently serves as the drama section editor of the International Journal of Education & the Arts, where she recently guest-edited a special edition on issues in teaching theater design. NYC credits include Blood at the Root at the National Black Theatre; regional credits include Don Giovanni, Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and Proving Up in Rochester, NY. International exhibitions of her work have been included in the Edinburgh Theatre Festival and the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

KIAH KAYSER, production manager/scenic designer, is a freelance scenic designer, originally hailing from Minnesota and currently serving as an assistant professor at Albion College. This is Kiah’s ninth summer working at Ohio Light Opera as a scenic designer. Some of her favorite shows she has designed for OLO are: The Sound of Music, Candide, Girl Crazy, and La Périchole. Her recent design credits at other locations include: In the Next Room and Eurydice (Albion College), Waitress, Seussical, A Doll’s House, and Peter Pan (Playhouse on the Square). She received her MFA in scenic design from the University of Arkansas. In addition to her design work, Kiah has also worked as a scenic artist for Irish Repertory Theatre, Infinite Scenic, Opera Memphis, and Cedar Rapids Opera.

LAURA KELLOGG, orchestra personnel manager/flute, is thrilled to be returning to OLO for a tenth season. Despite hating the cold and snow, Laura lives in Fargo, ND. She teaches applied flute, chamber music, and woodwind methods at North Dakota State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead. She is the executive director of the Fargo-Moorhead Area Youth Symphonies and director of the NDSU Music Academy. Her opera pit experience includes performances with the Fargo-Moorhead Opera, NDSU Theater, Cimarron Opera, Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra, and productions at the North Dakota State University, the University of Oklahoma, and Wright State University. She has played flute and piccolo in the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Fort Smith Symphony, Jackson Symphony Orchestra (MI), the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, and the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra. Laura’s flute mentors are Richard Sherman, Christopher Chaffee, Valerie Watts, Amanda Blaikie, Jeff Zook, and Sharon Sparrow. She has a BM from Michigan State University, an MM from Wright

State University, and a DMA from The University of Oklahoma. She looks forward to the OLO performances this summer, reading non-academic books, and hiking at Spangler Park in Wooster. www.laurakelloggflutist.com

RACHEL LAUREN, lighting designer, is pleased to return for a fifth season with OLO. This season, she will be designing Brigadoon, Tip-Toes, and Patience. Notable previous designs for OLO include The Count of Luxembourg, No, No, Nanette, Arizona Lady, The Mock Marriage, and The Pirates of Penzance. Outside of OLO, Rachel spends most of her time in DTW, flying across the country to design at various companies such as Playhouse on the Square, Arcadia Stage, Sacramento Ballet, Western Plains Opera, and Kansas City Ballet. She would like to thank her family for their endless support and constant encouragement. Find more of her work from previous seasons of OLO at rachellaurenlighting.com

CHYNA L. MAYER, scenic designer, is a freelance scenic designer based in Houston, currently working throughout the Midwest. Returning for their fourth season at OLO, they are the scenic designer for The Cousin from Batavia. Past shows designed at OLO include Me and My Girl, The Count of Luxembourg, and H.M.S. Pinafore. Other recent credits include The Cottage at The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Lucia and The Little Prince with Opera in the Heights, and most recently Be More Chill and Hadestown with Summer Stock Stage. Visit chynamayerscenicdesign.com for more information.

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, sound designer, developed the sound degrees at Michigan Technological University, where he was named a distinguished professor in 2022. He has experience in theater and film sound design, recording, live sound reinforcement, haunted house show control, theater directing and devising, sound system consulting, and broadcast sound for sporting events. He has worked with Kierkegaard Acoustics, Pan Asian Rep in NYC, The Hanger Theatre, Montana Shakespeare Festival, Diablo Immersive, and Six Flags. He led the National Endowment for the Arts funded project Listening to Parks, which features soundscapes and images from the five national parks surrounding Lake Superior in an immersive multimedia installation, and created sound design instructional videos for a project funded by the Japanese Ministry of Culture. He has mixed

special features for PBS, and premiered films at Isle Royal National Park and the Milwaukee Film Festival. He has served on graduate committees in mechanical engineering, communication and culture studies, and computer science. He has written articles for The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) publications TD&T and Current Research in Sound. He has presented at USITT, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF), Prague Quadrennial, and the Audio Engineering Society (AES). Christopher is a past sound commissioner for USITT, co-chair of design, technology, and management for region 3 of KCACTF, co-chair of education for the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association, and editor for the USITT Teaching Archive.

SPENCER

REESE, choreographer/director/ tenor, is thrilled to return to OLO for his 12th season, having shared more than 60 productions with his beloved Wooster community. It is, in many ways, a full-circle summer. He is excited about returning to Brigadoon a decade after his first trip (Harry Beaton, OLO 2015), gallivanting with Patience on the mainstage after the 2020 virtual season, and performing a leading role in a Gershwin musical after—literally—writing a book on the composer. Recent OLO highlights include Bill Snibson in Me and My Girl (2024), J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (2023), Billy Early in No, No, Nanette (2023), Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly! (2022), and Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance (2019, 2022). Spencer is the artistic director of the Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society and a teaching artist with Goodspeed Musicals. Since last you’ve seen him, he is now also the tenor on voice faculty at UConn. When not making music, you can usually find him going on nature quests, crafting for charity, or planning his next Disney trip.

JENNIFER (JENNI) SALTER, costume designer, is the costume design professor for Auburn University’s Department of Theater and Dance. This is Jenni’s first season with Ohio Light Opera, and she is absolutely thrilled to be working with such an amazing team of artists. Jenni has worked as a professional costume and wig designer for over 18 years and has had the privilege of designing and working for theaters such as Weston Playhouse in Weston, VT, The Navigators in NYC, Fieldtrip Theatre in Washington, DC, Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City, and many others. Jenni earned her

MFA in costume design from Ohio University and is happy to be returning to the state where she got her start.

BRITTANY SHEMUGA, lighting designer, is excited to return to OLO for her ninth season. She will be designing Carousel, Bitter Sweet, and The Cousin from Batavia. Her recent designs include the 2024 season’s Guys and Dolls, The Sound of Music, and The Arcadians. She also designs for the College of Wooster during the school year, as well as at various theaters throughout the Washington, DC area. Originally from Akron, Brittany received her MFA in lighting from the University of Maryland.

NAOKO SKALA, scenic designer, is delighted to make her OLO debut with Patience this season. Originally from Japan, she is an assistant professor of scenic design at The College of Wooster, where she teaches courses in scenic and property design, puppetry and mask design, Asian theater, and digital media. Her recent articles in Theatre Design and Technology (TD&T)—“Introducing Joruri Puppetry” and “Experiencing the Japanese Nohgaku Theatre”—earned her the USITT Herbert D. Greggs Merit Award. Naoko’s recent design credits include Something Clean (Dobama Theatre), Legacy of Light and Boeing Boeing (The College of Wooster), and Mr. Burns, A PostElectric Play (Northern Arizona University). She has also worked with Arizona Opera and the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina as a properties coordinator. Naoko holds an MFA in scene design from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a BFA in theater from Emporia State University. Her creative interests include CAD, motion graphics, 3D printing, painting, sculpture, and Japanese literature. Please see Naoko’s works at her portfolio website: naokoskala.com

WILSON SOUTHERLAND, associate music director, is an internationally sought-after conductor, pianist, and vocal coach, with engagements spanning the United States, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. He made his acclaimed conducting debut with Les enfants terribles (Glass) at North Carolina Opera in 2012, and was the principal conductor for Eastman Opera Theatre’s She Loves Me in 2013. Wilson began his work with the Ohio Light Opera as rehearsal pianist (2006–08) and has since built a wide-ranging international career. His credits include work as pianist, coach, assistant conductor, and recitalist with Opera Africa (Pretoria), the New Israeli Opera (Tel

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Aviv), Les Azuriales Opera (France), AIMS Graz (Austria), Si parla, si canta (Italy), and the Royal Opera House Muscat (Oman). A finalist in the prestigious Wigmore Hall International Song Competition in London, Wilson was selected as one of 24 singer-pianist duos worldwide. In the United States, he has served as a principal coach for Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program and as associate conductor/pianist for Opera Omaha, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Birmingham, Opera Memphis, Spoleto Festival USA, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. For six seasons, Wilson was senior coach and principal pianist under the legendary conductor-violinist Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival, later joining Maazel in recital at the Kennedy Center. A former faculty member at Vanderbilt University and the University of Alabama, Wilson performed in Juilliard’s Vocal Arts Honors Recital at Alice Tully Hall. With the New Israeli Opera, he served as associate conductor, head coach, and language specialist for La rondine, featuring soprano Angela Gheorghiu. Wilson has served as assistant professor of opera at the Eastman School of Music since 2016, where his conducting credits include the revised world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Out of Darkness and Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas, among more than 16 other productions. In April 2025, he conducted Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar in Eastman’s 2400-seat Kodak Hall. In addition to teaching and conducting, he has given masterclasses at Vanderbilt University and Roberts Wesleyan University. He holds degrees in piano performance from Vanderbilt University and The Juilliard School.

MICHELLE HUNT SOUZA, costume designer for Brigadoon and Patience, is delighted to join OLO for her first season. Michelle’s professional costume design work has been featured at a wide range of theaters from coast to coast, including the Cleveland Play House, Porthouse Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Summit Performance Indianapolis, Crossroads Repertory Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Moxie Theatre, and many others. Her writing and scholarship have been featured in Theatre Design and Technology magazine, HowlRound Theatre Commons, TheatreForum International Performance Journal, at the Prague Quadrennial, and in the USITT Teaching Archive. She is currently on the faculty of the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University. Find her work at msouzadesign.com.

TESSA VERNER, production stage manager, is delighted to be spending her first summer with OLO. She is originally from Amarillo, TX and earned her BA in theater with an emphasis in stage management from Angelo State University in San Angelo, TX. Tessa has served as the production stage manager at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis for the past three years, following her time there as a stage management intern. She also previously worked as a stage manager with Cedar Point. Her favorite credits include Waitress, Catch Me If You Can, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, and Something Rotten!

JULIE WRIGHT COSTA, retired associate artistic director of the Ohio Light Opera, is cherished for her artistry and insight as both performer and director, particularly in the world of operetta. A beloved presence on the national stage, she has sung over 65 leading roles in more than 100 productions with OLO and has directed more than 20 of the company’s productions. Julie returns with great joy to Ohio Light Opera for its 46th summer season, grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with dear friends and colleagues, both within the company and throughout the Wooster community. Many thanks to Laura Neill and Steven Daigle for this very special invitation. Her recent creative endeavors include directing La bohème for Western Plains Opera and portraying Hera in a workshop of Protectress (Act I), composed by Jessica Rudman with lyrics

by Kendra Preston. Julie also participated in the development of two new opera libretti for Opera Contempo, including Act II of Protectress, in which she will reprise her role as Hera in the upcoming fall performance. This summer, she is delighted to direct Patience, or Bunthorne’s Bride, the sixth collaboration of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, a work that embodies her enduring passion for lyric theatre. Career highlights include performances with the opera companies of Nevada, Chautauqua, Cleveland, North Carolina, and Utah, as well as with the symphonies of Charlotte, Illinois, Utah, and Detroit. Among her most treasured roles are those in La bohème, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, The Turn of the Screw, Bitter Sweet, La rondine, Countess Maritza, and Giuditta. As a director, Julie has brought her artistic vision to productions with the Moab Music Festival, Utah Opera, Nevada Opera, Opera Southwest, Western Plains Opera, Eastman School of Music, and the University of Utah, among others. Her work is featured on recordings with Newport Classic, Albany Records, and Operetta Archives. Julie lives in Salt Lake City with her husband, composer John Costa, and their beloved dachshunds, Rose and Timmy. She is a tenured professor of voice at the University of Utah’s School of Music, where she continues to inspire the next generation of singers with the same care and passion that have defined her own remarkable career.

FESTIVAL CAST

KATE BILENKO, mezzosoprano, is thrilled to be back with OLO this season as TipToes Kaye in Tip-Toes, Louise Bigelow in Carousel, Maggie Anderson in Brigadoon, and featured in the ensemble of Patience and Bitter Sweet Last year, Kate danced away on the OLO stage as Sally Smith in Me and My Girl. Other professional credits include: Sister Robert Anne in Nunsense and Babette in Beauty and the Beast at Uptown! Knauer PAC with Revival Productions. Kate is also passionate about new works, recently having played Chava in a new musical reading, How My Grandparents Fell in Love, presented at New Jersey Repertory Company. Kate is a recent graduate of Rider University, with a BFA in musical theater. Her time at Rider concluded with being the internal dance captain of Nice Work if You Can Get It. She is also a proud alumna of The Verdon Fosse Legacy Training Program in NYC. Kate is Philadelphia-born and raised. Endless gratitude for her family, the trust of the OLO team, and her coach, Louis F. Goldberg. www. katebilenko.com

CONNOR BURNS, baritone, is thrilled to be spending his second season with the Ohio Light Opera in the role of Billy Bigelow in Carousel and covering Tommy Albright in Brigadoon. Hailing from Lakewood, CO, he has just graduated from New York University’s Steinhardt School with a BM in vocal performance. In his last two years at NYU, Connor sang in ten of his peers’ capstone recitals, from undergraduates to master’s and doctoral candidates. He has also made several appearances with the NYU Broadway Orchestra (dir. Ted Sperling), singing across the musical theater canon. Mainstage roles include Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods, Falke in Die Fledermaus, and Thomas Andrews in Titanic. You may have seen him at OLO last year as Giuseppe Palmieri in The Gondoliers or Peter Doody in The Arcadians. Connor was a rehearsal cover for the MasterVoices series at Carnegie Hall last fall (Strike Up the Band). He is a student of Christopher Preston Thompson.

WESLEY DIENER, baritone, is thrilled to make his Ohio Light Opera debut this summer. Highlights of 2024-25 included performances as Sid in Albert Herring and solo recitals in Chicago, Washington, DC, and Charlottesville, VA. Last season, Diener portrayed Vater in Hänsel und Gretel and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte at Northwestern University. On the concert stage, he appeared as the Baritone Soloist in Rutter’s Mass of the Children with Virginia Consort and in Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. Offstage, he is a passionate voice instructor and manages WD Studio, a virtual voice studio that welcomes singers of all ages and experiences. Wesley’s voice students have performed in Broadway national tours and regional theater productions, as well as professional film and television projects. A Virginia native, Diener graduated from the University of Virginia with highest distinction and received his masters of music from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music in June. wesleydiener.com wdstudio.org

LYDIA DUNLAP, youth cast, is delighted to return for her third season with OLO, appearing in the ensemble of Brigadoon and Carousel. Previous OLO credits include Louisa in The Sound of Music and Tom of Warwick in Camelot. Lydia is an active member of the Wooster High School Drama Club, where she recently played the role of Annie in Annie and portrayed Alexis in The Bookstore. Outside of theater, Lydia runs with the track and cross-country teams and participates in choir, STAND, Green Club, and the Student Leadership Team. She extends heartfelt thanks to her friends and family for their constant support and encouragement.

CAMRYN FINN, soprano, is excited to debut this season with OLO. Originally from Virginia Beach and now based in San Francisco, this bicoastal girl is excited to have her midwest adventure this summer. This season she will be appearing as

Jean in Brigadoon, Lady Saphir in Patience, and Jane in Bitter Sweet. She recently graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Some favorite previous credits include Beth in Little Women and Littler Daughter in Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up. She is especially happy to be joining the OLO family with her sister Leah.

LEAH FINN, mezzo-soprano, is thrilled to be making her OLO debut this season as Effie in Bitter Sweet. Currently based in San Francisco, Leah has recently appeared as Taller Daughter in Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up and Serse in Handel’s Serse. Last summer, she was a Manetti Shrem Opera Fellow with Festival Napa Valley. When not performing, Leah is also passionate about directing, most recently serving as the assistant director for the world premiere of David Hanlon and Stephanie Flesichmann’s The Pigeon Keeper at Opera Parallèle. She is so excited to work with the amazing company at OLO, especially alongside her sister Camryn.

ADAM GRIFFITHS, tenor, is looking forward to his second season at OLO (the first was in 2017), playing the roles of the Duke of Dunstable in Patience, Carl Linden in Bitter Sweet, and Stranger 1 in The Cousin from Batavia. Adam is a native of Utah, but in recent years has lived in Florida, North Carolina, West Virginia, and now Iowa. Some of his favorite roles include Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Horace in La colombe, Candide in Candide, Anatoly in Chess, Sparky in Forever Plaid, and King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Adam has soloed in many large choral works, including Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Dubois’ The Seven Last Words of Christ, Bruce’s Circular 14, and various Handel works, including Messiah. Adam and his wife Wendi are both currently pursuing DMA degrees in voice performance at the University of Iowa, where he teaches students in the voice area. When not engrossed in performing and studies, Adam can be found traveling the country, running races, assembling Lego sets, or playing video games.

NIGEL GRIMES, youth cast, is happy to be returning to Ohio

Light Opera for a second year. After portraying Kurt von Trapp in The Sound of Music last summer, Nigel is part of the ensemble for Carousel.

TREVOR GRIMES, youth cast, is delighted to be joining OLO as Young Billy and ensemble in Carousel. He participated in OLO last year as Friedrich von Trapp in The Sound of Music and had an amazing time. Trevor has been studying classical ballet, jazz, and modern dance for almost 14 years, and recently started learning tap and Horton. He is currently a junior in the Wooster High School Concert Choir and symphonic band. Previous theater experience includes performing in several of the Wooster High School drama club productions, including Elf The Musical and Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, as well as performances of The Music Man, The Little Mermaid, and a summer showcase with Summer Stage Wooster.

JENNA GRISSOM, soprano, is over the moon to be joining OLO for her first season. You could have previously spotted her in productions such as Maria Stuarda with Opera Baltimore, Lohengrin with Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theater, or Die Fledermaus with Peabody Opera. She is a graduate of both Louisiana State University and the Peabody Institute. She is currently a student of Elizabeth Futral. Jenna has received encouragement awards from both the New Orleans and Tennessee districts of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, as well as the Pittsburgh Festival Opera Mildred Miller International Vocal Competition. A southern belle by birth, Jenna currently resides in the great city of Baltimore. Her cat, Banks, is also joining her here in Ohio for an exciting season at OLO.

CAROLINE HAWTHORNE, mezzo-soprano, is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Los Angeles. Previous credits include College Light Opera Company (The Yeomen of the Guard, H.M.S Pinafore, Trial by Jury), Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre (The Sound of Music), and Commonweal

Theatre Company (The Fox, Peter and the Starcatcher) Her original solo work has been featured with the Playground Solo Festival in San Francisco, the University Settlement Performance Project (NYC), as well as the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival. Her compositions have been featured at The Cell NYC, The 24 Hour Play Nationals, and Off-Brand Opera Company. Caroline is a graduate of Oklahoma City University and Los Angeles County High School of the Arts. She is currently based in New York. Caroline dedicates this season to her family.

JENNA JUSTICE, soprano, is delighted to be joining OLO this summer, where she will be performing the roles of Julia de Weert in The Cousin from Batavia and Sarah Millick in Bitter Sweet. She is a recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where she studied under Kathryn Cowdrick. Additionally, she attended Furman University in Greenville, SC and studied with Grant Knox. Her most recent roles include Soeur Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites, Marian in Silent Light, Nannetta in Falstaff, and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. Jenna is a Greenville, SC native and began her musical studies under the teaching of Danielle Knox at the Fine Arts Center.

SAFIN KARIM, baritone, is thrilled to be appearing at OLO for the first time, in the company of Carousel, Tip-Toes, Patience, Bitter Sweet, and playing Sandy Dean in Brigadoon. Safin is going into his junior year at New York University, where he pursues his BM in vocal performance concentrated in musical theater. At NYU, Safin has recently mispronounced his fair share of words as Vice Principal Panch in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and appeared as Frank in Die Fledermaus. Most other days, you’ll likely find Safin singing at various cathedrals in the New York area, or playing piano and music directing—–his joint love besides stage performance. While born in Florida, Safin doesn’t enjoy warm weather, which leads him to continually question his upbringing—and gives him another reason to enjoy Ohio. If you see him, please let him know of your favorite restaurant nearby. Safin currently studies voice at NYU with Scott Murphree.

QUINLYN KESSLER, mezzosoprano, is beyond excited to be performing for the first time with Ohio Light Opera as part of the ensemble for Carousel, Bitter Sweet, and Tip-Toes, as well as covering the roles of Jean MacLaren and Maggie Anderson in Brigadoon, and Lady Angela in Patience. She has just graduated with a BFA in musical theater from Manhattanville University, where she was seen in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 (Natasha Rostova), Into the Woods (Cinderella), Carousel (Louise Bigelow), and A Chorus Line (Maggie Winslow). She is originally from Sandy Hook, CT, where she loves to go on hikes with her family, teach at her local dance studio, and spend time with her cats. Quinlyn would like to thank her family and past professors from Manhattanville for their endless support.

VIVIENNE KIST, youth cast, is thrilled to be returning to the Ohio Light Opera this summer in Brigadoon. Viv made her OLO debut last summer as Marta von Trapp in The Sound of Music. She is a student of Susan Wallin at the West Side Vocal Academy and has been a dance student of Mark and Erin Smith at Studio West in Akron. Viv has participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions and is a current soloist with the Copley-Fairlawn Middle School Choir. A graduate of several workshops at Weathervane Playhouse, Viv is also a former student of multimedia artist Jennifer Davis. In her spare time, she participates in the Science Olympiad and is the co-founder of the Graphic Novel Book Clubs at Copley-Fairlawn City Schools. Viv loves to watch movies, read, and eat cupcakes that have sprinkles.

JORDAN KNAPICK, soprano, is thrilled to return to OLO for her second summer, this time as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel, Patience in Patience, and covering Sarah Millick in Bitter Sweet. Last season, Jordan was seen doing the Viennese waltz as Juliette Vermont in The Count of Luxembourg, and losing her fiancé to a nun as Elsa Schraeder in The Sound of Music. Originally from Rockford, IL, she is currently based in Seattle and specializes

in both operatic and musical-theater-style singing. Jordan received her MM from Boston University and her BM from Oklahoma City University, where she studied voice under Lynn Eustis and Jeffrey Picón, respectively. This past spring she had the pleasure of singing Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Northwest Opera in Schools, Etc. and covering the 1st Woodsprite in Rusalka with Pacific Northwest Opera. Other notable credits include Noémie in Cendrillon, Soprano I in Hydrogen Jukebox, Lisette in La rondine, Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music, and Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte. In her free time, Jordan enjoys taking salsa classes, hiking, and browsing in thrift stores.

HELEN KNUDSEN, resident assistant director/soprano, is giddy to be spending a summer in Ohio after several years in the UK. She is a freelance director and acting coach who specializes in clown, classical text, operetta, and devised story-theater. A tutor for Coventry University Scarborough’s BA Acting Programme, she has developed playful retellings of Shakespeare’s King John, Cymbeline, and Pericles. Returning to the United States briefly last summer to direct Patience for the College Light Opera Company, Helen has now settled back home in Chicago, where she teaches at the award-winning Piven Theatre Workshop and hosts regular Shakespeare parties (The ShakeSpeake Series). Helen is a coloratura soprano with a classic Broadway belt who trained with Mark Crayton (Roosevelt University) and Roberta Duchak. Favorite credits: Guenevere in Camelot, Rona Lisa Peretti in The 25th … Spelling Bee, and the midwest premiere of String by Adam Gwon, as well as associate directing The Polar Express Train Ride (Rail Events Inc.). She can’t wait to revisit the role of Meg in OLO’s Brigadoon this season. www.helenknudsen.com

AMIA KORMAN, mezzosoprano, is thrilled to be making their Ohio Light Opera debut. Most recently, Amia spent a year in Chicago, where they portrayed a range of tragic heroines, from Éponine in Les Misérables and Caroline in I and You to freelance digital marketer in six contracts and a service job. Other favorite roles include Rapunzel in Into the Woods, Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Cordelia

in Falsettos, and Ariel in The Little Mermaid. In the fall, Amia will make their way back to NYC, where they recently took the Lincoln Center stage as one of the top ten finalists in the American Pops NextGen National Competition. Offstage, Amia is a playwright, lyricist, and songwriter, releasing off-kilter pop under the pseudonym Dolly In Slacks and working on a new musical repurposing of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Amia holds a BS in opera and musical theater from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington, where they studied with Heidi Grant Murphy.

MAGGIE LANGHORNE, soprano, is delighted as can be to be back with OLO again, this season as Meg Brockie in Brigadoon, Sylvia Metcalf in Tip-Toes, Lady Jane in Patience, Hannah in The Cousin from Batavia, and assistant director for Carousel. A true “crossover” artist whose experience ranges from contemporary opera to Shakespeare, Maggie’s favorite recent credits include Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls with Ohio Light Opera (of course), Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance with Blue Hill Troupe, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing with Scenic City Shakespeare, and an off-Broadway adaptation of Anne of Green Gables with Royal Family Productions. Originally from Santa Barbara, CA, Maggie went on to receive her BM from Oberlin Conservatory and worked with the College Light Opera Company throughout her collegiate years. She now lives with her husband Mark and their bearded dragon in NYC. www.maggielanghorne.com

OWEN MALONE, tenor, is sublimely delighted to be joining the Ohio Light Opera company again this summer, where he will be playing Enoch Snow in Carousel and Charles Dalrymple in Brigadoon, as well as covering Carl Linden in Bitter Sweet. Owen’s previous engagements in Wooster include Marco Palmieri in The Gondoliers, Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore, and Bill Sanders in Arizona Lady. Owen lives in the north Georgia mountains, and has performed locally as Laurie in Little Women, Prince Christopher in Cinderella, and, his most prized accomplishment, performing in Oedipus Tex as Oedipus Tex (but his friends just call him Ed). Owen also enjoys singing in

choirs around the state, including the Orpheus Men’s Ensemble of Georgia and the Mountain Community Choir. Owen holds a degree in music from Young Harris College, and is a student of Jeff Bauman.

TIMOTHY McGOWAN, tenor, has performed with prestigious festivals and organizations, including the San Diego Symphony, Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, Ohio Light Opera, Odyssey Opera, Seagle Festival, and the Boston University Opera Institute, among others. Timothy is thrilled to return to the Ohio Light Opera, where he made his professional debut in its 2018 production of Babes in Arms and returned the following season for The Devil’s Rider and Perchance to Dream. In May 2025, Timothy completed his coursework for a doctor of musical arts degree in voice performance at SUNY Stony Brook and anticipates defending his dissertation in 2026. timothymcgowantenor.com

JOSEPHINE

McILVAINE, youth cast, is thrilled to make her OLO debut in Brigadoon A proud resident of Wadsworth, OH, Josephine will be entering seventh grade at Sacred Heart of Jesus School. She studies voice with Voice Variations and dance at Northeast Ohio Dance. Last year, Josephine attended Destination Broadway with Tiffany Haas. Some of her favorite past roles include Amaryllis in The Music Man, Bubbles in Finding Nemo, Jr., the brat in the ballet Nutcracker, and a zombie in Wadsworth’s annual reenactment of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. When not on stage, she enjoys reading, spending time with family, and playing the piano.

JAMES MOOREHEAD, baritone, is excited to perform at OLO for the first time as Lord Edgar James in Bitter Sweet and Andrew MacLaren in Brigadoon. He has performed the roles of Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief, Vulcan in Orpheus in the Underworld, and The Baker in Into the Woods. Although his home is in Jacksonville, FL, James is currently working on getting his BM at Furman University in Greenville, SC. While he may be singing and dancing now, he is also

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an avid outdoorsman as well as an Eagle Scout. James is a student of Grant Knox.

JACK F. MURPHY, tenor, is delighted to return to his beloved second home at OLO for his third consecutive season, this time in the roles of Tommy (Brigadoon), Hen Kaye (TipToes), Egon von Wildenhagen (The Cousin from Batavia), and Bunthorne’s Solicitor (Patience). Previous OLO role highlights include Sky Masterson (Guys and Dolls), Count René (The Count of Luxembourg), Gerald Bolingbroke (Me and My Girl), Roy Dexter (Arizona Lady), and Orpheus (Orpheus in the Underworld). Other recent performance highlights include Frank McCourt’s The Irish … and How They Got That Way at Playhouse on Park, You’ve Got a Friend: The Music of Carole King onboard the Celebrity Reflection, and Fleet/Guggenheim in Titanic at NYU. Jack is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, educator, and music director. Following his tenure at OLO last summer, he returned to his hometown of Neenah, WI to conduct the orchestra for Neenah High School’s production of Guys and Dolls. A native of America’s Dairyland, Jack holds a master of music degree in musical theater vocal performance and vocal pedagogy from NYU Steinhardt. www.jackfmurphy.com

NORA MYERS, youth cast, is thrilled to be making her Ohio Light Opera debut in Brigadoon. A Wooster local, Nora is 11 years old and will be entering the sixth grade this fall. From a young age, she has been captivated by music, singing, and the theater. She got her first taste of the stage playing Gander in a local production of Charlotte’s Web, followed by a role as a caroler in A Carol for Tiny Tim. Nora has long dreamed of combining her love of music and theater, so when the opportunity to audition for Brigadoon arose, she jumped at the chance. Outside of the spotlight, Nora is a fun-loving kid who enjoys riding her bike to friends’ houses, drawing, creating art, and spending time with the people she loves.

ARIANNA PAZ, mezzosoprano, is an opera and musical theater crossover artist from Long Island, NY. She is absolutely delighted to return to Wooster for her second season with OLO, just days after making

her debut as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Druid City Opera. Last OLO season, she caused a bit of mischief around Nonnberg Abbey as Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music and swooned over the gondolieri as Vittoria in The Gondoliers. A psychology researcher turned singer, Arianna holds a degree in cognitive neuroscience from Harvard University, as well as an MM in classical voice and opera from the Mannes School of Music. Favorite credits include Pane in La Calisto, Zerlina (cover) in Don Giovanni, Despina in Così fan tutte, Cinderella in Into the Woods, Phoebe in The Yeomen of the Guard, and the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon

ASHER RAMALY, tenor, is thrilled to be a part of OLO’s 46th season as a resident young artist. He is a senior at the Jacobs School of Music, pursuing a BM in voice performance and a BSOF in musical theater. He hails from Skokie, IL. Recent opera roles include Tobias in Sweeney Todd (IU Jacob School of Music Opera Theater), Dudley in Little Red’s Most Unusual Day (Opera of the Ozarks), 1st Armored Man in Die Zauberflöte (Harrower Summer Opera Workshop), and Antonio in a production of Figaros Hochzeit (Middlebury College German Language School). He has also appeared in numerous opera choruses at IU, including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (a Metropolitan Opera debut), The Merry Widow, Candide, L’Étoile, H.M.S. Pinafore, and The Magic Flute. When he is not singing, he can be found working as a union stagehand and spoiling his cat. Asher studies under Russell Thomas.

NATHANIEL RICHARD, baritone, is returning to OLO for his second season as Billy Bigelow in Carousel. He is a singer and actor working in the New Orleans area and is a student of Tyler Smith at Loyola University, where he has most recently performed the role of Jupiter in Orpheus in the Underworld. He made his professional debut in December with Opéra Louisiane as Ob in Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus. He is also a member of the New Orleans Opera Chorus, most recently performing in L’elisir d’amore as a featured chorister, as well as in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, in which he made his company debut as The First Philistine. He is currently trying to learn how to crochet and welcomes any advice.

JERON ROBINSON, baritone, is delighted to be returning to OLO for his second season as Stuart Dalrymple in Brigadoon, Hans in The Cousin from Batavia, Bunthorne (cover) in Patience, and ensemble in TipToes and Carousel. You may have seen him shooting craps last year as Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls, or practicing his butler skills as Heatherset in Me and My Girl. Jeron is pursuing his BM in musical theater at Oklahoma City University, where he studies with Catherine McDaniel and has appeared as Elisha Whitney in Anything Goes, Jeter in Footloose, Sipos in She Loves Me, and Mr. Fogg/Ensemble in Sweeney Todd. Helming from Lubbock, TX, Jeron can’t wait for another wonderful summer in Ohio.

ISABELLA RODEMAN, youth cast, is thrilled to be in her second show at OLO. She was last seen here in South Pacific as Ngana. She is going into her senior year of high school. She is a part of WMTC at Weathervane Playhouse. Some of her recent performances include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Butler/ Ensemble) at Weathervane Playhouse, Freaky Friday (Gretchen) with Rubber City Theatre, and Seussical: The Musical (Bird Girl 3) at Western Reserve Playhouse. This summer, along with Brigadoon, she is also assistant-teaching classes as an intern at Weathervane. In times she is not at a theater, she is usually at her church or watching her brother play basketball. She would like to thank God, and her family and friends, for always supporting her.

KYRA RODENBORN, youth cast, is thrilled to be making her OLO debut in Carousel. She recently completed third grade at Moreland Hills Elementary School, where she loves reading, writing, art, and music. She also loves acting and has performed as Molly in Annie (Porthouse Theatre), Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol (Great Lakes Theatre Festival), and Oompah-Loompah/Squirrel in Willy Wonka (Cassidy Theatre), and brought new works to life in the Marilyn Bianchi Kids Playwriting Festival (Dobama Theatre).

NOAH SICKMAN, tenor, is thrilled to be performing with OLO this summer. Noah, originally from Kansas, is a rising junior at Temple University, pursuing a BFA in musical theater. Regional credits include Rolf in The Sound of Music (Maples Repertory Theatre), Friedrich von Trapp in The Sound of Music (Music Theatre Wichita), and Newsies (Lyric Theatre Oklahoma). Collegiate credits include Don in A Chorus Line, Player in Pippin, as well as dance captain in Don Giovanni. Noah is a student of Rachelle Fleming.

GUINEVERE STEENSEN, soprano, is proudly debuting in the ensemble of Patience. Guinevere moved to Historic Downtown Wooster in 2011 from Brooklyn to start a family. In NYC, Guinevere was a pre-production associate manager at Gap Inc.’s Global Creative Headquarters, an assistant buyer for Macys. com, and was the executive assistant for the Luxury Marketing Council of New York. This Kent State University Honors College alumna holds degrees in both advertising and fashion merchandising. Currently, she is the program manager for Main Street Wooster, running the Downtown Wooster Farmers’ Market, Main Street Music outdoor concert series, and collaborating on Wooster Arts District projects. She serves on the Lyric Theater of Wooster’s board of trustees and, if not onstage herself, is orchestrating entertainment nearby. Guinevere has recently portrayed Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray at Players Guild in Canton, Dina Diva in Murder at the Juice Joint with Wayne County Performing Arts Council, and Marian Paroo in The Music Man with Summer Stage Wooster. Her greatest credit is being a mother to her 3 sons: Aden, Eli, and Oliver.

YUMEKO STERN, soprano, is excited to make her OLO debut in the role of Carrie in Carousel. Yumeko recently received her BM in vocal performance musical theater and a minor in business, entertainment, media, and technology from NYU Steinhardt and Stern, under the tutelage of Justin John Moniz. Previous credits include Marcy Park in The 25thAnnual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Kate Mullins in Titanic, Lucy in Heartbreakers in Hell: A Staged Workshop, The Witch in Into the Woods, and Sheila Franklin in Hair

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NIKO THERIAULT, baritone, is thrilled to be making his OLO debut as Colonel Calverley in Patience, David Bascombe in Carousel, Josef Kuhbrot in The Cousin from Batavia, and Archie Beaton in Brigadoon. Niko is currently studying for his BM in music theater and vocal performance at Oklahoma City University, where he recently portrayed Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, Barney in The Ballad of Baby Doe, and Nick in Baby. As a Houston native, he hopes to enjoy a summer not drenched in the humidity of Texas.

THOMAS

VALENTI, tenor, is a Boston-based vocal artist who has a passion for collaborative performance and the conception of new music, and is honored to be making his debut with OLO, and to reprise the role of Reginald Bunthorne in Patience. Recent performances have included Roger Doremus in Lee Hoiby’s Summer and Smoke with the Boston Conservatory Opera Theater, as well as Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte In addition to his solo engagements, Thomas is a member of the Boston Lyric Opera chorus, and also is enjoying a number of projects this season, partnering with various composers in the creation of art song and chamber repertoire, both as a performer and a poet. When he is not performing, he works as a librettist and a voice teacher and is a fierce advocate for equity in the arts. A student of Rebecca Folsom, Thomas earned his masters of music in opera performance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

MEGGIE VINCENT, mezzosoprano, is thrilled to spend the summer with OLO for the first time. Meggie graduated from the University of Utah with her master of music degree in vocal performance and pedagogy this May, following her BA in music studies from Westminster College. She enjoys singing various repertoire, including musical theater, classical, and popular music. Most recently, Meggie performed the roles of Musetta in La bohème and the Cheshire Cat in Amy Scurria’s world orchestral premiere of A.L.I.C.E. Not only does Meggie sing, but she is also a very accomplished violinist and has enjoyed traveling throughout the United States and Europe playing

her violin and singing (though not simultaneously). Meggie is a natural-born teacher and has loved teaching in her private studio over the last eight years. She loves learning and growing as an artist and instructor and is grateful to her teachers and mentors, particularly her current voice teacher, Julie Wright Costa. In her spare time, Meggie enjoys traveling with her husband, reading, trying new food, and spending time with her dog, Murphy.

STELLA VODILKO, youth cast, is pleased to be returning to OLO in the cast of Carousel. She played the role of Brigitta in The Sound of Music last season. She has also performed the roles of Cinderella in Into the Woods Jr., Ariel in The Little Mermaid Jr., Anna in Disney’s Frozen Jr., and Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. Stella is from Wadsworth, OH and a freshman at Highland High School. Stella is planning to pursue musical theater or voice performance in college. She is a voice student of Denise Milner Howell.

ACADIA WEBB, youth cast, is delighted to be returning to OLO in Brigadoon. Acadia joined the Ohio Light Opera last year as Louisa in The Sound of Music and has previously directed and starred in the production Dear Anne, From Nina. She has also been seen in numerous productions, including Rosaline Wrecked It All and Annie at Wooster High School. Currently a sophomore and member of the drama club at Wooster High School, she is incredibly grateful for this opportunity to participate in a professional theater production.

RACHEL WEINFELD, soprano, is delighted to be returning to OLO for her second season as Julie Jordan in Carousel and Fiona MacLaren in Brigadoon. Rachel has found a home for herself as a versatile crossover singer in the opera and musical theater worlds and has had the opportunity to perform some of the genres’ great leading ladies, including Maria in The Sound of Music (OLO 2024), Johanna in Sweeney Todd, Amalia Balash in She Loves Me, Marian Paroo in The Music Man, Phoebe D’Ysquith in Gentleman’s Guide, and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. She made her concert debut singing Julie Jordan in the “bench

scene” from Carousel alongside Nathan Gunn and has also sung as a guest soloist with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. In 2024 she was a semi-finalist in the prestigious Lotte Lenya Competition. A Michigan native, Rachel completed her BM in voice performance at Ball State University and her MM in voice performance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In addition to performing, Rachel is a voice teacher and coach and has taught at the University of Vermont and through her own private studio.

SPENCER WILDE, baritone, is thrilled to be joining Ohio Light Opera for its summer season. Currently a rising senior at George Mason University in the BFA musical theater program, with a minor in jazz studies, he is also an accomplished pianist, choreographer, and playwright. DC credit: Workhouse: The Peak (Sisyphus); Select GMU credits: 110 in the Shade (Starbuck), You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Schroeder), 9 to 5 (Dwayne, dance captain), Twelve Ophelias (choreographer, assistant director), The Tempest (U/S Ferdinand, ensemble), Head Over Heels (U/S Basilius, ensemble). Many thanks to his family, professors, and loving partner. @mywildeside

RACHEL WRESH, soprano, is thrilled to make her OLO debut as Fiona in Brigadoon, Victoria in Bitter Sweet, and covering the title role in Patience. A native of Melissa, TX, she holds a BA in vocal performance from Texas Woman’s University and an MM in vocal performance from the University of Miami, where she is now based. Rachel is currently an adjunct musical theater voice professor at Florida Atlantic University and a teaching artist and outreach stage director with Florida Grand Opera. Rachel has also performed the roles of Rose in Street Scene (Frost Opera Theater), Adele in Die Fledermaus (Music on Site), Clara in The Light in The Piazza (Red River Lyric Opera), La Fee in Cendrillon (Opera Arlington), Sally in Stone Soup (Florida Grand Opera), and more. Additionally, she enjoys concert work and was recently the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah and sang in the televised premiere of Mass for the Forgotten with the Benedict XVI Institute. Rachel would like to thank all her friends, family, and mentors who constantly support, encourage, and embolden her.

Violin/Concertmaster

2025 FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

Abreal Whitman Violin/Asst. Concertmaster

Lev Roshal

Jeffrey Anderson Clarinet

Jacob Bodnar Horn Stephanie Bueche Clarinet

Moises Chirinos Bass

Neil Faulkner Percussion

Elias Fredericks Violin

Emily Grissing Cello

Lauren Hinkle Trumpet

Laura Kellogg Flute

Christopher Ludwig Flute

Gozde Eva Parlaktuna Violin

Johan Pepper Violin

John Sample Cello

Laurel Walther Violin

Jennelle Williams Horn

Ger Vang Oboe

Leah Widmaier Viola

Isaac Morton Trumpet

Nasr Ali Sheikh Viola

Spencer Wilson Bassoon

Cameron Randall Trombone

EJ Busby Harp

JEFFREY ANDERSON, clarinet, is pleased to be returning for a ninth season in the pit orchestra of OLO. In addition to clarinet, Jeffrey plays other woodwind instruments as well as piano. He resides in the Kansas City area as a pedagogue, performer, and music director at Christ the King Church in Kansas City, MO. He recently accompanied a one-woman show entitled Sheiks, Neckers, & Jellybeans, a vaudeville fantasy based on the tent theater tradition of the rural Midwest and the life of Sophie Tucker. He is also involved in Midwest Chamber Ensemble and Musical Theater Kansas City. He will be performing a clarinet concerto with the Kansas City Medical Arts Symphony in February of 2026. He received his education from Michigan State University, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

JACOB BODNAR, horn, is happy to be joining OLO for his second season. A Wooster native, Jacob recently completed his MM at the University of Akron, where he served as the graduate assistant for the horn studio. He earned his BA in music and business from Ashland University. Jacob has performed with the Mansfield Symphony, Central Ohio Symphony, Tuscarawas Philharmonic, Wooster Symphony Orchestra, Suburban Brass, and served as the alternate horn for the 2024-25 season for The Orchestra Next in Eugene, OR. He is also a member of the AFM Local 159. Previous shows he has performed in include Amahl and the Night Visitors, Once Upon a Mattress, Big! The Musical, and Oklahoma! In addition to performing, he maintains a private studio of students of all ages. Teachers include Kiirsi Maunula Johnson, Michael Metcalf, Alan Demattia, and Sean Yancer.

STEPHANIE BUECHE, clarinet, is thrilled to be back in Wooster for their second season with the Ohio Light Opera. While originally from Michigan, Stephanie has been an active musician and educator in Clarksville, TN for the last two years. As a performer, Stephanie has played numerous times with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, various Nashville orchestras, and their clarinet/bass duo that performed in Dublin, Ireland last summer. As an educator, Stephanie has served as instructor of record at Austin Peay State University, is on faculty at the Paducah Symphony Academy, and maintains a healthy private studio in Tennessee. Stephanie recently graduated with a master’s degree in performance from Austin Peay State University and is headed to Virginia to pursue a fully-funded doctoral degree this upcoming fall.

EJ BUSBY, harp, recently graduated with their BM from the University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music, and is making their way into the professional world of harp. EJ’s family overcame the financial barrier to becoming a harpist by trading through a mishmash of damaged hand-me-down harps, starting with a garage-sale harp with uneven strings and ending with a beautiful, bird’s-eye maple concert grande. During their time at CCM, they demonstrated a love for opera and musical theater through endless glissandi in Cinderella, electro-acoustic looping in In the Green, and taking a knife to the strings in Rappaccini’s Daughter. Though harp is their true love, EJ also worked in stage and house management at UC. In their free time, EJ practices yoga and visible mending, makes wildflower syrups and broths, and lectures their non-musician spouse on music theory.

MOISES CHIRINOS, bass, began his studies at the National School of Music in Tegucigalpa, Honduras at the age of thirteen. Later, he served as a double bass teacher for three years at the same institution. He has served as principal bassist in many orchestras across Honduras. Currently, he is the assistant principal of the Rapides Symphony Orchestra in Alexandria, LA and works as an assistant teacher with Houston Youth Symphony. Moises has participated in many prestigious music festivals and academies like the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Campos do Jordão’s Winter Festival (Brazil), and Central American Youth Orchestra. Moises recently graduated with a double major in bass and vocal performance from LSU, where he studied with Yung-Chiao Wei and Sandra Moon. He also graduated from the Global Leaders Institute for Music Entrepreneurship. Moises has been the recipient of several prizes, including 3rd prize at the 2019 Louisiana Bass Fest and 5th place at the Master Players International Competition. When not making music, Moises loves to cook, play tennis, and is a television buff.

NEIL FAULKNER, percussion, is ecstatic to be returning to the Ohio Light Opera for his third season. A native of Metro Detroit, he received his BM in percussion performance from Oakland University. He was awarded a graduate assistantship at Bowling Green State University, where he earned both his MM and graduate certificate. Highlights of his time at BGSU include being named a finalist in the Graduate Concerto Competition and performing as a member of the Landlocked Percussion Quartet. Neil is currently based in northwest Ohio, where

he is a freelance musician and teacher. He has performed with the Lima, Adrian, Perrysburg, and Livingston Symphonies, and has played in orchestra pits throughout Ohio and Michigan. In addition to maintaining a private studio, Neil is an outreach instructor with the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts, leading weekly classes for both percussion and piano. Neil’s favorite musical experience was getting to perform Third Coast Percussion’s re-scoring of the film Paddle to the Sea. When not performing or teaching, Neil enjoys singing, learning how to cook, and watching reality TV.

ELIAS FREDERICKS, violin, is excited to be joining the Ohio Light Opera orchestra for the first time. Over the past few years, Elias has developed a strong interest in playing in pit orchestras, after performing in several operas at his school, including Massenet’s Cendrillon, Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea, and Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. Originally from Poughkeepsie, NY, Elias now lives full time in Baltimore, where he received a BM in violin performance from the Peabody Institute. He is currently completing his MM in violin performance and pedagogy at the Peabody Institute under the study of Judith Ingolfsson.

EMILY GRISSING, cello, is thrilled to be returning for her eighth season with OLO. Emily was captivated by live classical professional orchestral music at age two in her Rochester, NY hometown and immediately dove into a life dedicated to indepth study and performance of music. From a young age, Emily practiced piano, composed music, listened to opera, jazz, and more. She has studied cello, conducting, free improv, flute, voice, viola, double bass, musical theater, music theory, early music, and more, while establishing herself as an accomplished, collaborative musician. Currently based in North Carolina, she is a cellist in the Winston-Salem Greensboro, and Western Piedmont Symphonies and freelances/is a sub cellist with other SE orchestras. Emily has participated in prestigious music festivals, such as the Aspen Music Festival, the National Repertory Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Chautauqua Institution, and the National Orchestral Institute. Close to Emily’s heart is sharing music with others through performance, mentoring, and teaching.

LAUREN HINKLE, trumpet, is thrilled to return for her third season with the Ohio Light Opera. Based in Cleveland, she performs with a variety of groups and runs a small studio of enthusiastic

trumpet students. Lauren especially enjoys the energy and collaboration of performing as a pit musician. Some of her favorite past productions include Camelot, Guys and Dolls, and The Music Man. Outside of music, she enjoys coffee, moderately long beach walks, and entertaining her cats and birds. Lauren holds a BM from Kent State University and an MM from Cleveland State University.

CHRISTOPHER LUDWIG, flute, is excited to be joining OLO for his first season. A teacher, flutist, and singer from Orlando, Chris currently resides in Houston, while working in Lake Charles, LA as visiting professor of flute at McNeese State University. In addition to braving traffic for work, Chris maintains a private flute studio in Houston. He holds his DMA and MM from Louisiana State University, where he studied with Katherine Kemler, and his BM from the University of Central Florida, where he studied with Nora Lee Garcia and Jeremy Hunt.

ISAAC MORTON, trumpet, is a master’s student from Southern Indiana, studying with John Rommel. He holds a performance degree from Indiana University, studying with both John Rommel and Joey Tartell. Highlights of his time at IU include a premiere of Graeme Culpepper’s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, and Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Isaac has performed with the Ohio Light Opera, the Beef and Boards Dinner Theater in Indianapolis, and orchestras throughout Indiana. His musical interests cover a diverse range of genres and styles, from commercial music to orchestral repertoire.

GOZDE EVA PARLAKTUNA, violin, is thrilled to be playing her second season with Ohio Light Opera. She completed her bachelor’s degree in violin performance at the Anadolu University in Turkey. She attended Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (TUGFO) and had the opportunity to perform in Wiener Konzerthaus, Beethoven Festival at Bonn, and Brucknerfest in Linz. She moved to the United States and recently completed her artist diploma with Yu-Fang Chen at Ball State University. She is also a member of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Orchestra Indiana, and plays with Carmel Symphony Orchestra. In her free time, she enjoys candle painting and loves traveling and exploring new places.

JOHAN PEPPER, violin, is delighted to be joining OLO for the 2025 season. Originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, Johan is currently based in Baton Rouge. He recently completed his DMA in violin performance with a minor in composition at Louisiana State University, where he also earned his master’s degree. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Musikakademie der Stadt Kassel in Germany. Johan is the assistant concertmaster of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra and also performs with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra and Acadiana Symphony Orchestra. Passionate about sharing his knowledge, he finds great joy in teaching and mentoring young musicians. In addition to performing and teaching, Johan enjoys composing, cooking Ecuadorian meals, and spending time with his three cats—who have yet to agree on a favorite Paganini caprice.

CAMERON RANDALL, trombone, is excited to return for his third season with OLO. Currently based in Chicago, he recently completed an MM at DePaul University, where he studied with Mark Fisher, Charlie Vernon, and Scott Tegge. He also holds a BM from Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied with John Gruber and Dennis Nulty. Hailed for his versatility and skills as a doubler, Cameron’s performing career has taken him across the Midwest, having performed with the Festival City, Lake County, Fox Valley (IL), Evanston, and Firelands Symphonies, among others, on alto, tenor, bass, and contrabass trombones, tuba, euphonium, and bass trumpet. Aside from his career as a freelance musician and educator, Cameron works as a stage manager in the greater Chicago area. A native of Des Moines, he is greatly looking forward to a break from city life this summer.

LEV ROSHAL, violin/concertmaster, is delighted to return to Wooster for his fourth year with the Ohio Light Opera, and his second as concertmaster. He is currently a doctoral student at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he is pursuing simultaneous degrees in violin performance (DM) and music theory (Ph.D.). At Jacobs, he has been president of the Graduate Theory Association and serves as a coordinating instructor of music theory and musical skills. He has presented his musical research at conferences across the United States and Canada. Lev is also a member of the Carmel Symphony Orchestra and can frequently be heard performing at The Palladium at the Center for Performing Arts. Lev is the dedicatee of a newly

composed violin concerto and solo sonata by Andrew Mead. Last summer, he celebrated the release of his first album: Sergei Bortkiewicz: Complete Works for Violin and Piano, which was recorded with pianist Albert Newberry and is available on all major platforms. When not performing or writing about music, Lev enjoys a good board or soccer game.

JOHN SAMPLE, cello, will be joining OLO for his first season this summer. John recently finished his MM and PD at the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana, where he performed as a member of the resident Kuttner String Quartet for two consecutive years. While at Indiana, he also performed as principal cellist for the symphony and chamber orchestras, and was invited to perform with several orchestras across the Midwest. His recent performances have taken him across Europe and Asia, soloing in spaces from concert halls to private homes. John finished his BM at the Peabody Conservatory and will continue his passion for string quartet performance as a member of the John J. Cali School of Music graduate string quartet in residence this fall.

NASR ALI SHEIKH, viola, is delighted to return to the Ohio Light Opera this season. A versatile performer, he has served as principal violist with the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Rapides Symphony, and the LSU Virtuosi Ensemble, in addition to performing with the Baton Rouge Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony, and Louisiana Philharmonic. Previously, he was a section violist with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and the Lubbock Symphony. Nasr holds a master of music from the San Francisco Conservatory, where he studied with Jonathan Vinocour, and has recently received a DMA degree at Louisiana State University under Kimberly Sparr. When not onstage, he teaches at LSU and Kids Orchestra. A fellowship alumnus of the National Orchestra Institute, Tanglewood, Brevard, and the National Music Festival, Nasr also enjoys sight-reading chamber music—when he isn’t hunting for the perfect cup of coffee to take to the pickleball courts.

GER VANG, oboe, is delighted to return for a third season with OLO. Currently based in Greensboro, NC, he performs chamber works with his group, the Cardinal Sound Collective. Most recently, he performed in pits for Seussical and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is most excited to return to Wooster to enjoy its farmers’ market.

LAUREL WALTHER, violin, is excited to join OLO for her first season. A native of Louisiana, music has been a major part of her life and she performs regularly with multiple regional orchestras around the gulf coast. She has previously performed in the pit for Candide and Carousel as part of LSU orchestra. A 2025 graduate of LSU, she majored in psychology and minored in music, studying violin with Lin He.

ABREAL WHITMAN, violin/assistant concertmaster, is excited to be joining Ohio Light Opera for the third year in a row. Whitman graduated from the Eastman School of Music with her bachelor’s degree in 2023. She recently graduated with her master’s degree from Louisiana State University. Originally from Maine, Whitman has performed with various orchestras in the area, including the Mozart Mentors, Augusta Symphony, Junior Repertory Orchestra, Repertory Orchestra, and Boston Youth Symphony. In high school, she attended Idyllwild Arts Academy, where she studied with Todor Pelev. During her senior year at Eastman, Whitman won a position as a substitute in the New World Symphony. During her time in Louisiana, she won the associate concertmaster position in the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, and toured Poland with them in 2024. She also won a position in the Rapides Symphony Orchestra. Whitman will be attending Texas Tech School of Music in the fall to begin her DMA degree, studying with Annie Chalex Boyle. She has been awarded a 20-hour music theory teaching assistantship there.

LEAH WIDMAIER, viola, is excited to be returning for a third season with OLO. Leah grew up near Chicago and attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey. This past year, Leah has enjoyed performing with various community and chamber orchestras in the Chicago area, as

well as spending time crocheting and taking naps with her cat. Leah’s musical heroes include Chris Thile and Hilary Hahn.

JENNELLE WILLIAMS, horn, is thrilled to be joining OLO this summer. Jennelle is native to the Chicagoland area, now residing in Rochester, NY. After four years of study with Corbin Wagner at the Interlochen Arts Academy, she began her studies with W. Peter Kurau at the Eastman School of Music. Jennelle has been playing all kinds of music recently—from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring to Golijov’s opera Ainadamar, and even Hoagy Carmichael tunes arranged for nearly three dozen horns. When she’s not playing, Jennelle’s studying to become an archival librarian with a focus on music restoration at the Sibley Music Library.

SPENCER WILSON, bassoon, is delighted to join the Ohio Light Opera for his seventh season. A Virginian by birth, Spencer has lived the past eight years in Dallas, working as a gigging musician, teacher, and reed maker. As a performer, he has played with the Dallas Winds, the Rapides Symphony, and the Fort Smith Symphony as a principal musician. For his work as an educator, Spencer maintains a studio spanning four districts in southern Dallas, as well as serving as adjunct professor of bassoon for Dallas College. He has been a featured presenter for University of Texas Arlington’s Double Reed Day and AllState Bassoon Intensive programs. Spencer is a graduate of James Madison University and of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University as an artistic excellence fellow, studying under Susan Barber and William Ludwig, respectively. Additionally, he has learned and performed as

TECHNICAL AND FRONT OF HOUSE TEAM

SCENE SHOP AND STAGE CREW

SEPH CARTIER, run crew, is excited for her first season at OLO. She does many things related to theater, including acting, directing, construction, design, crew, and whatever else she can get her hands on. She is currently slated to graduate from Albion College in spring 2026 with a bachelor of arts, majoring in theater. Her hobbies include reading plays, pondering the state of the world, and then going back to reading more plays. She hopes you enjoy the show brought together by the work of many people.

HALLIE CHARLEFOUR, assistant stage manager, is excited to be back for her second season at OLO. She just graduated from Albion College with a BA in theater. In her time there, she stage-managed Hedda Gabler, Twelfth Night, Stop Kiss, and more. Hallie has been involved in theater since middle school, where she fell in love with the magic of theater. Throughout her involvement in theater, she has worked in many roles backstage, such as run crew, spotlight, house manager, and sound board op.

RYLEE CREED, assistant technical director, is thrilled to be able to spend her summer here at OLO. She was born and raised in Magnolia, AR, where she received her BFA in theater from Southern Arkansas University. Rylee is currently an MFA candidate for theater technology at Indiana University Bloomington, where she studies under Jeff Baldwin and gets entirely too many splinters. Most recently, Rylee was the technical director for IU’s production of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.

CAMERON DAMESWORTH, carpenter, is a rising junior getting his BFA in musical theater from Taylor University. He also has worked as their master carpenter for the last year and a half. He is so excited to be working at OLO for this summer season and making art alongside some incredible skilled and talented technicians, directors, and actors.

ALEX GRAY, carpenter, is pleased to be joining OLO for the summer 2025 season. Alex recently graduated from Southern Arkansas University with a bachelor of fine arts degree. Not having learned their lesson from the last four and a

half years of college, they will soon be pursuing a masters degree in lighting design at Indiana University.

JULIANNA GRIMES, scene shop foreman, is happy to be working for their third season as part of the scenic crew for Ohio Light Opera. Outside of OLO, Julianna has worked on the sets for Wooster Community Theater’s production of The Music Man (2021), and the College of Wooster’s productions of Caged (2021), Trifles (2021), Alicia from the Real (2022), Boeing Boeing (2024), and Legacy of Light (2025). She is especially proud of their work on Boeing Boeing, as they built much of the set by themselves. Julianna is a Wooster local, graduating from Wooster High School, and has now graduated from the College of Wooster.

ANDI HARVEY, run crew, is thrilled to be joining OLO for his first season with the company. Andi is a rising junior at the College of Wooster, where they double major in theater and communication studies, with a stage management focus. Credits at the College include Stop Kiss as an assistant stage manager and Boeing Boeing as the stage manager. He has also served as an assistant stage manager with the Millennial Theatre Project in Akron. A music lover, Andi also studies voice at Wooster and hopes to expand their work in operas and musicals.

CARRIGAN HUGHES, assistant stage manager, hailing from Fayetteville, AR, is a senior studying at the University of Arkansas, while majoring in theater design and technology and German and minoring in psychology. Carrigan is elated to be returning to OLO after her work last season as Me and My Girl’s calling stage manager, The Sound of Music’s youth cast coordinator, and Guys and Dolls and The Count of Luxembourg’s first assistant stage manager. Some of her other previous show credits include Hippodrome’s Every Brilliant Thing’s rehearsal stage manager, Trike Theatre’s (Ovations+) touring production Journey to Oz’s calling stage manager, and a variety of UArk stage manager positions across The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Rollie Pollie, Witch, and Lungs. Looking forward, she will stage-manage UArk’s fall production of Little Women: The Musical and spring dance production.

JAMES KIRICHOK, carpenter, hails from Massachusetts and is a current student of theater technology at Plymouth State University. James is focusing his degree in sound engineering and technical direction but has had plenty of experience with carpentry, working in more than 20 different productions and very excited to work with OLO to put up some great shows.

DILLON LORDEN, carpenter, is excited to join Ohio Light Opera for the first time this summer. He recently wrapped his junior year at Plymouth State University, where he is pursuing a degree in theater design and technologies, with a concentration in scenic design, carpentry, and painting. Based in Chichester, NH, Dillon works as a carpenter and master builder for RB Productions in Concord and was recently promoted to shop foreman at the Silver Center for the Arts in Plymouth. Favorite build credits include Twelfth Night, Urinetown, and The Secret in the Wings, in which he dismantled old dryers so actors could crawl through them—and then used the leftover parts to construct a furnace. This summer, he’s looking forward to building fast, learning lots, and avoiding dryer repairs.

ARABELLA MASON, scenic painter, is originally from High Point, NC. She is a general theater technician who specializes in scenic painting, set design, and props. She is pleased to be spending the summer 2025 season with OLO. You can find her during the 2025-26 main season as the scenic charge artist at the Springer Opera House in Columbus, GA. Some of her recent work includes scenic painting the 2024-25 season, set-designing Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds, and assistant set-designing Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and A Christmas Story. Upcoming special projects include set-designing Who’s Holiday, and A Bad Case of Stripes at the Springer.

AMELIA MINDLIN-LEITNER, assistant stage manager, is from Denver and is a rising junior at Syracuse University, majoring in stage management. She is so excited to be joining the Ohio Light Opera for the first time this summer. At Syracuse, selected show credits include assistant stage manager for Little Women, technical and calling stage manager for The 25th Annual Putnam Coun-

ty Spelling Bee, stage management intern for Dial M for Murder, and assistant stage manager for Touched. Next spring, after a semester studying abroad in London, she will be the stage manager for SU Drama’s production of Picnic.

TRINITY NETT, run crew, is excited to join the 2025 season at Ohio Light Opera. She recently worked as head electrician for A Winter’s Tale, produced by Illinois Theatre. Trinity is currently a fourth-year BFA student in lighting design and technology at the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign, where she has worked on a wide range of productions in both design and technical roles. She is thrilled for the opportunity to work on such beautiful productions in Wooster. In the fall, you can catch her designing the musical Anastasia for Lyric Theatre @ Illinois.

ANNE PLUMMER, painter, is excited to be returning for a third season with the Ohio Light Opera. In previous years, Anne has served in the scene shop as the “Jigsaw Queen” for the company, helping produce memorable elements such as The Sound of Music staircase railings and Guenevere’s pyre in Camelot

MAZE WETZEL, stagehand, is delighted to work with such a talented cast and crew. Favorite credits so far include Cullud Wattah (props director) and As You Like It (assistant scenic design) with the University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance. Maze is currently a student at the University of Kentucky studying technical theater and philosophy. They would like to thank their Uncle John and Aunt Mary Ellen for encouraging them to pursue the arts. A special thank you to their parents for always being there for them and loving them.

AIDAN WUNDERLEY, carpenter, is a recent graduate of the College of Charleston (May 2025), where they graduated with a BA in theater. Aidan is excited to be joining the Ohio Light Opera for its 2025 season. Previously, Aidan has worked with the College of Charleston as a scenic carpenter (2022–25), PURE Theatre as a carpenter and electrician for its 2024–25 season, and the Spoleto Festival USA as a logistics carpenter in 2024.

ALLY BAKER, stitcher, is a graduate student of dress history and material culture at the University of Alabama. She has worked as a designer, assistant designer, and costume coordinator on Cabaret (UA 2025), Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre (UA 2025), and These Shining Lives (GCSU 2023). Ally is grateful for the opportunity to work as a stitcher with such a kind and experienced team here at Ohio Light Opera, and wishes to extend her thanks to all the hard working people who make the season possible.

IVORY BESSE, first hand, is excited to take part in their first season with Ohio Light Opera. They are a recent graduate of University of Kentucky, receiving their BA in theater this past May. They have previously worked on almost 20 shows within and outside of Lexington, KY, including both costume design and construction. Some of their favorite shows to work on have been as a stitcher for Urinetown: The Musical, a patterner for As You Like It, a costume designer for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and a costume designer and stitcher for Little Women.

JULIANNA DEVANEY, draper, recently graduated from Boston University with her MFA in costume production. After finishing her time at OLO, she will begin as Charleston Stage Company’s new costume shop manager.

OLLI DiBENEDETTO, wardrobe/wigs, is a senior at Central Michigan University, with a costume/makeup focus. She has recently worked on Lizzie as costume designer, Young Frankenstein as makeup head, and as wigs stylist for A Doll’s House. Olli has been working in her university’s costume shop since her sophomore year. Some of her interests other than theater include guinea pigs (she has 15), fashion, and traveling. She is excited to learn new things and meet new people during her first summer with OLO.

KENDALL GUNTNER, assistant costume shop manager, is delighted to have a hand in bringing OLO’s 2025 season to life this summer. Originally from Leesburg, VA, Kendall received her BFA in musical theatre from Anderson University (SC) in

2021. In the years since, she has designed costumes, styled many wigs, created countless spreadsheets, and has worked to improve her skills as a stitcher. Her most recent design credits include Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Paul Hufker’s Huntsville, and the 1963 musical She Loves Me at The University of Alabama throughout 2024. Kendall looks forward to moving to Atlanta this fall to continue pulling long hours and late nights in the hope of bringing a little bit of magic to the stage.

LINNE JOHNSTON, costumer, is thrilled to be joining OLO for their first season working as wardrobe crew. They have worked on shows such as Mamma Mia, Violet, Orlando, Ordinary Days, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, and Twelfth Night. Linne is coming from Auburn, AL and is a junior at Auburn University, pursuing a BFA in costume design.

DANNY KRINER, stitcher, is excited to join OLO for their first year. They are currently in their final year as a theater design and 3-D studies double major at The South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University.

ABIGAIL RAHZ, wardrobe technician, is a Wooster native and excited to be working their first OLO season. A recent graduate from the College of Wooster as a theater and dance major, they’ve worked as a costume designer for CoW’s production of Boeing Boeing and several student-choreographed dance pieces in the annual dance concerts. Along with serving as a costume technician and wardrobe crew for shows like Stop Kiss, they also choreographed and performed in several dance pieces for the CoW Dance Company. Their latest endeavor was their Independent Study dance piece, Tools of the Trade, which they choreographed to combine modern dance with sword-based stage combat.

KEN WATTS, stitcher, is currently a student at The South Carolina School of The Arts at Anderson University. He is excited to begin his first year at OLO and is about to begin his junior year as a theater design major.

PROPERTIES

JILLIAN BENTLEY, properties artisan/run crew, is happy to return to the Ohio Light Opera for her second season. Jillian was born in Trenton, MI and has been studying history and theater at Albion College. She is eternally grateful to her family and to her wonderful mentor, Kiah Kayser, who have been nothing but supportive of her.

HANNAH LoGIUDICE, props artisan, is pleased to be returning to OLO in this role. She graduated from Wooster High School, where she served as stage manager for seven productions. Hannah is currently pursuing a bachelor of fine arts in theater design and technology at Syracuse University, where she served as assistant set designer for SU Drama’s productions of Twelfth Night and What the Moon Saw.

ELECTRICS & SOUND

CHANCE BECK, sound technician, is here for their first season with OLO. Currently working on their MFA in sound and media design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, they are excited to explore the art and community OLO offers. They come from the University of Southern Mississippi, where they achieved their BFA in theater design and technology. Previous credits include design and technician work for Into the Woods, Failure: A Love Story, and Doctor Faustus as their favorites.

MAEVE GORHAM, sound technician, is excited to be joining the Ohio Light Opera for its 46th season. She is from New York and is a rising third-year sound design student at Penn State University. Recently, she has served as an associate sound designer on John Proctor Is the Villain, as an assistant sound designer on Sweeney Todd, and as a sound designer/ composer on Alice in Wonderland. In the spring, she will be the sound designer on the world premiere of The Morris & Essex Line. She thanks her family and friends. @maevegorhamsound

LANA KATHRYN JEFFCOAT, assistant lighting designer, is excited to settle in for her third season here at the Ohio Light Opera, after being on the road for the last nine months. Since the completion of last season, she has been working as the head electrician for the national tour of

MOIRA SEGER, assistant props supervisor, is excited to be returning to OLO for their third season. Apart from OLO, they have previously worked in several different roles for productions at the College-Conservatory of Music, including as prop manager for La finta giardiniera and The Cunning Little Vixen, scenic designer for Dark Sisters, assistant scenic designer for The Rape of Lucretia, scenic charge for Everybody, and as a props artisan and scenic painter for many other shows there. Living in Cincinnati, Moira is currently pursuing their BFA in stage design, props, and scenic art at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In their free time, they like to explore different art media, such as crochet, painting, sculpting, and dice making.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Musical and subsequently as the head electrician for the international tour of DogMan: The Musical. Lana holds a bachelor of science in theater and dance with a concentration in technical theater from Lamar University, and she is a proud union member of IATSE – ACT.

ROBERT PFOST, master electrician, is thrilled to join OLO for the third time this season. Given the professional name “Bobert” by his colleagues, Robert has been working in technical theater since high school at the Wesley Chapel PAC. He has also designed lights for True West in Plant City, FL and tech-directed for Eternal Night. When he isn’t working, he likes to play DnD and relax with his cat.

LUMI SHALAEV, electrician, is currently a double major in theater technology/design and contemporary commercial music at the University of Wisconsin – Parkside. They have designed lighting and projections for original music performances, as well as doing electrican work for shows and musicals across multiple states. Lumi loves making crafts out of things people don’t want anymore, and had to scream out of the booth as a stage manager in … And Her Friends. They love new song recommendations across all genres.

PARIS ASANTE, front of house, is thrilled to be joining Ohio Light Opera for the 2025 season. Originally from Ghana, Paris is a rising secondyear student at The College of Wooster, majoring in economics and computer science. On campus, Paris serves on the boards of the Black Student Association and the Black Women Organization, where she helps organize events that promote community and cultural awareness. With a background in customer experience, leadership, and coding, Paris is excited to contribute her skills to the vibrant OLO community, while gaining new insights into arts administration and audience engagement.

EMMA CHARLTON, box office manager, is excited to work with OLO this summer. In the past, she has appeared onstage as well as backstage at the Ritz Theatre in Tiffin, OH and Heidelberg University’s Children’s & Teen Theater. A native of Tiffin, Emma has just completed her third year at The College of Wooster, majoring in early childhood education.

MADELEINE RAE FRAZIER, box office assistant/house manager, is a rising senior at The College of Wooster, majoring in political science and history. “Maddie Rae” works at Broken Rocks Café and Bakery as a server, and has been a part of the Ohio Light Opera since 2010, assisting the box office and house management. At the age of nine, she played Prince Ying Yaowalak in OLO’s 2013 production of The King and I. She has also been an usher with the Wooster Chamber Music Series. At the College, Maddie Rae is a cheerleader for both football and basketball. She also volunteers in the Wooster community at the Wooster Boys and Girls Club. She is very passionate about using her degree(s) one day to help children.

GRACELYN JACK, front of house, is thrilled to be returning to the Ohio Light Opera for her second season as part of the box office and house management teams. A native of Louisville, she recently completed a degree in music composition at the College of Wooster, where she presented select songs from her senior Independent Study titled Merfall: an operetta. In the fall, she will be moving to Red Wing, MN to pursue a diploma in band instrument repair. Gracelyn is so excited to see old friends and to make new ones, and is looking forward to being back in the world of operetta full time.

LYDIA OTTO, house manager, is returning to Ohio Light Opera for her third season. In the fall, she will be a senior at Waynesburg University, where she is earning a degree in public history. Following graduation, Lydia will attend a master’s program in art history, which will lead to a career as an art history professor or to the restoration department in a museum. Lydia is proud to announce that she will be studying abroad in Melbourne, Australia for one month. She has received the Vira Heinz scholarship, which will allow her to take a class at the University of Melbourne. This will be Lydia’s first chance to travel outside the country. While at home in Wooster, Lydia spends time with her two young nieces, the family dog, and cat. Lydia enjoys listening to music, watching movies, or TV shows, especially while doing a puzzle or going for a walk in the neighborhood. Although Lydia will be in Australia for part of the year, she is ready to come back to Freedlander Theatre for the summer.

EMILY WINNICKI, house manager, is excited to be part of the OLO team this summer. Emily is a recent College of Wooster graduate, with a degree in anthropology and biology. During her time at the college, she worked in the costume shop, serving as assistant costume shop manager for several semesters. In the fall, she will be starting her Ph.D. in anthropological genetics at the University of Kansas.

RED YASAR, front of house, is a rising senior at The College of Wooster, majoring in economics with a Pathway in Entrepreneurship. Originally from Bangladesh, he has held roles across finance, marketing, and consulting, including internships with BG Global Partners, Riverview International Center, and Legacy Agencies. At Wooster, he serves as a trustee of the Hans H. Jenny Investment Club and as a peer advisor for the Pathways Program. Red is passionate about impact-driven ventures and fostering community through the arts.

BORENYI HABIB ZAKARIAH, front of house, is a rising junior at The College of Wooster, majoring in communication and music composition. From a young age, Habib has always been enthralled by theater, music, film, and anything pop culture-related. Through his studies at the College, he has had the opportunity to star in a production (Legacy of Light), as well as work in the scene/electric shop and box office. He is a native of Accra, Ghana and plays two instruments. Summer 2025 marks his first year working with the Ohio Light Opera.

Experience international Lyric

Theater classics in the charming atmosphere of Wooster, Ohio

“Renowned summer festival within driving distance once didn’t seem so far away. Shaw and Stratford in Canada, and even Ravinia in Chicago, remain magnets for those who are high on theater and music .... It’s a relief to know that a day trip to seek artistic replenishment need not crush the budget. One of the most reasonable and delightful destinations is Wooster, where The Ohio Light Opera is in its 30th season of operetta merriment.”

Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer 2008

“It’s nothing less than remarkable that ... [The Ohio Light Opera] singers and instrumentalists gather from around the country to arrange a seasonal platter of rotating repertory — Viennese operetta, Gilbert & Sullivan shows, classic American musicals — that these indefatigable performers serve with style through the months of June, July and August.”

Elaine Guregian, The Beacon Journal

THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER

Independent Minds, Working Together

The College of Wooster is a community of Independent Minds, Working Together to prepare students to become leaders of character and influence in an interdependent global community.

Wooster offers a comprehensive liberal arts education in a vibrant, residential setting that culminates in a senior capstone project of in-depth research inquiry or creative expression. Working one-on-one with a faculty mentor, every student creates and presents new knowledge in their field of interest. Through this distinctive program, Wooster students develop abilities valued by employers and graduate schools: independent judgment, analytical ability, creativity, project and time management, problem-solving, and strong written and oral communication. Students can be themselves at Wooster, discover and pursue their passions, and connect academic learning to the real world through internships, research fellowships, career pathways, and other experiential opportunities. They forge lifelong

bonds with one another, faculty, coaches, and staff in an environment that fosters community.

In his book The Price You Pay for College, New York Times columnist Ron Lieber praises Wooster for its exceptional combination of quality faculty, affordability, and undergraduate research. Lieber devotes an entire chapter to answering “How the College of Wooster Puts It All Together,” highlighting Wooster’s up-front attitude in helping prospective students understand the financial package they will receive, and the satisfaction students get from faculty mentorship.

Academics, research, experiential learning, community service, social activism, athletics, the arts, environmental sustainability, and a community of belonging all play an important role in a Wooster student’s life. Learn more about the College at wooster.edu.

9 COMPLETE PERFORMANCES AVAILABLE ON DVD

These DVDs, recorded live during our summer festivals, are available in the lobby during the season. Patrons may also call the Ohio Light Opera at 330-263-2345 to purchase DVDs, or visit www.ohiolightopera.org to view DVDs and order online.

Kálmán: A Soldier’s Promise • The Duchess of Chicago • The Little King • The Little Dutch Girl Herbert: Mlle. Modiste • Dream City and the Magic Knight • Lehár: Cloclo • Kern: Have a Heart Youmans: No, No, Nanette

H.M.S. Pinafore

43 COMPLETE RECORDINGS AVAILABLE ON CD

Tomás Bretón

La Verbena de la Paloma

Reginald De Koven

Robin Hood

Rudolf Friml

The Vagabond King • The Firefly

Gilbert & Sullivan

Utopia Limited • Patience • Princess Ida

The Grand Duke • The Gondoliers

The Mikado • Ruddigore • The Sorcerer

The Yeomen of the Guard

The Pirates of Penzance • H.M.S. Pinafore

Victor Herbert

Dream City and the Magic Knight

Eileen • Mlle. Modiste

Naughty Marietta • The Red Mill

Sweethearts • The Fortune Teller

Emmerich Kálmán

The Bayadere • Sari • Autumn Maneuvers

Countess Maritza • The Violet of Montmartre

A Soldier’s Promise • Miss Springtime

Jerome Kern

The Cabaret Girl

André Messager Véronique

Lionel Monckton The Arcadians

Jacques Offenbach

The Brigands • Bluebeard

Sigmund Romberg

Maytime • Blossom Time

Franz Schubert

Das Dreimäderlhaus

John Philip Sousa El Capitan

Oscar Straus

The Chocolate Soldier

Johann Strauss A Night in Venice

Carl Zeller Der Vogelhändler

Compilations

Gems from The Ohio Light Opera, Vol. 1 Gold and Silver

These recordings are mastered and adapted from our summer productions. Most are released as two-CD sets and are available in the lobby during the season and in finer book and music stores. Patrons may also call the Ohio Light Opera at 330-263-2345 to purchase compact discs or visit www.ohiolightopera.org to view CDs and to order online.

COMPLETE REPERTOIRE 1979-2025

Richard Adler & Jerry Ross

The Pajama Game...................................... ’18

Daniel Auber

Fra Diavolo ................................................ ’88

Lindsay Warren Baker & Amanda Jacobs

Pride & Prejudice ’06

Ralph Benatzky & Robert Stolz

White Horse Inn ........................................ ’05

Irving Berlin

Call Me Madam ......................................... ’14

Annie Get Your Gun .................................. ’16

Leonard Bernstein

Candide...................................................... ’18

Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick

Fiddler on the Roof ’09

Tomás Bretón

La verbena de la paloma ............................ ’99

Emmanuel Chabrier

L’étoile ................................................ ’91, ’08

Federico Chueca & Joaquín Valverde

La gran vía ’99

Noël Coward

Bitter Sweet .................................. ’93, ’98, ’25

Reginald De Koven

Robin Hood ............................................... ’04

Leo Fall

The Dollar Princess .................................... ’95

Madame Pompadour.................................. ’11

Rudolf Friml

The Vagabond King ............................ ’87, ’04

Rose Marie ................................................. ’03

The Firefly .................................................. ’06

Noel Gay

Me and My Girl ......................................... ’24

Edward German

Merrie England .......................................... ’84

Tom Jones .................................................. ’92

George & Ira Gershwin

Of Thee I Sing............................................ ’09

Lady, Be Good! ......................................... ’13

Oh, Kay! ’15

Primrose..................................................... ’17

Girl Crazy .................................................. ’19

Tip-Toes ’25

William Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan

The Gondoliers ’79, ’82, ’85, ’88, ’92, ’96, ’01, ’06, ’13, ’24

H.M.S. Pinafore ..... ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’87, ’90, ’93, ’98, ’02, ’06, ’09, ’13, ’17, ’23

Iolanthe.... ’79, ’81, ’84, ’87, ’91, ’98, ’05, ’10, ’18

The Mikado ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’84, ’85, ’88, ’92, ’95, ’00, ’04, ’08, ’12, ’16

The Pirates of Penzance ’79, ’80, ’81, ’83, ’84, ’86, ’89, ’94, ’99, ’03, ’07, ’11, ’14, ’19, ’22

Ruddigore . ’79, ’82, ’85, ’88, ’95, ’02, ’09, ’15

Trial by Jury .... ’79, ’80, ’81, ’84, ’86, ’89, ’98, ’11,’21

The Yeomen of the Guard .... ’79, ’81, ’84, ’86, ’90,’97, ’01, ’08, ’15

Patience ’80, ’83, ’86, ’91, ’97, ’04, ’10, ’25

Princess Ida .................... ’80, ’85, ’94, ’99, ’07

The Sorcerer ............ ’80, ’82, ’86, ’89, ’96, ’05

Utopia Limited ’80, ’83, ’87, ’93, ’00, ’12

The Grand Duke .......................... ’81, ’95, ’03

Reynaldo Hahn

Ciboulette ’90

Victor Herbert

Naughty Marietta ............................... ’89, ’00

Eileen ’97

The Red Mill .............................................. ’01

Sweethearts ................................................ ’02

Mlle. Modiste ’09

The Fortune Teller...................................... ’11

Dream City and The Magic Knight ............... ’14

The Lady of the Slipper ’17

Jerry Herman

Hello, Dolly! .............................................. ’22

Richard Heuberger

The Opera Ball .......................................... ’90

Emmerich Kálmán

Countess Maritza ........... ’85, ’89, ’94, ’03, ’17

The Gypsy Princess ...................... ’86, ’93, ’10

The Bayadere ............................................. ’98

Sari/Der Zigeunerprimás ............................ ’01

Autumn Maneuvers ................................... ’02

The Violet of Montmartre .......................... ’04

A Soldier’s Promise/Der gute Kamerad ....... ’05

The Duchess of Chicago............................. ’07

Marinka: The Mayerling Story ................... ’08

Miss Springtime.......................................... ’12

The Little King ........................................... ’14

The Little Dutch Girl ’16

The Devil’s Rider ....................................... ’19

Arizona Lady ............................................. ’23

Jerome Kern

The Cabaret Girl ........................................ ’08

Oh, Lady! Lady!! ....................................... ’14

Have a Heart ’16

Music in the Air ......................................... ’19

Eduard Künneke

The Cousin from Batavia ’00, ’02, ’25 Charles Lecocq

Clairette/La fille de Madame Angot............ ’89

Le petit duc ’00

Franz Lehár

The Merry Widow .......... ’83, ’90, ’96, ’04, ’11

The Count of Luxembourg ’88, ’97, ’10, ’24

The Land of Smiles ............................. ’90, ’03

Giuditta ..................................................... ’94

Gypsy Love ’95

The Czarevitch ........................................... ’08

Friederike ................................................... ’15

Cloclo ’18

The Mock Marriage ................................... ’22

Mitch Leigh Man of La Mancha ’05

Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe

Camelot ....................................... ’00, ’11, ’23

Brigadoon ’02, ’15, ’25

My Fair Lady ...................................... ’03, ’14

Frank Loesser

Guys and Dolls ’12, ’24

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying............................ ’23

André Messager

Véronique................................................... ’97

Karl Millöcker

The Beggar Student ’87, ’96

Lionel Monckton

The Arcadians ..................................... ’98, ’24

Otto Nicolai

The Merry Wives of Windsor ..................... ’95

Ivor Novello

The Dancing Years ’16

Perchance to Dream ................................... ’19

Jacques Offenbach

The Brigands ................................ ’83, ’92, ’03

La Périchole ................................. ’84, ’93, ’18

La vie parisienne .......................... ’85, ’99, ’16

La belle Hélène ............................ ’86, ’94, ’09

Bluebeard ............................................ ’87, ’07

Orpheus in the Underworld ..... ’88, ’91, ’01, ’23

The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein ........ ’89, ’13

Christopher Columbus ............................... ’95

Robinson Crusoe........................................ ’96

Regrets Only/M. Choufleuri ................ ’96, ’98

The Island of Tulipatan .............................. ’05

Evening Wind ’11

Cole Porter

Jubilee ........................................................ ’11

Silk Stockings ’13

Can-Can..................................................... ’15

Kiss Me, Kate ............................................. ’16

Anything Goes ’17

Fifty Million Frenchmen ............................. ’18

Heinrich Reinhardt

The Daring of Diane ’21

Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

Carousel .............................................. ’01, ’25

South Pacific ’04, ’19

The Sound of Music ............................ ’07, ’24

Oklahoma!................................................. ’08

The King and I ’13

Cinderella................................................... ’22

Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart

A Connecticut Yankee ’12

Babes in Arms ............................................ ’18

Sigmund Romberg

The Student Prince ’82, ’85, ’92, ’99, ’07, ’17, ’22

The Desert Song ........................... ’86, ’95, ’08

The New Moon ............................ ’91, ’97, ’06

Maytime ’05

Blossom Time ............................................ ’12

Harvey Schmidt & Tom Jones

The Fantasticks ’21, ’22

Franz Schubert & Heinrich Berté

Das Dreimäderlhaus .................................. ’02

Stephen Sondheim

Into the Woods .......................................... ’19

John Philip Sousa

El Capitan ’10

Oscar Straus

The Chocolate Soldier .................. ’88, ’98, ’12

A Waltz Dream ’91

Johann Strauss

A Night in Venice .................. ’81, ’91, ’99, ’09

The Gypsy Baron ’82, ’89, ’00, ’13

Die Fledermaus .............. ’86, ’92, ’97, ’05, ’14

Wiener Blut .................................. ’87, ’93, ’98

The Merry War ’01

The Queen’s Lace Handkerchief ................ ’06

Jule Styne & Stephen Sondheim

Gypsy ’10

Arthur Sullivan & F.C. Burnand

Cox and Box .......... ’79, ’80, ’81, ’84, ’89, ’96, ’99, ’11

Arthur Sullivan & B.C. Stephenson

The Zoo ..................................................... ’99

Franz Von Suppé

Boccaccio ............................................ ’83, ’02

My Fair Galatea ......................................... ’90

Heitor Villa-Lobos

Magdalena ................................................. ’92

Robert Ward

Lady Kate .................................................. ’94

Robert Ward & James Stuart

A Friend of Napoleon ’05

Kurt Weill

Street Scene ................................................ ’90

Kurt Weill & Ira Gershwin

The Firebrand of Florence .......................... ’99

Kurt Weill & Ogden Nash

One Touch of Venus ’15

Meredith Willson

The Music Man ................................... ’06, ’17

Quade Winter & William Gilbert

Thespis ....................................................... ’96

Quade Winter & Frank Desprez

The Carp ’99

Robert Wright & George Forrest

The Great Waltz......................................... ’94

Song of Norway ’96

Kismet ........................................................ ’10

Vincent Youmans

No, No, Nanette ’23

Carl Zeller

Der Vogelhändler ......................... ’93, ’94, ’07

DINING, ACCOMMODATIONS & SHOPPING

Dining

Bay Lobsters Café & Fish Market

330-601-1200

Broken Rocks Café & Bakery ...... 330-263-2949

The Leaf Restaurant ..................... 330-804-0126

Mariola Italian ............................. 330-845-8889

Olde Jaol Steakhouse & Tavern ... 330-262-3333

Pine Tree Barn 330-264-1014

TJ’s Restaurants ........................... 330-264-6263

Tulipan Pastry & Coffee ............. 330-264-8092

Accommodations

Bed & Breakfast

Black Squirrel Inn......................... 330-317-6627

Market Street Inn ......................... 330-262-4085

Hotel/Motel

Best Western Plus Wooster Hotel & Conference Center 330-264-7750

Quality Inn................................... 330-262-5008

St. Paul Hotel 330-601-1900

Entertainment/Attractions

Ashland Symphony ...................... 419-289-5115

The Cleveland Orchestra 216-231-7300

Main Street Wooster .................... 330-262-6222

National First Ladies Library ....... 330-452-0876

Porthouse Theater ........................ 330-672-3884

Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens ........ 330-836-5533

Summit Choral Society 330-434-7464

The Wilderness Center ................. 330-359-5235

Tuesday Musical .......................... 330-761-3460

Wayne Center for the Arts ............ 330-264-2787

Wayne County Convention and Visitors Bureau 330-264-1800 Wooster Country Club ................. 330-263-1890

Shopping

Lobsters Café & Fish Market 330-601-1200

215 N. Walnut Street Wooster, Ohio 44691 330-262-3333

www.oldejaolrestaurant.com Available on Open Table (Monday-Saturday 4:30pm-9pm)

-9pm)

Steaks, Seafood, Pasta, Chicken, Lamb

facility was built in 1865, and was claimed to be the finest sheriff facility of its kind. County Sheriff’s department was relocated across the street to a new facility. old jail was registered as a historical landmark in

330.263.2345

2024 season photos by Matt Dilyard

The Count of Luxembourg

The Sound of Music

Me and My Girl

The Gondoliers

The Sound of Music

Guys and Dolls

The Gondoliers

The Arcadians

2025 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Over the last 47 years, the staff at The College of Wooster has been instrumental in Ohio Light Opera’s success. Without their enthusiasm and support of our endeavors, the Company would not function as seamlessly as it does. The “in kind” services and “hidden assets” over the years have made it possible for OLO to exist as a unique part of the educational mission at Wooster. We acknowledge them with grateful hearts for their support and assistance.

HEARTFELT THANKS go out to:

Auburn University, Rubber City Theatre, and Kent State University for costume rentals in support of our beautiful productions.

Ben Small, Gail Smith, and John Schambach of Live Publishing, for your tireless work on behalf of the company.

Michael and Nan Miller for your never-ending commitment to the company.

Michael Borowitz, for his preseason work on the orchestra parts.

Kiah Kayser and Daniel Hobbs, for their work in assembling and working with the artistic and technical team

Our staff and colleagues at the College of Wooster for 47 years of supporting OLO all year.

Our entire board of directors—your genuine support and valued advice are priceless.

Sandy McIlvaine, for your wonderful support of OLO for so many years.

The Ling family: we are grateful for the precious gift of your family’s grand piano in the lobby. It will be featured this summer in Bitter Sweet.

Andrea Traubner, for allowing us to perform Richard Traubner’s wonderful translation of The Cousin from Batavia.

The families of our youth cast in Carousel and Brigadoon. We realize that each family has made a summer commitment to participate. Your enthusiasm and dedication are making this season a special one.

Franz Neuwirth for providing orchestral material for The Cousin from Batavia.

Wilson Southerland and Eric Andries for “tickling the ivories” in the performances of Tip-Toes

TICKET INFORMATION & PRICES

Season Subscriptions: Subscribe for the Season! Choose four, five, or six performances at a discount from individual ticket prices.

Single

Students (ages: 16-23) ......................................... $25

Children (ages: 3-15)

$15 Subscription

5

6

Ordering Tickets: The Ohio Light Opera accepts Visa, MasterCard, and Discover Card. You may call 330.263.2345, 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 8-May 16, 2025:

The Ohio Light Opera The College of Wooster Westminster Church House 353 East Pine Street (Corner of College Ave and E. Pine St.) Wooster, OH 44691

May 19-August 3, 2025: Freedlander Theatre 329 East University Street Wooster, OH 44691

Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Saturday (beginning June 21) 12 noon-4:30 p.m. Sunday (beginning June 29) .............. 12:30-4 p.m.

24-Hour Order Online: Visit our secure website, ohiolightopera.org, to view available seats, order, and pay for your tickets.

Group Discounts: Last year, more than 2000 people saw Ohio Light Opera performances with our group discount plan.

20-46 people

$62 per ticket 47-100 people $60 per ticket

Put together a group of people to come to Wooster for an afternoon or evening of lyric theater—a joyful time with friends at wonderful savings! Call our group coordinator at 330.263.2329 or 330.263.2345 to order tickets for your group. Our group sales expert will be glad to assist you with your plans.

Please see page 2 for the performance calendar.

Ticket Exchanges: You have the privilege of exchanging tickets, subject to availability, within the 2025 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 $4.00 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 OLO.

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

Parking Information: Parking is FREE in all College of Wooster signed lots. Spaces fill up quickly so please plan to arrive early. Visit the website for more information on parking at Freedlander Theatre, as well as directions to the theatre and any known road construction.

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 lesserknown facts about the show's history and tips to recognize the unique special pleasures of each show. You might also learn more about the company and other parts of the production process as well. We feature lecturers seasoned and experienced in the study of the myriad aspects of lyric theater. No reservations are necessary—all are welcome. Lectures begin at 6:30 p.m. and are held in Lean Lecture Room, down the hall from Freedlander Theatre. Check for signs in the lobby for the location of these informative and free gatherings!

God Save The Queen

In keeping with the tradition established at the Savoy Theatre in London during the premiere of each Gilbert & Sullivan production, we ask you to join us in singing God Save the Queen before each performance of Patience.

God save our gracious Queen, Long live our noble Queen, God save the Queen: Send her victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us: God save the Queen.