Adventuresome might be a good word to describe this season at Ohio Light Opera. Five of the seven productions are premieres, all of them by familiar ‚ even standard, names in the lists of famous composers. So far, there has been Cole Porter and Irving Berlin; the other three are Jerome Kern, Ivor Novello and Emerich Kálmán. Perhaps Novello is the least known in this country, but certainly not in the UK. Kálmán is fairly well-known in this part of the world, as OLO has previously produced eleven of his creations and recorded seven of them.
You’ll also be treated to a bit of travel, hardly surprising in operetta-land. Have a Heart is set in Rhode Island; La Vie Parisienne in (where else?) Paris; The Dancing Years in Vienna and The Little Dutch Girl in Germany and Holland. Other features are, of course, mistaken identity and requited or unrequited love, threatened duels and the occasional baron, count, countess or prince. Lavish costumes will be the order of the day.
Have a Heart, which opens Thu 7/7, is an early work by Jerome Kern. Dating from 1917, it was one of the five “Princess” shows which helped to establish American characters and settings tales as suitable material for musical productions hitherto mostly the province of Vienna. WWI had an unexpected effect on Broadway theater producers: there were no imports available . Set in everyday America with (mostly) ordinary people as heroes and heroines, these shows influenced the next generation of composers, including Gershwin, Porter and Rodgers. The original run was barely two months but two touring companies spread the word across America and Canada.
The first act setting is, um, the lingerie room of Schoonmaker’s Department Store. Act two is in a hotel, thank goodness for that. Steven Daigle is the stage director with choreography by Spencer Reese (who also plays the role of Chick); sets by Daniel Hobbs, costumes by Hall Hutchison and lighting by Brittany Shemuga. The orchestra is conducted by J. Lynn Thompson in this OLO premiere.
Nathan Brian is Ruddy, the store owner, while Sarah Best is Peggy, his estranged wife. The “other” woman may or may not be Dolly (Tanya Roberts) or Lizzie (Emily Hagens) or possibly one of the sales girls, women shoppers or waitresses. Book and lyrics are by the team of Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, which should guarantee lots of witty and fast-paced lines zinging their way back and forth among the large cast.
La Vie Parisienne, seen here in 1985 and 1999, opens on Wed 7/13 and promises the fast-paced “Gay Paree” of the mid-1800s. It opens in the Gare de l’Ouest station and moves on to residential locations. Here we have assumed identities rather than mistaken ones, as the men and women seem to change affections as they change their hats, all in the name of seduction, of course. Although it was not originally deemed a good match for the theater in which it was to open, the composer was adamant that it would be a big success. Guess who won? M. Offenbach, to be sure. It ran for more than a year and has had several revivals in Paris, the most recent in 1980.
Raoul Gardefeu, the lover of Métella, is determined to seduce a baroness. There are many more characters, but the plot is entirely too complex to be reduced to a sentence or two. Benjamin Krumreig is Gardefeu, Gretchen Windt is Métella, and the baroness is Meagan Sill. The production is conducted by Wilson Southerland with stage direction by Julie Wright Costa and choreography by Spencer Reese. Set design is by Daniel Hobbs, lighting by Daniel Huston and costumes by Stefanie Genda.
The Dancing Years , another OLO premiere which opens Tue 7/19, was devised, written and composed by Ivor Novello with lyrics by Christopher Hassall. To those who might not recognize the name of Ivor Novello, he wrote the script for the 1932 Hollywood film Tarzan the Ape Man. Before 1920, he’d been composing on a regular basis, but then turned to acting including two silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He became a stage actor in London before heading to Hollywood and Tarzan. Novello was not happy there and returned to great success in London for the rest of his life. It is said the fame of Novello exceeded that of his friend and rival Noel Coward!
The Dancing Years was perhaps his greatest success, appearing in 1939 and running for 1150 performances, well into the beginning of WWII in England. It began life as a political commentary: Novello had recently learned of the dearth of available recordings in Vienna by Jewish composers and set out to address the situation. By the time of its premiere, however, the plot was somewhat subdued, and perhaps overshadowed by the lush music.
In brief, it tells the story of Maria and Rudi, who meet in 1911, but are separated. They meet again sixteen years later, but again, they are separated, this time for eleven years. The younger Maria is Sarah Best, the mature Maria is Julie Wright Costa. Rudi is Nathan Brian in the early years, Ted Christopher in the latter. (Note: Christopher’s young son Bryson makes his stage debut at OLO in this work.)
Stage direction is by Steven Daigle, conductor is Steven Byess, and choreographer is Spencer Reese. Ken Martin designed the costumes, while lighting is by Brittany Shemuga, and sets by Ken Martin.
The Little Dutch Girl which opens on Wed 7/27 is the final OLO premiere for this season. It’s difficult to believe that this production appears to be the first in the U.S. since 1931. OLO’s artistic director Steven Daigle was so determined to produce this operetta, he created the new performance edition and English translation utilized by the company. He’s also the stage director. Steven Byess is conductor and choreographer is Spencer Reese. Sets are by Tymberley Whitesel, costumes by Stefanie Genda and lighting by Daniel Huston.
The action takes place over one week, beginning in small German town, then a town in Holland and concluding five days later at the palace in Germany. The princess Jutta (Meagan Sill) is eager to meet the man who will become her husband, even though it is an arranged marriage. In company with her maid, the Baroness Elly (Jessamyn Anderson), they await the prince and his companions. Alas, the prince is a no-show, although his private secretary, Dr. von Sterzel (Samus Haddad), does appear and is immediately smitten with the baroness. They decide to have a proxy ceremony, with von Sterzel standing in for the prince.
The two young women travel to Holland, where they assume the identities of two serving girls, and of course, the prince promptly falls in love with Jutta, not knowing her real identity. When he proposes to marry the waitress, she reveals herself as the princess and dumps him. Finally, she is forced to admit that perhaps she acted a bit too quickly and returns home. There are more mix-ups and tears before the ending.
There are several special events scheduled for this season as well. July 12 is the Children’s Introduction to Theater in the Freedlander Theater Lobby; and the highly praised Festival Symposium, a three day exposition on the Lyric Theater Tradition, takes place from August 2-5. Limited seating is still available for this not-to-be-missed program.
For detailed information about any events at Ohio Light Opera, or to purchase tickets, visit them at ohiolightopera.org or call the box office at 1-330-263-2345. To read more about the productions and hear clips of some of the music for each of the above mentioned shows, go here.
[Written by Kelly Ferjutz]
Wooster, OH 44691