2021 Season
The Musical Magic of OLO!
The Ohio Light Opera was founded in 1979 as a Gilbert and Sullivan repertory company. By the turn of the century, the repertoire had grown to encompass 71 works from the operetta canon. Over the past 20 years, OLO has further expanded its repertoire—now at 146 titles—to include stage works of most of the greatest composers and lyricists of traditional American musical theater. Not only did innovators like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Lerner and Loewe drive the evolution of the Broadway musical, but—quite unlike the musicals of today—many of their show songs became popular hit tunes of their day. Join us in this casual cabaret performance, with full narration, as we look back at some of the most well-known and beloved songs from the mid-century musicals that OLO has produced. Songs featured include “The Impossible Dream,” “You’re Just in Love,” “My Funny Valentine,” “I’ve Got Rhythm,” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”
Ensemble: Vince Gover, Mark Hosseini, Teryn Kuzma, Joelle Lachance, Elizabeth Perkins, Spencer Reese, Tanya Roberts, Caitlin Ruddy, Adam Wells, Julie Wright Costa
Song Programing by Steven A. Daigle
Narrations by Spencer Reese
Julie Wright Costa, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
The Fantasticks
(1960)
Music by Harvey Schmidt
Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones
As related by a singing storyteller, two young neighbors, Matt and Luisa—for years nearly oblivious to each other—have grown up and fallen in love. Their feuding parents—Matt’s father and Luisa’s mother—do not approve of this relationship and have constructed a wall between their properties. The young couple have had to conduct their romance in secret. Matt’s father, despite his son’s pleas of independence, has, in fact, chosen a wife for him. Luisa’s mother intends to supplement the wall with a fence. In truth, this is all part of the parents’ plan to bring them together: forbid children from doing something, and they will do it. Matt’s father hatches a plan to end the fabricated “feud” and hasten the children’s relationship. He has hired a professional abductor, El Gallo, who will carry Luisa off. She will be gallantly rescued by Matt, with the parents so pleased that all can end happily. The scheme goes according to plan—the wall eventually comes down and all seems to be going swimmingly for both children and parents. But without the previous sense of adventure and forbidden romance, life has become too easy. Matt and Luisa want something more: he ventures out to validate his heroism and she becomes obsessed with the handsome and alluring El Gallo. It takes a full dose of the “real world” to finally convince the couple of what really matters.
Steven A. Daigle, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Spencer Reese, Choreographer
Charlene Gross, Costume Designer
Kiah Kayser, Scenic and Props Artisan
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
Cast
The Narrator (El Gallo) Mark Hosseini
The Girl (Luisa) Teryn Kuzma
The Boy (Matt) Spencer Reese
The Boy’s Father (Hucklebee) Benjamin Krumreig
The Girl’s Mother (Bellomy) Michelle Pedersen
The Old Actor (Henry) Vince Gover
The Man Who Dies (Mortimer) Adam Wells
The Mute Caitlin Ruddy
Understudy for Luisa Elizabeth Stockton Perkins
Trial by Jury
(1875)
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by William S. Gilbert
Edwin, engaged to but tiring of his sweetheart Angelina, has fallen in love with another; Angelina takes him to court for breach of promise. The court usher, while enjoining impartiality on the jury, shows a definite partiality himself for the fair plaintiff. Although both jury and judge indicate that, in their own pasts, they have had changes of heart like Edwin’s, they nevertheless have little sympathy for him. After the jury is sworn in, Angelina appears and immediately captivates the entire court. Her lawyer gives a stirring speech, and Angelina falls sobbing on the advocate’s breast. Edwin proposes various solutions, including marrying Angelina now and his sweetheart later, but her lawyer objects. Edwin tries to dissuade her from wanting to marry him at all, saying that when he is drunk he would beat her. The judge proposes that Edwin be made drunk to see whether he indeed would, but her lawyer again objects. Finally, the judge, disgusted at the proceedings and eager to get away, has his own thoughts on how best to adjudicate the case.
Julie Wright Costa, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Spencer Reese, Choreographer
Charlene Gross, Costume Designer
Kiah Kayser, Scenic and Props Artisan
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
Cast
Judge Vince Gover
Plaintiff Caitlin Ruddy
Counsel for Plaintiff Tanya Roberts
Defendant Benjamin Krumreig
Foreman of Jury Mark Hosseini
Usher Elizabeth Perkins
Participants: Vince Gover, Mark Hosseini, Benjamin Krumreig, Teryn Kuzma, Joelle Lachance, Michelle Pedersen, Elizabeth Perkins, Spencer Reese, Tanya Roberts, Caitlin Ruddy, Adam Wells
The Daring of Diane
(1907)
Music by Heinrich Reinhardt
Original English Libretto by Arthur Anderson
New Performance Edition and Revisions by Steven A. Daigle
Quite in the La Bohème fashion, three aspiring artists—the poet Prosper, the musician Severin, and the painter Julien—share a tattered garret in the heart of Montmartre. Prosper and Severin poke fun at Julien’s apparent inexperience with the opposite sex. In his defense, Julien reveals that, two weeks before, an aunt forwarded him 500 francs, with a promise of 2500 more as soon as he completed his art studies … but, under the condition that, during this time, he have no love affair. Furthermore, he reveals that, three weeks before, he had met at the Louvre a young woman named Diane—very rich and of noble background—who promised to take an interest in his art. Voices are heard from outside—it is those of grisettes Carolie and Rosalie, the girlfriends, respectively, of Prosper and Severin. The two couples rejoice in being together, while Julien laments his unhappy loveless state. Disconsolate at his easel, he can’t stop staring at the sketch that he has begun of a beautiful woman. No sooner have Carolie and Rosalie departed than Prosper and Severin decide to pay a visit to the Café Momus. Julien declines their invitation to join them. Once his friends have gone, Julien responds to a knock at the door: it is the elegantly dressed Diane, who explains that, ten years before, driven by her quest for high position, she had married a marquis. Despite her incessant attempts to win his love, he continually shunned her. Left with no alternative, she ran away to seek revenge on her husband by pretending to take a lover … namely Julien. She has left a letter for her husband, informing him of her intentions and her whereabouts. Julien now fears for his own safety, even more so when Diane doubles down by insisting that she will not leave the room until her husband has found her there. When Julien cautions her about his aunt’s stipulation of “no romance,” Diane kicks into high gear…
Steven A. Daigle, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Spencer Reese, Choreographer
Charlene Gross, Costume Designer
Justin Gibson, Lighting Designer
Kiah Kayser, Scenic and Props Artisan
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
Cast
Prosper (poet) Benjamin Krumreig
Julien (artist) Adam Wells
Severin (musician) Vince Gover
Carolie Joelle Lachance
Rosalie Michelle Pedersen
Diane Tanya Roberts
Operetta: Rare and Well Done
Since the earliest days of operetta, historical figures—famous and infamous—have served as inspiration for characters, plots, songs, and shows. The stage counterparts of these figures—from Cleopatra to Casanova, Madame Pompadour to Napoleon, Boccaccio to Goethe—have provided us history lessons, but tempered with the satirical, romantic, and glamorized stylings of operetta. OLO has taken advantage of the inactivity during the COVID crisis to craft, and secure materials for, a live-streamed concert titled Operetta: Rare and Well Done, comprising 13 songs and narration associated, in one way or another, with historical personages and events. Our goal—as with The Daring of Diane—is to chip away at those 10,000 operetta titles that OLO has yet to present on stage. Composers represented include Jacques Offenbach, Franz von Suppé, Arthur Sullivan, and George Gershwin. The historical characters range from queens to sculptors to actors to composers. Make no mistake … these songs, drawn from the French, German, British, and American repertoire, are rare! But you will be humming or knee-slapping the tunes for days.
Julie Wright Costa, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Spencer Reese, Choreographer
Justin Gibson, Lighting Designer
Kiah Kayser, Scenic and Props Artisan
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
Ensemble: Mark Hosseini, Benjamin Krumreig, Teryn Kuzma, Joelle Lachance, Michelle Pedersen, Elizabeth Perkins, Spencer Reese, Tanya Roberts, Caitlin Ruddy, Julie Wright Costa
Narration Text and Song Selections by Michael Miller
2021 Season
The Musical Magic of OLO!
The Ohio Light Opera was founded in 1979 as a Gilbert and Sullivan repertory company. By the turn of the century, the repertoire had grown to encompass 71 works from the operetta canon. Over the past 20 years, OLO has further expanded its repertoire—now at 146 titles—to include stage works of most of the greatest composers and lyricists of traditional American musical theater. Not only did innovators like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Lerner and Loewe drive the evolution of the Broadway musical, but—quite unlike the musicals of today—many of their show songs became popular hit tunes of their day. Join us in this casual cabaret performance, with full narration, as we look back at some of the most well-known and beloved songs from the mid-century musicals that OLO has produced. Songs featured include “The Impossible Dream,” “You’re Just in Love,” “My Funny Valentine,” “I’ve Got Rhythm,” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”
Ensemble: Vince Gover, Mark Hosseini, Teryn Kuzma, Joelle Lachance, Elizabeth Perkins, Spencer Reese, Tanya Roberts, Caitlin Ruddy, Adam Wells, Julie Wright Costa
Song Programing by Steven A. Daigle
Narrations by Spencer Reese
Julie Wright Costa, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
The Fantasticks
(1960)
Music by Harvey Schmidt
Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones
As related by a singing storyteller, two young neighbors, Matt and Luisa—for years nearly oblivious to each other—have grown up and fallen in love. Their feuding parents—Matt’s father and Luisa’s mother—do not approve of this relationship and have constructed a wall between their properties. The young couple have had to conduct their romance in secret. Matt’s father, despite his son’s pleas of independence, has, in fact, chosen a wife for him. Luisa’s mother intends to supplement the wall with a fence. In truth, this is all part of the parents’ plan to bring them together: forbid children from doing something, and they will do it. Matt’s father hatches a plan to end the fabricated “feud” and hasten the children’s relationship. He has hired a professional abductor, El Gallo, who will carry Luisa off. She will be gallantly rescued by Matt, with the parents so pleased that all can end happily. The scheme goes according to plan—the wall eventually comes down and all seems to be going swimmingly for both children and parents. But without the previous sense of adventure and forbidden romance, life has become too easy. Matt and Luisa want something more: he ventures out to validate his heroism and she becomes obsessed with the handsome and alluring El Gallo. It takes a full dose of the “real world” to finally convince the couple of what really matters.
Steven A. Daigle, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Spencer Reese, Choreographer
Charlene Gross, Costume Designer
Kiah Kayser, Scenic and Props Artisan
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
Cast
The Narrator (El Gallo) Mark Hosseini
The Girl (Luisa) Teryn Kuzma
The Boy (Matt) Spencer Reese
The Boy’s Father (Hucklebee) Benjamin Krumreig
The Girl’s Mother (Bellomy) Michelle Pedersen
The Old Actor (Henry) Vince Gover
The Man Who Dies (Mortimer) Adam Wells
The Mute Caitlin Ruddy
Understudy for Luisa Elizabeth Stockton Perkins
Trial by Jury
(1875)
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by William S. Gilbert
Edwin, engaged to but tiring of his sweetheart Angelina, has fallen in love with another; Angelina takes him to court for breach of promise. The court usher, while enjoining impartiality on the jury, shows a definite partiality himself for the fair plaintiff. Although both jury and judge indicate that, in their own pasts, they have had changes of heart like Edwin’s, they nevertheless have little sympathy for him. After the jury is sworn in, Angelina appears and immediately captivates the entire court. Her lawyer gives a stirring speech, and Angelina falls sobbing on the advocate’s breast. Edwin proposes various solutions, including marrying Angelina now and his sweetheart later, but her lawyer objects. Edwin tries to dissuade her from wanting to marry him at all, saying that when he is drunk he would beat her. The judge proposes that Edwin be made drunk to see whether he indeed would, but her lawyer again objects. Finally, the judge, disgusted at the proceedings and eager to get away, has his own thoughts on how best to adjudicate the case.
Julie Wright Costa, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Spencer Reese, Choreographer
Charlene Gross, Costume Designer
Kiah Kayser, Scenic and Props Artisan
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
Cast
Judge Vince Gover
Plaintiff Caitlin Ruddy
Counsel for Plaintiff Tanya Roberts
Defendant Benjamin Krumreig
Foreman of Jury Mark Hosseini
Usher Elizabeth Perkins
Participants: Vince Gover, Mark Hosseini, Benjamin Krumreig, Teryn Kuzma, Joelle Lachance, Michelle Pedersen, Elizabeth Perkins, Spencer Reese, Tanya Roberts, Caitlin Ruddy, Adam Wells
The Daring of Diane
(1907)
Music by Heinrich Reinhardt
Original English Libretto by Arthur Anderson
New Performance Edition and Revisions by Steven A. Daigle
Quite in the La Bohème fashion, three aspiring artists—the poet Prosper, the musician Severin, and the painter Julien—share a tattered garret in the heart of Montmartre. Prosper and Severin poke fun at Julien’s apparent inexperience with the opposite sex. In his defense, Julien reveals that, two weeks before, an aunt forwarded him 500 francs, with a promise of 2500 more as soon as he completed his art studies … but, under the condition that, during this time, he have no love affair. Furthermore, he reveals that, three weeks before, he had met at the Louvre a young woman named Diane—very rich and of noble background—who promised to take an interest in his art. Voices are heard from outside—it is those of grisettes Carolie and Rosalie, the girlfriends, respectively, of Prosper and Severin. The two couples rejoice in being together, while Julien laments his unhappy loveless state. Disconsolate at his easel, he can’t stop staring at the sketch that he has begun of a beautiful woman. No sooner have Carolie and Rosalie departed than Prosper and Severin decide to pay a visit to the Café Momus. Julien declines their invitation to join them. Once his friends have gone, Julien responds to a knock at the door: it is the elegantly dressed Diane, who explains that, ten years before, driven by her quest for high position, she had married a marquis. Despite her incessant attempts to win his love, he continually shunned her. Left with no alternative, she ran away to seek revenge on her husband by pretending to take a lover … namely Julien. She has left a letter for her husband, informing him of her intentions and her whereabouts. Julien now fears for his own safety, even more so when Diane doubles down by insisting that she will not leave the room until her husband has found her there. When Julien cautions her about his aunt’s stipulation of “no romance,” Diane kicks into high gear…
Steven A. Daigle, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Spencer Reese, Choreographer
Charlene Gross, Costume Designer
Justin Gibson, Lighting Designer
Kiah Kayser, Scenic and Props Artisan
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
Cast
Prosper (poet) Benjamin Krumreig
Julien (artist) Adam Wells
Severin (musician) Vince Gover
Carolie Joelle Lachance
Rosalie Michelle Pedersen
Diane Tanya Roberts
Operetta: Rare and Well Done
Since the earliest days of operetta, historical figures—famous and infamous—have served as inspiration for characters, plots, songs, and shows. The stage counterparts of these figures—from Cleopatra to Casanova, Madame Pompadour to Napoleon, Boccaccio to Goethe—have provided us history lessons, but tempered with the satirical, romantic, and glamorized stylings of operetta. OLO has taken advantage of the inactivity during the COVID crisis to craft, and secure materials for, a live-streamed concert titled Operetta: Rare and Well Done, comprising 13 songs and narration associated, in one way or another, with historical personages and events. Our goal—as with The Daring of Diane—is to chip away at those 10,000 operetta titles that OLO has yet to present on stage. Composers represented include Jacques Offenbach, Franz von Suppé, Arthur Sullivan, and George Gershwin. The historical characters range from queens to sculptors to actors to composers. Make no mistake … these songs, drawn from the French, German, British, and American repertoire, are rare! But you will be humming or knee-slapping the tunes for days.
Julie Wright Costa, Stage Director
Wilson Southerland, Music Director, piano
Spencer Reese, Choreographer
Justin Gibson, Lighting Designer
Kiah Kayser, Scenic and Props Artisan
Christopher Plummer, Sound Designer
Ensemble: Mark Hosseini, Benjamin Krumreig, Teryn Kuzma, Joelle Lachance, Michelle Pedersen, Elizabeth Perkins, Spencer Reese, Tanya Roberts, Caitlin Ruddy, Julie Wright Costa
Narration Text and Song Selections by Michael Miller
