2006 - 2007 Opera / Musical Theatre Season
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Click here for information on the Spring 2007 production of "Too Many Sopranos"
Click here for information on the Summer 2007 production of "The Wizard of Oz"
Songs for a New World
Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Auditions (open to entire student body)
• Tuesday, August 22 at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (audition at either time, not both)
• Pottle Music Building Annex, Recital Hall (Room 202)
Performance Dates
• Wednesday – Saturday, October 18-21, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.
• Pottle Music Building Auditorium
Tickets (all seats general admission)
- $14 Adults
- $10 Seniors; SLU faculty/staff/alumni; non-SLU Students
- SLU students free with ID
Tickets available at the door one hour prior to performances. Advance tickets available at the Fanfare [link to Fanfare page] box office, Columbia Theatre for Performing Arts, 220 East Thomas Street, downtown Hammond. Box office telephone: (985) 543-4371. Box office hours: Monday – Friday, noon – 5:00 p.m.
Synopsis
“It’s about one moment. It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back. The moment you think you know where you stand, the things that you’re sure of slip from your hand, and you’re suddenly a stranger in some completely different land.” – Jason Robert Brown
The opening number of the show metaphorically describes “A New World.” From there, Brown transports the audience from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship to a ledge 57 stories above Fifth Avenue where they meet a startling array of characters ranging from a young man who has decided that basketball is his ticket out of the ghetto, to a woman whose dream of marrying rich nabs her the man of her dreams and a soulless marriage, to a political prisoner begging to have his life back, to the latest Mrs. Santa Claus. These are the stories and characters of today, the songs for a new world.
Brown’s musical sensibilities fuse pop, folk, rock, jazz, gospel, funk, and cabaret with sometimes dramatic and poignant, sometimes comic and delightful, but always theatrical lyrics. This excellent revue, originally produced in 1995, preceded Brown’s 1999 Tony award-wining Parade and his 2002 Off-Broadway show The Last Five Years. Brown also contributed several original songs to the score of the Broadway show Urban Cowboy: The Musical which will be presented at the Columbia Theatre on February 24, 2007.
2007 Spring Opera
Too Many Sopranos
A Comic Opera in Two Acts
Libretto by Miki L. Thompson
Music by Edwin Penhorwood
Auditions
Friday, October 27, 2006
Pottle Music Building Auditorium
7:00 p.m.
Open to entire student body but classical vocal training required
Performance Dates
• Wednesday – Saturday, March 21-24, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.
• Pottle Music Building Auditorium
Tickets (all seats general admission)
$14 Adults
$10 Seniors; SLU faculty/staff/alumni; non-SLU Students
SLU students free with ID
Available only at the door one hour prior to performances
Synopsis
ACT I: The Parlor of Heaven
Four divas arrive in heaven and are greeted by St. Peter and Gabriel. The divas learn that there is not enough room for all of them in the Heavenly Chorus because too many tenors and basses are in Hell. They are appalled that they must audition, but submit. After their impressive auditions St. Peter is unable to make a decision. Gabriel remembers the Redemption Clause, which states that if the sopranos go to Hell and do a selfless deed, they can bring back to heaven as many tenors and basses as needed. As they are sprinkled with the ashes of saints to protect them on their journey they begin to feel the spirit: all sing a spiritual as the Act I Finale.
ACT II: The Caverns of Hades
St. Peter, Gabriel and the four divas arrive in Hell and listen to the stories of some of the tortured souls there (tenor Enrico Carouser and an Unnamed Bass). One of the sopranos meets the tenor Nelson Deadly and they fall in love. The Sandman arrives with Orson and gives them a task: if they can stay awake while listening to Orson they can take back as many tenors and basses as they need. They fail the test (Orson is, after all, a stage director) , but because of a selfless act on their part, they are granted the release of the men. There is general rejoicing, but when the Sandman suggests that they take Orson back with them to form a heavenly opera company, they all promise St. Peter that they’ve learned their lesson and will “never sing opera again!”
Too Many Sopranos was commissioned by the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and was premiered in June, 2000. Composer Edwin Penhorwood is a faculty member of the Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington, where he is the Musical Director of the Graduate and Undergraduate Opera Workshops and teaches Accompanying.
2007 Summer Musical
The Wizard of Oz
Music & Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg
AUDITIONS
Pottle Music Building Annex
Choral Room (Rm. A163)
* Children entering grades 3-8 in the Fall 2007 school year:
Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21, 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
* High school/university students and adults:
Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
PERFORMANCES
June 22, 7:30 p.m.
June 23, 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts
220 East Thomas Street
Hammond
Tickets go on sale May 22 at the Columbia Theater box office
Monday–Friday, noon–5:00p.m.
Telephone (985) 543-4371
Ticket Prices:
Orchestra I & Loge: $24
Orchestra II: $21
Orchestra III & Balcony I: $18
Balcony II: $15
10% discount for seniors and children 12 and under