Department of Theatre and Dance in conjunction with The School of Music-Opera Theatre
present:

Opera One-Acts
February 10-11 at 7:30pm
February 12 at 4:00pm
February 13 at 2:00pm
Pipe Dreams Theatre
by Leonard Bernstein
by Gian-Carlo Menotti
Cast | Synopsis | Notes
Cast | Synopsis | Notes
Production Photos
Production Photos
   
Production Team
Director
Ann Morrow
Musical Director
Ted Hesse
Set Designer
 Merel Ray-Pfeifer
Costume Designer
 Krissa Lent
Lighting Designer
 Erin Hoffman
Sound Designer
 Matt Borysewicz
Choreographer
Jaclyn Siebers
crew
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Cast of Trouble in Tahiti
 Dinah
Lauren Gire
 Sam
Jesse Upah
 Trio 1
Lindsay Kesterson
 Trio 2
Christina Paul
 Trio 3
Sean Stephenson
Dancer
Barbie Diewald
Dancer
James Goode
 
Cast of The Old Maid and the Thief
Miss Todd
Melinda Learnard  
Laetitia (Thurs/Sat)
Laetitia (Fri/Sun)
Rachel Routson
Melissa Anderson
Miss Pinkerton
Sara Kendall
Bob
Aaron Denk
Crew
Stage Manager
 Sarah Holt
Assistant Stage Manager
Kat Thomson
Assitant Musical Director
Michael York
Technical Director
Charles E. Chapman
Properties Master
 Vicki Podlin
Master Electrician
Dawn Kenseth
Assistant Master Electrician
Kyle Van Sant
Paint Charge
 Megan Stadick
Costumer
Jana Henry
Costume Crafts
 Melissa Pleiss
Hair/Makeup Designer
Karen Richardson
Wardrobe Supervisor
 Joe Spratt
Shop Foreman
 Nick Adelsberger
Rehearsal Pianists
Bruce Gibbons
Garrett Taylor
Synopsis for Trouble in Tahiti
Trouble in Tahiti is a 45-minute two-character opera which traces one day in the the lives of Sam and Dinah, a bored upper-middle class couple.  Bernstein's magnificent music brilliantly contrasts Sam's superficial bravado at his office and gym with Dinah's desperate dreams of an emotional life.
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Synopsis for The Old Maid and the Thief
The Old Maid and the Thief was originally conceived as a Radio-Opera, commissioned and broadcast by NBC Radio in 1939.  A vagrant is invited into the home of a respected maiden-woman, and this act of kindness (or is it more self-serving?) turns the household upside down.  Duration: one hour and 15 minutes.
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Notes
Both of these offerings were written early in the composers' careers, and both clearly establish the composers as men of the theatre, composing musical theatre in its most evolved form: opera.  In 1954, Menotti's opera The Consul, produced on Broadway, would win both a Pulitzer Prize and a New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New Musical Play. Bernstein offered Candide to Broadway audiences in 1956, to critical failure (it closed after 73 performances), yet today, after cuts and reshuffling of scenes, it enjoys critical acclaim and box office success. So are they operas or musical theatre?  Does the location of the premier, opera house or Broadway house, determine the genre of the work?  Is it an opera or is it musical theatre?  I would answer yes to both sides of the question!  Our productions focus on the theatrical telling of these musical stories, written in the language in which they are being performed: American English. Enjoy, and call them what you wish.
~Ann Morrow, Director
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