Light Opera Oklahoma
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Light Opera Oklahoma (LOOK) is a professional opera company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a member of OPERA America. LOOK was founded by John and Jane Everett in 1983 as a non-profit community theatre under the name of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Tulsa.[1] The company's name changed to Light Opera Oklahoma in 1997 when it decided to expand its repertoire beyond Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas, to become a professional company[1] and to inaugurate a summer festival with shows running in repertory fashion.
LOOK is governed by an elected board of directors, managed by artistic director Eric Gibson and is a member of the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa. LOOK's productions are generally held in the Williams Theatre of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center in downtown Tulsa. However, the company does occasionally travel to other cities in Oklahoma to perform.[2]
The annual summer LOOK company employs over 90 professional and apprentice actor-singers and technicians. LOOK productions are currently accompanied by the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra and the company frequently utilizes dancers from the Tulsa Ballet and Tulsa Youth Ballet. The festival is produced by professional artistic, technical and marketing personnel.[2] Young professionals who work with the company in the summer have impressive professional careers during the rest of the year. For example, staff rehearsal accompanist, Cathy Venable, plays the piano in the pit of Broadway shows.[3]
[edit] Performance history
- 1983 Trial by Jury
- 1984 The Gondoliers
- 1985 HMS Pinafore
- 1986 Patience
- 1987 Man of La Mancha, Side by Side by Sondheim (SummerStage)
- 1988 Ruddigore
- 1989 Iolanthe
- 1990 The Pirates of Penzance
- 1991 The Mikado
- 1992 The Yeomen of the Guard
- 1993 The Gondoliers, Trial by Jury, Sacramento 50 Miles
- 1994 The Pirates of Penzance
- 1995 The Sorcerer
- 1996 H.M.S. Pinafore
- 1997 (First LOOK Season) Princess Ida and Little Mary Sunshine
- 1998 The Mikado, The New Moon, Pineapple Poll, Trial by Jury
- 1999 The Student Prince, The Pirates of Penzance, Ernest in Love, Pineapple Poll, & Cox & Box
- 2000 The Desert Song, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Yeomen of the Guard
- 2001 The Mikado, My Fair Lady, Naughty Marietta
- 2002 Iolanthe, The Merry Widow, I Do! I Do!, Master Class
- 2003 The Pirates of Penzance, Die Fledermaus (REVENGE OF THE BAT), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
- 2004 HMS Pinafore, The Threepenny Opera, Guys & Dolls, Jazz concert
- 2005 The Mikado, Too Many Sopranos, Fiddler on the Roof, La Perichole
- 2006 South Pacific, The Sorcerer, The Little Barber of Lavapies
- 2007 The Music Man, Sweeney Todd, Naughty Marietta, Trial by Jury
- 2008 Into the Woods, The Pirates of Penzance, Candide, Oh, Coward!
[edit] References
- ^ a b http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A17350 "The Glamour of Evil" in Urban Tulsa Weekly June 6, 2007]
- ^ a b http://www.lightoperaok.org/about.php Information from the company's official website
- ^ Cathy Venable bio
