LOOK Musical Theatre

LOOK Musical Theatre (LOOK) is a professional musical theatre company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The organization, governed by an elected board of directors, follows a repertory model in presenting a summer festival program of musicals and comic opera. LOOK's annual summer season of performances at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center is known as "The LOOK Festival."

The company was founded by John and Jane Everett in 1983 as a non-profit community theater called The Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Tulsa.[1] It changed its name to Light Opera Oklahoma in 1997 in conjunction with its transformation into a professional repertory company and expanded its repertoire to works outside the corpus of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas.[1] Eric Gibson was named the artistic director in 2002. The company rebranded itself again in 2012 under its present name.

LOOK draws its orchestral forces from the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra and often recruits its dancers from the Tulsa Ballet and Tulsa Youth Ballet. The company occasionally travels to other cities in Oklahoma, but most productions take place at the Williams Theatre of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center in downtown Tulsa. LOOK also holds evening cabarets for Valentine's Day and during the fall season. LOOK is a member of the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa.[2]

Reviewing My Fair Lady in 2009, Urban Tulsa Weekly wrote, "LOOK consistently delivers fantastic performances, year after year, during the Tulsa Performing Arts Center's SummerStage Festival.... The company draws talented professional singers from all over the U.S."[3]

Performance history

Bab drawing of Trial by Jury: The Usher advises the jury.

From its founding in 1983 as the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Tulsa, when its first production was Trial by Jury, to its change of name in 1996, the company produced a single Gilbert and Sullivan opera each year, except in 1987, when it instead presented two musicals: Man of La Mancha and Side by Side by Sondheim. The company changed its name to Light Opera Oklahoma in 1997, when int presented Princess Ida and Little Mary Sunshine. After this, until the 2010 season, each season included a Savoy opera together with a mix of operettas and musicals, generally totaling three productions, presented in repertory. Since 2011, the company has not produced a Savoy opera, focusing on musicals. The company rebranded itself as LOOK Musical Theatre in 2012. Its seasons, since 1998, have included the following shows:[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "The Glamour of Evil", Urban Tulsa Weekly, June 6, 2007
  2. 1 2 Information from the company's official website
  3. Wall, Holly. "Refining Moment", Urban Tulsa Weekly, June 17, 2009

External links

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