Coming up next... presents
An intimate afternoon with Lamplighters old and new, with song and laughter, and behind-the-scenes insights, reminiscences and recollections. The event will feature fun performances including a selection of highlights from the Lamplighters 2016/17 Season (The [New] Mikado, A Night at the Mint, Patience and A Song to Sing, O!), and will preview some favorite numbers from the upcoming 2016/17 Season (The Yeomen of the Guard, The Gondoliers and Iolanthe Singalong). Also included is a delicious buffet with fine wines. This is a wonderful opportunity to sing and laugh with some of your Lamplighter favorites, and participate in the raffle and live auction to help support our upcoming season. It’s Too Much Happiness!
May 21, 2017 Veteran’s Building Green Room War Memorial & Performing Arts Center San Francisco Tickets: 415-227-4797 • lamplighters.org/shop
Our 2017-18 Season...
August 2017 San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Mountain View, Livermore
February 2018 San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Mountain View
Lyrics: William S. Gilbert Music: Arthur Sullivan Written and Directed by Barbara Heroux Music Director/Conductor: Baker Peeples
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco April 22-23, 2017 Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek May 4, 2017
15 October, 2017 Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
Spring 2018 San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Mountain View
Menlo-Atherton Center for Performing Arts, Atherton May 14, 2017
Cast W.S. GILBERT: Charles Martin ARTHUR SULLIVAN: Jonathan Spencer
ENSEMBLE
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Jennifer Ashworth F. Lawrence Ewing Samuel Faustine Sonia Gariaeff Patrick Hagen William Neely Erin O’Meally Cary Ann Rosko Robby Stafford Chris Uzelac
If you want to know who we are... The mission of Lamplighters Music Theatre is to share our enthusiasm and love for the works of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan through productions of their comic operas and of other works of comparable wit, literacy and musical merit. Our company strives to enrich the lives of current and future theatre-goers with productions of the highest artistic quality, and to offer performance opportunities in the unique style of classic music theatre to established and emerging artists alike. Through youth training, programs in schools and community outreach, the Lamplighters aspire to develop young talent and encourage people of all ages to explore the comic appeal and deep musical rewards of this repertoire. Critically acclaimed artistic successes for the Lamplighters include honors for Best Production and Best Director at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England, and local awards in nearly every performance, direction, and design category. The hallmarks of a Lamplighters production are lavish costumes and sets, live orchestra, excellent comic acting, and gorgeous unamplified singing that showcases the beauty and purity of the human voice.
Board of Trustees James MacIlvaine, President; F. Lawrence Ewing, Vice President; Mark Fuller, Treasurer; Keith Doerge, Secretary; Richard Drossler, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, Anson B. Moran, Laura Oliphant, Baker Peeples, Christopher M. Sunseri, Trustees; Chris Uzelac: Company Representative.
The Lamplighters Salon Orchestra
Honorary Trustees
Violin I: Pamela Carey (Concertmaster); Violin II: Laurien Jones; Viola: Kathryn Juneau; Cello: Gwyneth Davis; Flute/Piccolo: Lucy Schoening; Oboe: Kathleen Conner; Clarinet: Diana Dorman (Contractor); Bassoon: Kathleen Johannessen; Cornet: William Harvey; Piano: Baker Peeples
Ann Pool Mac Nab, Orva Hoskinson ✝, Co-Founders; J. Geoffrey Colton, Gini Stephens Frings, Jill R. Thompson, David Barry Whitehead. ✝ In Memoriam: Spencer S. Beman, Dr. Ronald Cape, Jerry D. Gere, Read Gilmore, John Martin Kahl, Dr. Richard E. LeBlond, Adrian McNamara, Gilbert P. Russak, June Wilkins Searcy, Daniel E. Stone, John J. Vlahos, Bernard E. Witkin.
Production & Technical Staff Stage Director: Barbara Heroux; Music Director/Conductor: Baker Peeples; Production Manager: Phil Lowery; Assistant Production Manager: Sharon Beltracchi; Original Costume Design: Melissa Wortman; Costumer: Hannah Velichko; Lighting Design: Brittany Mellerson; Make-up: David Kirby; Wig & Hair Design: Kerry Rider-Kuhn; Stage Manager: Elisabeth Reeves; Properties Manager: Frances Silcox; Supertitles Manager: Joseph Giammarco; Supertitles Operators: Nancy Benson, Sarah Vardigans; Graphic Design: Tim Dunn, Dunn@Dunn Graphic Design, Joanne Kay; Photography: David Allen; Publicity/Media Contacts: Joanne Kay, Sarah Vardigans.
Listening Aid Devices are available in most venues - please see the House Manager
Baker Peeples, Resident Music Director Barbara Heroux, Artistic Director Emeritus
Staff Sarah Vardigans, Managing Director Joanne Kay, Operations Manager Melissa Wortman, Costume Shop Manager Phil Lowery, Production Coordinator Ellen Kerrigan, Education Director Diana Dorman, Music Librarian Kissa Mercado, Development Assistant Our administrative offices are located at 469 Bryant Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 Phone: 415-227-4797 v Fax: 415-896-2844 v info@lamplighters.org v www.lamplighters.org facebook.com/Lamplighters v pinterest.com/Lamplighters v twitter.com/LamplightersMT
Musical Numbers
Wish List Support to the Lamplighters can be given in many ways. The following is a short list of items and services that would greatly assist our staff in their work. If you are interested in donating any items on this list please contact our production office at info@lamplighters.org or 415-227-4797. An Intel iMac, a high quality digital camera, dress forms (particularly women’s size 14 or 16), flat masonite sheets for our rehearsal floor, local warehouse space, an external hard drive for Mac, picture framing services, security cameras, items for our Gala and Spring Fundraiser auctions (especially vacations and excursions, fine art, fine wines and other adult beverages, and luxury gifts). Thank you!
In Memoriam This year, two very special lights were lost from the Lamplighters Family. Our Co-Founder, Orva Hoskinson, the guiding spirit and artistic soul of the company, passed away on January 26. John Vlahos, long-time performer, Board President, mentor and friend, joined Orva on February 9. We have established two special funds in honor of Orva and John, and we are extremely grateful to the friends who have made the founding gifts to help keep their legacies alive.
Orva Hoskinson Artistic Fund Virginia L. Brown Henry Carrey Beverly Liberale Charmly & Tucker Ingham Autumn Wagner Rick Williams & Judith Dara Epstein
John Vlahos Fund for a Strategic Future
Judy & Lou Alley, Schuyler & Susie Bailey, Emogene & George Bland, Steve Bloom, Virginia L. Brown, J. Martin & Barbara B. Carovano, Henry Carrey, Jeffrey Chu & Tara Mochizuki, James & Stephanie Clambaneva, Margaret Copeland, Barbara Cornet, Marcia Crawford, Patricia Crawford, Kasey DeLucia, Shirley Ebbe, Helene T. Frakes, Gini & Philipp Frings, Scott Genereux, Mervin Giacomini, Bonnie K. Gibson, Patricia Gillette, Erich Gruen & Ann Hasse, Karen S. & Robert A. Holtermann, Jo Anne Hopkins, Julie Jaeger, Chuck & Joan Johnson, Rachel Kaldor, Gloria Lehnart, Sally Lopez, Sureena Mann, Elene Manolis, James Nichols, Susan O’Neill, Maryanne & Stephen Peck, Robert & Teri Ann Peri, Marin & Jim Robertson, Pamilla Rolph, Patricia Rosenburg, Lisa Ryers, Carolyn Saito, The Schnittmeister Band, Shirley & Ron Shiromoto, Don & Anne Solem, Bob & Mary Jane Steiner, Jan S. Stevens, Margie Stromberg, Helen Studabaker, Delia Taylor, Douglas & Ann Taylor, Kim Kramlich-Taylor & William D. Taylor, Tom & Ruth Tjerandsen, The Estate of John Vlahos, Sylvia Vlahos, Autumn Wagner, Arthur & Susan Walenta, David & Rene Whitehead, Wildwood School Faculty, Rick Williams & Judith Dara Epstein, Mike Zimmerman
If you would like to join these donors in honoring Orva and/or John, please contact us at 415-227-4797, or email svardigans@lamplighters.org.
Act I
Trial by Jury (1875) Hark, the hour of ten is sounding ................................................................................... All I love him ............................................................................ Ms. O’Meally, Mr. Hagen, All The Sorcerer
(1877) My name is John Wellington Wells .................................................................. Mr. Uzelac
H.M.S. Pinafore (1878)
I am the Captain of the Pinafore ................................................... Mr. Neely and Men Hail, man-o’-war’s men / I’m called Little Buttercup .................................. Ms. Gariaeff When I was a lad .................................................................................... Mr. Ewing and All Never mind the why and wherefore ................... Mr. Neely, Mr. Ewing, Ms. Ashworth
The Pirates of Penzance (1879) Stop, ladies, pray! / Oh, is there not one maiden here ............ Mr. Faustine and Women Poor wand’ring one .......................................... Ms. Ashworth, Mr. Faustine and Women When a felon’s not engaged in his employment ............................ Mr. Stafford and Men Patience
(1881) Am I alone and unobserved? .............................................................................. Mr. Ewing
Iolanthe (1882) Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest ................................................................. Mr. Ewing If you go in .............................................................. Mr. Hagen, Mr. Ewing, Mr. Stafford Princess Ida
(1884) A lady fair of lineage high ................................................................................. Ms. Rosko
The Mikado (1885)
Three little maids .............................................. Ms. O’Meally, Ms. Ashworth, Ms Rosko A more humane Mikado / My object all sublime ................................. Mr. Neely and All Here’s a how-de-do! ............................................... Ms. O’Meally, Mr. Hagen, Mr. Uzelac Alone, and yet alive ........................................................................................... Ms. Gariaeff There is beauty in the bellow of the blast ............................... Ms. Gariaeff and Mr. Uzelac Finale .................................................................................................................................... All
Act II
Ruddygore (1887) I know a youth ...................................................................... Ms. O’Meally, Mr. Faustine My eyes are fully open ................................... Mr. Faustine, Ms. Ashworth, Mr. Uzelac A Christmas Carol
(1874) It came upon a midnight clear ..... Ms. O’Meally, Ms. Gariaeff, Mr. Hagen, Mr. Neely
The Yeomen of the Guard (1888) I have a song to sing, O! ............................................................... Mr. Ewing, Ms. Ashworth A man who would woo a fair maid ..................... Ms. Ashworth, Mr. Hagen, Ms. Rosko When a wooer goes a-wooing .............. Ms. Ashworth, Mr. Hagen, Ms. Rosko, Mr. Ewing The Gondoliers (1889) Then one of us will be a queen ........ Ms. O’Meally, Ms. Rosko, Mr. Faustine, Mr. Uzelac In a contemplative fashion ............... Ms. O’Meally, Ms. Rosko, Mr. Faustine, Mr. Uzelac Try we life-long ........ Ms. Ashworth, Ms. Gariaeff, Mr. Hagen, Mr. Neely, Mr. Stafford Utopia, Ltd.
(1893) Society has quite forsaken ................................................................... Mr. Stafford and Men
The Grand Duke
(1896) Take my advice (The Roulette Song) ......................................................... Mr. Neely and All
Princess Ida
(1884) The world is but a broken toy .... Ms. Ashworth, Ms. Gariaeff, Mr. Faustine, Mr. Stafford
The Gondoliers
(1889) Once more gondolieri ......................................................................................................... All
Program notes from writer/director Barbara Heroux There is something wonderfully subversive about a Gilbert & Sullivan show. Once you get hooked on the “brand,” you have to see them all – and then you have to see them again, to pick up on the stuff you missed the first time because you were laughing so hard. And then again, because there’s always something new to find in these shows. In 2017, the names Gilbert and Sullivan may have faded somewhat from the popular consciousness, but a century ago they were as famous a team as gin and tonic. They wrote the equivalent of 14 hit Broadway shows over about a 20-year span from the 1870s to the 1890s. Rodgers and Hammerstein, probably the closest 20th century American analogy, wrote nine shows together; Lerner and Loewe, seven. Gilbert and Sullivan have been described as “oil and vinegar” – Sullivan’s sweet music combined with Gilbert’s acerbic wit make an unusual and unbeatable combination. Sullivan without Gilbert tends to lose his edge – not very much of his orchestral music is in the standard symphony repertoire these days. Likewise, Gilbert without Sullivan tends to be a little too bitter – not many of Gilbert’s plays can be seen at places like ACT or Berkeley Rep. But the G&S comic operas are still frequently performed, in venues ranging from professional opera houses to church basements, throughout the English-speaking world. Three of them are well-known to any music-lover or theater-goer: The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, and H.M.S. Pinafore. Half a dozen others are perhaps less familiar to the general public, but G&S societies still produce them frequently: Iolanthe, Patience, The Gondoliers, The Yeomen of the Guard, Ruddygore, and Princess Ida. Three other shows, The Sorcerer, Utopia Ltd., and The Grand Duke are generally regarded as weaker works, although they certainly have their charms. Trial by Jury, a delightful one-act, presents the problem of how to fill out an evening, but is an entirely wonderful little gem. The fourteenth – actually the first Gilbert & Sullivan collaboration – Thespis, is lost. So who were these men, and how did they produce this body of work? William Schwenk Gilbert (1836 – 1911) was the son of a retired naval surgeon. Except for a kidnapping by Italian brigands in Italy at age two, and a ransomed release, he appears to have had a normal upbringing, if a rather stern and formal one in the Victorian way. After the usual education and military training, Gilbert went to law school and became a barrister at the age of 28. But his true talent lay in writing – plays, satires, criticism and humorous verse. He wrote for the British magazine “Fun,” contributing, in addition to his writing, cartoons and sketches signed with the pen name “Bab” – Gilbert’s nickname when he was a baby. Many of the characters in the G&S operas were based on these “Bab” poems and sketches – collections of the “Bab Ballads” were published and can still be found today. He married Lucy Agnes Turner, whom he called “Kitty,” in 1867. They had no children, but by all accounts their marriage was a happy and affectionate one. He died in 1911, under the circumstances described in A Song to Sing, O! Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842 – 1900) was the son of an army bandmaster and showed great musical promise at an early age. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and at the Conservatory at Leipzig, at that time considered the finest musical training in the world. He was regarded as the greatest English composer of his day, with many symphonies, oratorios, piano and chamber pieces to his credit. He also composed a great deal of church music, of which Onward, Christian Soldiers is probably the best known today. Sullivan was a darling of the royal family and the nobility. Queen Victoria often asked him to compose music for royal or state occasions, and encouraged him to write “serious” music and not “waste his time” on the light operas with Gilbert. In his personal life, Sullivan never married, but had a long-term relationship with Fanny Ronalds. Mrs. Ronalds was separated from her husband but never divorced – a divorcee would have been quite hampered by the social conventions of the time, whereas as a married woman she could go out in society – and Sullivan’s relationship with her was kept private. He suffered from kidney stones and other health problems for most of his life, and died of heart failure at the age of 58. Most of the dialog in A Song to Sing, O! is taken from actual diary entries, letters and interviews of the people involved. I have paraphrased or taken liberties where it seemed dramatically necessary, and invented from whole cloth very rarely. Major sources include:
Arthur Jacobs: Arthur Sullivan, A Victorian Musician Jane W. Stedman: W.S. Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theatre Ian Bradley: The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan Reginald Allen: The First Night Gilbert & Sullivan Caryl Brahms: Gilbert and Sullivan, Lost Chords and Discords Herbert Sullivan and Newman Flower: Sir Arthur Sullivan, His Life, Letters & Diaries David Eden: Gilbert & Sullivan, The Creative Conflict S. J. Adair Fitz-Gerald: The Story of the Savoy Opera
and, of course, years and years of performing with the Lamplighters, learning the Gilbert & Sullivan operas by singing and directing them, and absorbing along the way the intelligent and tasteful approach to them practiced by Orva Hoskinson, Gilbert Russak, and the other talented artists who have made the Lamplighters one of the finest interpreters of G&S in the world. More information on these fascinating men and their works is easily available online at the invaluable Gilbert & Sullivan Archive, http://gsarchive.net/.
Patricia Gillette - In Memory of John Vlahos David Gilson & Marcia Settle Alison & Candido Gomez Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Gordon Terry & Janet Gordon Judy & Tom Gorman William & Karen Gourdin Harold Graboske Alice L. Graham Kate & David Gross Nancy F. Gurley* Bonnie & Earl Hamlin Fred Hanes III Anne Harvey Mary L. Harvey Daniel Hersh Amy Himes & George S. Gemette In Memory of John Vlahos Maren Hitz Mrs. David Hodgson Karen S. & Robert A. Holtermann In Memory of John Vlahos Roderick Hong Joanne Howard Tom Humphrey Leigh Hurst Beatrice Isaacs Doug & Debbie Jalen Kari & Dean Johnson Shelley Lynn Johnson* Anne Johnston Reese & Margaret Jones In Honor of Oliver & Hannah Jones Clint Joste Shirley & Paul Kadden Shirley Kalgaard Herbert & Lee C. Kanner Michael & Christine Kasman Joanne Kay Susan Kelley DeGrado & Bill DeGrado Josephine Kennedy Ketcham Family Fund Jennifer Kiernan Harvey & Perla Kohs Mary Krenn - In Honor of Martin Lewis Camille & Tim Lake Richard Ledon Jack Leibman Marlene Levenson In Memory of Dr. Marshall Greene Daniel & Eilat Levitan In Honor of Talia Levitan Beverly Liberale - In Memory of Orva Hoskinson, Dave Lujan & Tom McEachern Carol Lloyd Sally Lopez - In Memory of John Vlahos Ralph & Antonia Lozon Annette & Gilbert Lyle Adrian & Ann Pool MacNab Chris Macomber Mary Malloy Michele Mantynen Molly Marion Sally Martin Lisa May & Robert Seidel
Joseph McMahon Judith Miller Rebecca Miller Jack & Sue Molinari In Honor of David Whitehead John & Barbara Moore Sabella Moreno Larry Morgan Mike & Sharon Morris Nancy J. Newman - In Memory of John Vlahos Paul Nocero* Jeff Noll Judith Norberg Mr. & Mrs. D. Warner North Lynn & Roy Oakley Mr. & Mrs. E. James Owens Patricia Pallas Barbara M. & Sterling Parks* Kurt Patzner & Carla Picchi MaryAnne & Stephen Peck In Memory of John Vlahos Richard Peeples - In Honor of Baker Peeples Neil & Elsa Pering Don & Judy Person Helen & Tom Phillips Helene Pier Melvin Popofsky Fred & Judy Porta David Pursley Sean Randolph Ned & Joanne Rankin Calvaleigh Rasmussen David L. Ratner Gerald & Eve Reaven Marian Rees Paul & Kay Regan Mr. & Mrs. Donald B. Richardson Bill & Ray Riess Sally Riggs Virgil Rittenhouse Marion & Jim Robertson In Memory of John Vlahos Jillian C. Robinson Patricia Rosenburg - In Memory of John Vlahos Michelle & Eliezer Rosengaus Robert Ryon - In Memory of Irene Baker Gordon Sakaue & Betty Fisher Ruth & Edwin Satterthwaite, Jr. Colin & Cecile Schlesinger In Memory of Valerie Gloyn Lucy & John Schoening Jan Schreiber & Simone Hudson - In Honor of the Faculty of the G&S Scenes Summer Program Andrew K. Schultz James & Patricia Scofield Bob & Edie Shaheen Carol & Larry Sher In Memory of Edith & Louis Sher Arthur Shulman In Honor of Marian Colwell Shulman Pat Simoni In Memory of Dr. Marshall A. Greene Montgomery Slatkin & Mary Prout Bruce Smith J. Donald Smith
Marilyn Smith Katharine Snyder & Michael Howard Jane Sokolow* Don & Anne Solem - In Memory of John Vlahos Kristine Soorian Leonard & Rita Sperry* Jane Standing - In Memory of Barry Standing Dr. & Mrs. Monty C. Stanford Susan, Debbie and Lisa Steinberg In Memory of Dan Steinberg Sally Stevens John & Romer Stevenson James Suekama & Mary Anne Miller Sue & Chas Sutton Beverly & Walter Sykes Delia Taylor - In Memory of John Vlahos Douglas & Ann Taylor In Memory of John Vlahos Kim Kramlich-Taylor & William D. Taylor In Memory of John J. Vlahos Jim Tellefson Susan Terrill Karen Ho & Wayne Torigoe M. Christine Torrington - In Memory of Orva Hoskinson & John Vlahos Lee & Ginny Turner Alice Underwood & Matthew Levy Meri Henriques Vahl John & Patricia Van Winkle Luke & Virginia Vania Margaret & Ralph Voorhees Robert S. Way In Memory of Carol Michelsen Way Carl & Florence Weber Dr. & Mrs. Eli Weil Carl Wells Marilyn & Jack Whitcher The Faculty at Wildwood School In Memory of John Vlahos Karen Willcox Jay Williams & Holly Holter Michael Wirgler & Nancy Taylor Brad Witherspoon Janet Wright - In Memory of Buff Wright Dr. R. P. Yaffe Paul Zawilski William Ziebur & Maureen McDarby Irene & Robert Zubeck Anonymous (7)
* denotes Maybud Club monthly donors
The Dragoon Guards $1 - $99
We also deeply appreciate the members of the Dragoon Guards who have made donations up to $99 this year. Every gift makes a difference. Thank you! We sincerely regret any omissions or errors. Please contact Managing Director Sarah Vardigans at svardigans@lamplighters.org or 415-227-4797 if you wish to have a listing corrected or clarified.
David & Barbara Dobrinen In Honor of Scott & Kitty Hayes Bob Dockendorff Dave & Ada Dorn* Judith Dara Epstein* Tiffany & Jeff Fleischmann Mr. & Mrs. Hugh Foster Janet Gabrielson In Memory of Carol C. Clark Scott Genereux - In Memory of John Vlahos Dmitriy & Mariya Genzel Janet & Ron Giannini Sandra Gilbert Steven Ginzburg & Christl Denecke Diane Green Mr. & Mrs. William G. Green Steve & Laura Hahn Linda & Mark Hallam Dave & Kathi Hammill Sean & Anna Harvey Erich Gruen & Ann Hasse In Memory of John Vlahos Joanna Henrichs Barbara Heroux & Bill Neely* Laura Hill & Neil Wilhelm Wilma S. Horwitz Phil & Judy Hunter Chuck & Joan Johnson - In Memory of John Vlahos Bruce & Nancy Kaufman Mary J. Kelley Sheila & Mark Kenney Robert S. Klein* James Kleinrath, D.D.S. David & Sandra Knudson Lilly & Chris Krenn Richard & Paola Kulp Michael Lamm Beverly Lane - In Memory of Jim Lane Paul & Kathleen Larson - In Honor of the Baker Peeples Family James P. Laumond In Memory of Arthur J. Sullivan Ann Lawson Miriam Lewis & Douglas Mandell Marilyn Lindsey Janet & Richard Loughran-Smith Susan L. McCreary Margaret L. McKinnon Elizabeth McMahon & Chuck Ehrlich Jananne & Mike Mead David E. Meders Mark Mitchell & Shefali Rajamannar Kathleen Moss Rod & Freda Motto Joseph C. Najpaver & Deana Logan Bill & Barbara Nexsen James Nichols - In Memory of John Vlahos Susan O’Neill - In Memory of John Vlahos Paul & Kirby Ortiz de Montellano Kathleen & Bill Owen* Miriam & Charles Palm - In Memory of John & Martha Willits
Grace & Mark Popple Ben Porter Rom Portwood Rich Pryor Owen P. Reid, Jr. George & Diana Rhinebeck Ellen Robey James Ross & Elizabeth Tough Barbara Ruppenstein Freda Salatino Bruce & King Sams The Schnittmeister Band In Memory of John Vlahos David Schweisguth & Penelope Chua Eileen Sharkey & James Darling Renee M. Shepherd* In Honor of David Morgenstern Ronald L. Sparks Jonathan Spencer & Victoria Jensen Bob & Mary Jane Steiner In Memory of John Vlahos Daniel E. Stone James P. Sullivan Andrew Taines Gwen Davis Toso Karen & Leon Traister - In Memory of Edward & Marjorie Jones Juliana Versteeg & John Howes Jonathan Vlahos Jennifer Vlahos Kessler & Gabriel Kessler* - In Memory of John J. Vlahos Autumn Wagner* - In Memory of Jean Ziaja & Will Connolly John Wallace & Ellen Rashbaum* Daniel & Louise Weiler* Paul Werner & Patricia Smith Kathleen Whaley Peter & Ann Whitehead* World Peace George & Betsy Young Al Zemsky Mike Zimmerman* In Memory of John Vlahos Carolynn & Robert Zuparko Anonymous x 4
The Minstrels $100 - $249
Rebecca Adams & Dr. James Nestor In Memory of Madeleine Babin Raymond & Pamela Aguilar* Sandra J. Ahn Alder Gerald L. Alexanderson Matt & Marcia Allen Donald Andreini & Steven F. Crabiel Jerry Arnold Abraham & Alice Aronow Jim & Judy Bangsund Anna & Robert Bauman Noriko & Roger Bazeley
Robert S. Beach Jeffrey Beaudoin Michael & Pearl Bender Louise & Charles Benjamin Harriet Benson In Memory of Susan Eastwood George & Dorian Bikle Kaaren & Morton Brown Dr. & Mrs. Melvin Brown* Tim & Peggy Brown Miguel & Sandy Buchwald Nora-Lee & Alfred Buckingham Cecile Burfeind Walter Burge & Siri Louie Peter M. Buzanski In Memory of Christie H. Buzanski Bruce & Mary Jo Byson Katherine Caddes James Campbell Louis Caputo Pamela Carey Harry Carlson J. Martin & Barbara B. Carovano In Memory of John J. Vlahos Jacqueline Carroll Edith & David Cassel Leo & Rita Chick Jeffrey Chu & Tara Mochizuki In Memory of John Vlahos Natalie Churchill & William Wanagaitis Carol C. Clark Victoria Coad & Sandra Douglass Mike & Sandy Cook Robert Cook & Blanca L. Haendler Barbara Cornet - In Memory of John Vlahos Jan Crago Patricia Crawford - In Memory of John Vlahos Gwen Davis Margaret De Jong Marge & Jim Dean Kathleen Dederian Joan Dedo Nina & John Dickerson Jan Dolan Robert F. Domergue, Jr. Ellen Duffy Judith & Peter Duncan Shirley Ebbe - In Memory of John J. Vlahos José Eguia Dan Eisenstein Gretchen Elliott Jim Ensign & Wanda Jones Phyllis Faber Patrick & Betty Farrell M. M. Feldman & Rick Morris Jacquelyn Fetrow & Brian Kell - In Honor of Kelly Powers & Chris Shuford Ruth M. Finkelstein Chris Focht & Janet Parker Louise Frankel Elliot Franks Francis Garcia - In Memory of George Silva Mervin Giacomini - In Memory of John Vlahos Bonnie K. Gibson - In Memory of John Vlahos Les & Louise Gill
Glossary With thanks to The Gilbert & Sullivan Lexicon by Harry Benford, here’s a little help with some of the more obscure Victorian references you’ll hear in A Song to Sing, O! Mr. Benford’s lexicon is on sale at the Lamplighters store in the lobby along with other fun stuff. Palmiest day: Most flourishing period.
Buffer: Shock aborbers on train cars.
Melt a rich uncle in wax: Relates to a medieval superstition that one could effect the death of a person by melting their waxen image.
Empress Josephine: First wife of Napoleon.
Parliamentary trains: Slow trains that stop at every station.
Djinn: Genie.
Counterpane: Bedcover.
The Sorcerer
Simmery Axe: London pronunciation for St. Mary Axe. Posthumous shade: Ghost. Reflectors: The mirrors often used in stage illusions.
Iolanthe
Ticking: Stong cotton or linen covering for mattresses or pillows. Harwich: A cross-channel port in Essex, about 70 miles northeast of London.
Tautology: Needless repetitition.
Bathing machine: Horse-drawn vehicle used for changing by modest bathers at the beach.
Nosology: Study of diseases.
Penny ice: ice cream
Philology: Study of language.
Four wheeler: Horse drawn carriage.
H.M.S. Pinafore Man-o’-war: Naval vessel. Jacky: Chewing tobacco. Soft tommy: Soft bread. Conies: The fur or meat of a rabbit. Polonies: Bologna. Writs: Court summons Pocket borough: A town represented by one individual or family in Parliament. Fettered: Shackled.
The Pirates of Penzance Coster: A street vendor with a reputation for uncouth, bullying behaviour.
Patience Dirty greens: Aesthetic fashion preferred more muted colors such as sage green. Platitudes: Mundane remarks, especially those uttered in a pompous manner. Stained glass attitudes: May pertain to the stiffness of figures shown in stained glass art. Germs of the transcendental terms: Fundamentals of mystic jargon.
Round games: Card games. Clocks: Ornamental stitching on the ankle of socks. Salisbuty Plain: Countryside in SW England where Stonehenge is located. Boot-tree: Boot-jack. Greengrocer: Retailer of fruit and vegetables. Apple puffs: Apple pastries. Three-corners: Triangular pastries.
Ops: A contraction of opus. Spohr: A German composer (1784-1859). Monday Pops: Popular Monday concerts. Finger stalls: Protective covering for injured fingers. Sepulchre: Tomb, burial vault. Derry down derry: Filler used in folk songs.
Ruddygore Indiwiddle: Individual.
The Yeomen of the Guard Lackadaydee: Lackadaisical. Popinjay: Vain, empty-headed fop. Ods bodikins: An oath. Mickle: Small.
The Gondoliers Ween: Imagine, fancy, believe. Skein: Coil of yarn or thread.
Banburys: Fruit tarts.
Messer: A variation of the Italian Messere, an archaic word meaning sir or master.
Rothschild: A family of international bankers.
Xeres: Sherry.
Baring: Another family of bankers.
Manzanilla: A light-brown dry sherry.
Maidie: Single woman.
Montero: Probably some kind of sherry.
Not worth a maravedi: worthless.
The Mikado Pent: Locked up. Prosy: Prosaic, unimaginative. Mystical Germans: Lutheran evangelists who traveled around England giving long, often tedious sermons. Puce: Dark or purplish brown.
Utopia, Ltd. Drawing Room: Formal reception room. Belgrave Square: A prestigious residential area of London. Strand and Picadilly: Fashionable London streets full of shops and nightlife.
The Grand Duke Rook the pigeon and the gull: Outsmart.
Meet The Lamplighters JENNIFER ASHWORTH (’01) Ensemble. Since joining the Lamplighters sixteen years ago for A Little Night Music, Jennifer has had the good fortune to play almost every Gilbert & Sullivan soprano lead. She is also proud to have been a part of such productions as Candide, Carousel and The Secret Garden. Jennifer also performs with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the San Francisco Opera Guild, San Francisco Lyric Chorus, the Bay Choral Guild, Pocket Opera and made her solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony in December 2014. She also co-founded Presto! Interactive Opera, which performs a Christmas spectacular at Grace Cathedral, and for the past eighteen years has directed the MAD Band, an instrumental program for 4th - 8th graders. SHARON BELTRACCHI (’14) Assistant Production Manager. Sharon is a recent Stanford graduate and is excited to be producing her first Lamplighters show, having performed both on and behind our stage. She is an avid Gilbert and Sullivan fan, and also performs with the Stanford Savoyards and Lyric Theater of San Jose. PAMELA CAREY (’91) Violin I/Concertmaster. Pamela is Director of Music at Saint Hilary Parish where she also teaches music in their elementary school. She is on the faculty at Dominican University. Pamela is a freelance violinist performing throughout the Bay Area. She has several dogs and 2 cats named Gilbert and Sullivan. KATHLEEN CONNER (’73) Oboe. Kathleen has performed with Monterey, Santa Rosa, Berkeley and Napa Symphonies and Pocket Opera. She coaches woodwind ensembles at Benjamin Franklin Middle School and is artist-in-residence at School of the Arts. She is on the faculty at both the Capp St. and Richmond branches of the Community Music Center. GWYNETH DAVIS (’88) Cello. Gwyneth has played with most of the regional orchestras and opera companies in the Bay Area, and, as a member of the Eloquence String Quartet, has provided music for hundreds of weddings in the Napa and Sonoma valleys. She lives in Sebastopol with her partner and Labradoodle. A former pastry chef, she now enjoys performing on viola da gamba and baroque cello with her early music group, the Alphabet Baroque Club. DIANA DORMAN (‘72) Clarinet/Music Librarian/ Contractor. Since joining us 45 years ago for our first Ernest in Love, Diana has played principal clarinet in all of our productions. She also performs with Berkeley Symphony and Pocket Opera, has performed with San Francisco Opera, including the video recording of R Strauss’ Capriccio for London/Decca and has performed and toured nationally with Western Opera Theater since 1989. As librarian Diana restored the Broadway orchestra parts for our 2008 production of The Secret Garden. She is on the faculty of Dominican University.
F. LAWRENCE EWING (’89) Ensemble. Lawrence is thrilled to be performing again in this wonderful ensemble piece. Over the past twenty-eight years with the Lamplighters, Lawrence has had the great opportunity to play many roles – several of which he has played in multiple productions. Favorite roles include Bunthorne (Patience) – Bay Area Theatre Critics Award nomination, Coco (The ‘New’ Mikado) – TBA Award nomination, Lord Chancellor (Iolanthe), Sir Joseph Porter (HMS Pinafore), Major-General Stanley (The Pirates of Penzance), Robin Oakapple (Ruddygore), Jack Point (The Yeomen of the Guard), Cornelius Hackl (Hello Dolly!), Charley (Where’s Charley?), and the Dowager Countess in Gala 2013 (UpsideDownton Abbey). As a professional dancer, Lawrence toured nationally and internationally for twelve years with Dance Through Time, a San Francisco-based historical dance company. He has set choreography for productions at American Conservatory Theatre, Marin Theatre Company (Bay Area Theatre Critics Award nomination for best choreography for Syncopations), Pocket Opera, San Francisco Opera’s Opera a la Carte, and for several Lamplighter productions. Lawrence also enjoys performing as part of Lamplighters’ Education Outreach program, Get On Board, which provides assembly performances in schools throughout the Bay Area. Lawrence serves as Vice President of the Lamplighter Board of Trustees, and is the Executive Director of Marin Ballet in San Rafael. SAMUEL FAUSTINE (’14) Ensemble. Samuel, a San Francisco native, performs a variety of genres ranging from baroque opera to modern musical theater. Sam has recently performed the roles of Seymour Krelborn in Little Shop of Horrors (Ray of Light Theatre) and Curly McLain in Oklahoma (Broadway by the Bay). His most recent Lamplighters credits include Grosvenor in Patience, Candide in Candide, Robin Oakapple in Ruddygore, and Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore. Sam is an active member of the Bay Area’s choral and sacred music communities, most notably performing with Volti, Gaude, and Grace Cathedral where he sings counter-tenor in addition to tenor. He received his Masters in Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. SONIA GARIAEFF (‘03) Ensemble. Sonia made her Lamplighters company debut in 2003 in the title role in Iolanthe. Since then, she has performed extensively throughout the Bay Area and United States. Other Lamplighters roles include Lady Jane, Little Buttercup, The Duchess of Plaza-Toro, Catiscià/Katisha and the Fairy Queen. Additional career highlights include the role of Nicklausse with Virginia Opera, her Young Artist Apprenticeship with Portland Opera, and her Bay Area professional opera debut as a roller-skating Cherubino with Berkeley Opera. She was a three time Metropolitan Opera Regional Finalist. JOSEPH GIAMMARCO (‘05) Supertitles Manager. Joe has performed numerous supernumerary roles with San Francisco Opera over the past seventeen years, where he was recently seen in the role of the Foreman in the 2014 production of Show Boat. His Lamplighters debut
Lanice Clark - In Memory of David Clark Gretchen & John Clatworthy* Constantian Family D. Michael Cullivan Peter, Shelly & Sophia de Vries* DeFrancis Family Trust Drexler Estate Fund Dick Drossler* Lawrence & Helene Edelman Barbara & Leslie Edwards F. Lawrence Ewing In Memory of Joan Vardigans Deborah Finch & Martin Isaacs In Memory of Mel Gladstone Debra & Mark Fuller Allen & Shirley Ginzburg Scott & Kitty Hayes John F. Heil Charmly & Tucker Ingham In Memory of Orva Hoskinson Julie Jaeger - In Memory of John Vlahos Paul S. Jones Peg Kaplan* - In Memory of Bill Kaplan Lee & Margarete Karney Frank J. Kelly Jon W. Kirchanski* - In Memory of Jaymes Mark Williams Korbholz-Ring Family Fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation Yvonne C. Koshland* - In Memory of William A. Cyr & Daniel E. Koshland, Jr. Mr. Lorrin G. Kroska In Honor of Sarah Vardigans Mr. John Lee Jim MacIlvaine Gus Manning & Rena Kirkpatrick Russell & Karen Merritt Elizabeth R. Milano Laura & Steve Oliphant Ron & Fran Oremland Jim & Marilyn Palmer Baker Peeples & Ellen Kerrigan Louise M. Pescetta Roger Pierson In Memory of Dario Montoya Kent Rasmussen Winery Adam & Christina Richards Alan Galitz & Kathy Rosner-Galitz* John D. Rouse, M.D. Nina D. Schwartz, M.D. - In Honor of Mrs. Bunnie Finkelstein Lynn & Joan Seppala In Honor of John Smyth Jennifer Shaw David H. Shepard Britta Singer - In Honor of Arie Singer Ian E. Stockdale & Ruth Leibig
Chris Sunseri* Maggie Thompson Chris Uzelac Barbara Waldeck Jean & Jeff Wieler Ron & Melanie Wilensky Anonymous
The Fairy Queens $500 - $999
Becky Andersen Jennifer Ashworth & Chris Uzelac Connie Barnett - In Honor of everyone at the Lamplighters Jim Beatty Linda Blum - In Honor of Sarah Vardigans Ernest & Julie Knell Kathi & David Brotemarkle Virginia Brown - In Memory of Norman Brown, Joan Vardigans, Orva Hoskinson & John Vlahos John Paul Carobus II* Gordon B. Chamberlain Vicki Coe & Scott Mitchell J. Geoffrey Colton & Dana L. Gordon Philip & Dorothea Conserva Jim Cotton Barbara S. Cox Mr. Copley Crosby Mary & John Cumberpatch Linda Daniel Diane & Christopher Davies Charlotte Davis* In Memory of Harold B. Davis Laura Ehrlich Jonathan & Regina Faustine Lois Carroll Feller Bunnie Finkelstein* In Memory of Art Finkelstein Spencer & Rena Fulweiler* Maureen & Donald Gardner* Michele Garside Carla X. Gladstone Joel Greene - In Memory of Dr. Marshall A. Greene Linda Holbrook & John Dusay, M.D. William & Leticia Jarvis David Kirby Ronald & Sharon Krauss Mary Kroninger In Memory of Robert Kroninger Marguerite Lawrence Marston & Anne Leigh Jesse M. Levy Martin Lewis & Steve Siegelman William A. & Carol D. Loden Philip R. Lowery & Kelcey J. Poe Patricia Minger* Anon Y. Mouse
Jack G. Nixon Thomas O’Brien Martin & Mary Ratner Carla & Philip Reed Andrew Rudiak & Enid Sanders Letitia Sanders & Donn Downing* Adrienne & Ted Savetnick Konstantin & Natalia Shchuka Arie Singer & Lucas Buxman Michael & Deborah Sosebee Reg & Marianne Steer Tracy & Charles Stephenson Dorothy Stivers The Fred Terman and Nan Borreson Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County C. L. Thomas Daniel L. Rabinowitz & Ann F. Thomas Jill R. Thompson Paul Toulmin Sarah Vardigans Anne Ver Steeg-Anderson Jan & Mark Volkert Arthur & Susan Walenta In Memory of John Vlahos Christopher Walkey Ed & Patti White John R. Williams Cheryl & Steve Wilske* - In Honor of Jean Williams & Norman Gibbons Anonymous Anonymous*
The Yeomen $250 - $499
Judy & Lou Alley In Memory of John Vlahos Diane & Ben Anderson In Memory of Cecilia Hobin Robert C. Anderson David & Barbara Anger Nick Tarlson & Mauna Arnzen Alan & Gloria Baker Susan Barkan Ruth Beering Rick & Carlene Belles Nancy Benson Patty & Joe Beyer James Blume & Kathryn Frank Ann Bornstein Winslow & Ann Briggs Ellen & Howard Brown Adelaide & Thomas M. Brunner Melissa Butcher Ann Moller Caen - In Honor of Anson Moran Alison Campbell Marilyn Berg Cooper Robert J. Cortez - In Honor of Orva Hoskinson & Ann Pool Mac Nab & In Memory of Jean Ziaja Alan Cox & Jacqueline Carson Mary & Dan Decious
Contributors To The Lamplighters The Lamplighters are deeply grateful to our many donors. This list reflects gifts made in the twelve month period ending March 24. We regret any errors or omissions; please contact us if you have questions or wish to make a change to your listing.
Lamplighters Music Theatre is sponsored in part by generous grants from:
with additional support from
The Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation The Gladstone Family Fund for Artistic Excellence Microsoft Silicon Valley Bank Foundation
The Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation The Bernard Osher Foundation
Sing For America Foundation
Skoll Foundation Xilinx Community Fund‡
The Lamplighters receive employer matching gifts from Apple Matching Gift Program, Chevron Humankind, CSAA Insurance Group, Genentech Matching Gift Program, Google Matching Gift Program, The Hewlett Foundation, IBM, Intuit, Itron, McKesson, and the Millipore Corporation
as well as gifts through AmazonSmile, Benevity, and iGive.
The Illuminators The Illuminators are those individuals and families who have demonstrated their belief in the value of the Lamplighters for future generations by making a gift to the Endowment Fund or by including the Lamplighters in their estate plans. For information on how to make a tax-deductible gift to the Lamplighters in your will or through stocks, annuities, insurance policies, bequest, or other forms of planned giving, please contact Sarah Vardigans at svardigans@ lamplighters.org. Connie Barnett Tom Barrett Barbara L. Bessey & Kevin J. Gilmartin Bill Brice Melvin & Anna Brown Dr. & Mrs. Ronald Cape & Family Bruce Carlton & Richard McCall Peter & Shelly de Vries Joan P. Dedo Michele Garside Barbara E. Heroux Daniel B. Howard Michael C. Huckins William and Margaret Kaplan Jon W. Kirchanski Karl Pister and Roger Renn Rich Pryor Theodore Savetnick
Renee Shepherd Andrew Taines Jill R. Thompson Sarah Vardigans John & Martha Vlahos Autumn Wagner Marguerite & Gerry Wallace Rick Williams & Judith Dara Epstein John & Jean Cardin Ziaja
The Mikados $10,000+
The Fieldwood Fund John & Martha Vlahos
The Pirate Kings $5,000 - $9,999
Keith Doerge Edith Gladstone David Cole & Emily Gladstone Cole Marguerite E. Griffith Trust Ellen & Barry Levine Marion & Emmett Stanton Anonymous
The Grand Dukes $2,500 - $4,999
Claire & Kendall Allphin Mr. & Mrs. Steve Bauman Mark Blattel Edith Carlston & Perry Carlston Gini & Philipp Frings In Memory of John Vlahos Charles & Ethel Hopkins* Fred & Judith Lothrop Anson & Anita Moran Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Cary Ann Rosko & Matthew Hancher* Alan J. Smith & Helen Lew Marguerite & Gerald Wallace David & Rene Whitehead In Memory of John Vlahos Rick Williams & Judith Dara Epstein
The Major-Generals $1,000 - $2,499
Mr. & Mrs. David J. Allard* Willa B. & Henry Anderson Alvin & Linda Arata Katie Bauman Dr. Barbara L. Bessey Bill Brice - In Memory of Lee & Max Brice
was as the Headsman in the 2005 production of The Yeomen of the Guard, in which his wife, Claire Kelm, played Elsie Maynard. Joe also appeared as William in Lamplighters’ The Secret Garden in 2008. Joe creates, and often runs, the supertitle projections seen at Lamplighters performances. PATRICK HAGEN (‘16) Ensemble. Patrick, a lyric tenor originally from Northern New Jersey, received a Bachelor’s of Music with Honors from the Pennsylvania State University, and his Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Patrick has been seen in a multitude of operatic productions, including Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul (The Magician) Puccini’s La Boheme (Rodolfo) and Tosca (Spoletta), Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (Don Basilio), Copland’s The Tender Land (Martin), Britten’s Albert Herring (Albert), and Bellini’s I Capuletti e i Montecchi (Tebaldo). Patrick was also most recently seen on the Lamplighter’s stage as Niccolù in our most recent production of The (New) Mikado, and he is very excited to be returning to the company in both A Song to Sing, O!, and as Colonel Fairfax in this summer’s production of The Yeomen of the Guard. WILLIAM HARVEY (’95) Cornet. William has been tootling on the Cornet-a-pistons with the Lamplighters for over two decades. He also serves at Principal Trumpet with both Oakland Symphony and Opera San Jose, and is an adjunct faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley. William lives in Oakland with his wife, fellow Lamplighters musician Josepha Fath, and their little cat Charlie. Much of his time is enjoyably spent on home renovations. BARBARA HEROUX (‘74) Writer/Stage Director. In over forty seasons with the Lamplighters, Barbara has played virtually every role, from singing in the chorus to General Director and everything in between. She is one of very few people worldwide who can boast that they have directed all thirteen of the G&S comic operas. She also adapted the books of Princess Ida and The Grand Duke. Favorite Lamplighter roles include Josephine (HMS Pinafore), Rose Maybud and Mad Margaret (Ruddygore), Phoebe (The Yeomen of the Guard), Donna Lucia (Where’s Charley?), Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), and the title roles in Patience and Hello, Dolly! The winner of four BATCC awards, Barbara has also performed and/or directed for Midsummer Mozart, Cinnabar Opera, West Bay Opera, 42nd Street Moon, Livermore Valley Opera, Broadway by the Bay, and Diablo Light Opera Company, among others, and later this year will direct a contemporary opera by Kurt Rohde, Death With Interruptions, for performances in San Francisco and Davis. She has been one of the guiding forces behind at least thirty Lamplighter Galas, writing a few of the books and many lyrics, and often directing. She spends most of her time now as the Executive Director of Volti, the award-winning professional vocal ensemble specializing in leading-edge contemporary music. KATHLEEN JOHANNESSEN (’77) Bassoon. A Bay Area native, Kathleen is a freelance musician. She received her Bachelor’s in Music from College of Notre Dame and her Masters in Musical Performance from California State University, Humboldt. Her interest in Gilbert & Sullivan
began when she saw her piano teacher performing as Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. LAURIEN JONES (‘90) Violin II. A regular in the Lamplighters orchestra, Laurien has also performed with Diablo Ballet, Pocket Opera, Western Opera, Masterworks Chorale, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and the California Symphony Orchestra. She is a chamber musician and soloist. KATHRYN JUNEAU (’87) Viola. Katy received her Bachelor’s from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She enjoys playing with a myriad of music groups in the Bay Area including orchestra, chamber music, musical theatre and opera. Katy comes from a family tradition of music and Gilbert & Sullivan. In 2011, the tradition was extended further as her daughter played flute for a Gilbert & Sullivan production in Sacramento, and her son joined the Lamplighters’ chorus. JOANNE KAY (’07) Operations Manager. A native of Scotland, Joanne has business and marketing degrees from the Glasgow Caledonian and Paisley Universities, a Master of Makeup Diploma, and is currently studying Dick Smith’s 3D Makeup Course. A mixed-media artist, she also moonlights as a freelance FX makeup artist, graphic designer, and as costume assistant at the annual Bracebridge Dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. ELLEN KERRIGAN (’70) Education Director. Ellen, a highly regarded soprano, was honored as winner of America’s top singing award, the National Metropolitan Opera Auditions. Following her victory in the San Francisco Opera Auditions Grand Finals, she was chosen to participate in the Merola Program, performing the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, and spent the following year as an Adler Fellow. Locally, she has long delighted Bay Area opera audiences, most prominently in the roles of Norma (West Bay Opera), Madama Butterfly (Oakland Opera), and Gilda (Pocket Opera). A native San Franciscan, Ellen began her performing career singing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in high school, and thereafter joined the Lamplighters, where she sang nearly all the soprano lead roles. An active arts education consultant, she serves as artistic coordinator of the San Francisco Opera Guild’s in-school Opera à la Carte program, which brings a reduced version of a standard opera to over 130,000 Bay Area students yearly, as Program Director for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Gilbert & Sullivan Scenes Program, and as Education Director for the Lamplighters, creating the educational assembly program, HMS Pinafore: Get on Board with Gilbert & Sullivan, and the popular mini-residency of The Pirates of Penzance. DAVID KIRBY (‘98) Makeup Designer. David was born at an early age and has been trying to atone for it ever since. He studied music at San Diego State University, and, to this end, he paints faces (and sometimes bodies) for several theatre and opera companies in the Bay Area, most recently Madama Butterfly with West Bay Opera, Princess Ida with Lyric Theatre of San Jose, and Patience with the Lamplighters. During the day, he sells whoopee cushions.
PHIL LOWERY (’94) Production Manager. Phil has enjoyed a decades-long affiliation with the Lamplighters as a director, production/stage manager, Lord High Janitor, and occasional performer. He directs operas, operettas and musicals for other Bay Area companies, including Berkeley Opera, Pocket Opera, and Lyric Theatre of San Jose, and teaches middle school theatre at the Children’s Day School in San Francisco. Phil is also a Resident Artist with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, where he has taught hundreds of children and teens since 2007, and most recently appeared in last summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Winter’s Tale. CHARLES MARTIN (‘97) Gilbert. Charles first appeared with the Lamplighters as Pish-Tush in our 1997 The Mikado, and has since performed many bass-baritone roles with the company including Colonel Calverley, Private Willis, Arac, Senator Jones, Horseman War, Sir Despard Murgatroyd, Dick Deadeye, the Mikado, the Sergeant of Police, Jigger Craigin, the Pirate King, the Usher, and the Zombie Rapper in our 2010 Gala, You Can’t Bite City Hall. He has also appeared with Contra Costa Musical Theatre and Pocket Opera. Charles studies voice with Baker Peeples, moonlights as a software engineer, and enjoys the romance of travel and the occasional extreme athletic event. BRITTANY MELLERSON (’15) Lighting Design. Brittany is an East coast native and a graduate of Point Park University’s Conservatory Program - with a BFA in Theatrical Lighting & Sound Design. Some of her most recent design credits include A Night at the Mint and The (New) Mikado at the Lamplighters, Occupy+Menace at Dance Mission, Absolutely Fabulous! with the Royal British Theater Company and US Drag at The Dragon Theatre. She is also acting as the Resident Master Electrician for the Berkeley Playhouse. Others credits include: My Fair Lady (Asst. Lighting), Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (Lighting Design), The Little Mermaid (Sound Design/A1), Legally Blonde (Lighting Design), and On The Verge at The Dragon Theatre. WILLIAM NEELY (’78) Ensemble. Most recently seen with the Lamplighters as Colonel Calverly (Patience), the Prince of Monte Carlo (The Grand Duke) and Sir Roderic (Ruddygore), Bill has sung most of the baritone roles in the Gilbert & Sullivan repertoire, as well as Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), Danilo (Merry Widow) and Carl-Magnus (A Little Night Music). He has also performed with many other groups around the Bay Area such as Cinnabar, Berkeley, Livermore, West Bay, North Bay and Pocket Operas, in such roles as Sweeney Todd, Man of La Mancha, Don Giovanni, Voltaire/Pangloss, Scarpia, Count Almaviva, Sharpless, Escamillo, Ford and Malatesta. Bill teaches his online music appreciation course, Adventures in Classical Music at Udemy.com. ERIN O’MEALLY (’15) Ensemble. Erin is a lyric soprano from the Jersey Shore. She is entering her second year of her Masters in the fall at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has performed in a wide variety of genres ranging from Baroque to Contemporary repertoire. Her most noted performances are Cherubino in a concert version of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with Concerts at the Presidio,
Drusilla in L’Incoronazione di Poppea at SF Conservatory of Music in 2015, #2 in Conrad Susa’s Transformations in 2013 and “La Chatte” in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges performed at the Boston Conservatory in 2013, where she completed her undergraduate degree. Erin has performed title roles in many scenes , spent a summer performing at OperaWorks Advanced Artist program in 2013, and placed first in the regional Classical Singer Competition in 2011. She is currently studying with Jane Randolph. While performing is her passion, she also enjoys working as a voice teacher in the Bay Area. BAKER PEEPLES (’75) Music Director/Conductor. Baker has sung almost all of the Gilbert & Sullivan tenor leads with the Lamplighters, as well as Eisenstein/Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Tassilo (Countess Maritza), Paris (La Belle Hélène), Karl Franz (The Student Prince), and the Defendant in our KQED Trial by Jury. He has conducted every Gala since 1986, as well as hundreds of performances of G&S, Offenbach, and other operettas and musicals. Baker sang onstage with San Francisco Ballet in Balanchine’s Liebeslieder Walzer, and holds a degree in French from Yale University, where he was a member of the renowned a cappella singing group, the Yale Whiffenpoofs. A favorite of Pocket Opera audiences, he has also appeared with numerous other Bay Area opera companies, symphonies, ballets, and choral groups. Baker was voted best male singer in the 1995 and 1997 International Gilbert & Sullivan Festivals for his portrayals of Hilarion and Alexis. He and his wife Ellen Kerrigan oversee the San Francisco Opera Guild’s Opera à la Carte program, which takes live opera to hundreds of Bay Area schools. He is also music director for the Lamplighters/San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Gilbert & Sullivan Scenes program, and maintains an active voice studio in San Francisco. ELISABETH REEVES (’13) Stage Manager. Elisabeth works as an Associate Consultant with Celerity Consulting in Walnut Creek and sings with the Vocal Art Ensemble in Davis, CA. This past year she also began participating in both the Renaissance Faire and the Great Dicken’s Christmas Faire. She has worked on the crew of several shows with Lamplighters Music Theatre - in particular Die Fledermaus (‘14), Candide (‘15), Ruddygore (‘16), The (New) Mikado (’16) and hopes to eventually stage manage the complete Gilbert and Sullivan canon. CARY ANN ROSKO (’06) Ensemble. Mezzo-soprano Cary is delighted to appear with the Lamplighters once again. Previous roles with the company include Dame Hannah (Ruddygore), the Old Woman (Candide), the Fairy Queen (Iolanthe), Lady Blanche (Princess Ida), Tessa (The Gondoliers), Phoebe Meryll (The Yeomen of the Guard), Lady Angela (Patience), Iolanthe (Iolanthe), Katisha (The Mikado), Cousin Hebe (HMS Pinafore), and Julie (Show Boat). Favorite operatic roles include Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro), Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Siebel (Faust), and Olga (Eugene Onegin). Cary’s contemporary opera credits include Tobias Picker’s Emmeline (Aunt Hannah), Mary Watkins’ Dark River (Sheriff’s Wife), Philip Glass’ Les Enfants Terribles (Dargelos/ Agathe), Anthony Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (Reporter), and Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s La Curandera (Dionisia).
LUCY SCHOENING (’74) Flute. Lucy was principal flute player for the Artea Chamber Orchestra and has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Pocket Opera, the San Francisco Chamber Players, Oakland Opera and many chamber music groups. She teaches fifth grade and is the mother of two sons. JONATHAN SPENCER (’90) Sullivan. Jonathan most recently appeared as George in Bay Area Stage’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Arty Award nominee). With this production he is celebrating twenty-seven years with Lamplighters Music Theatre, where his favorite roles have included the Major-General/Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance), Pooh-Bah (The Mikado), Learned Judge (Trial by Jury), Sgt. Meryll (The Yeomen of the Guard), Mr. Lindquist (A Little Night Music), and The Playwright (Enter the Guardsman). You can also see him every Christmas as Squire Bracebridge in The Bracebridge Dinners at Yosemite. Other favorites: Gutman in Maltese Falcon (Butterfield 8 Theatre – Shellie Award nominee), Signor Naccarelli in Light in the Piazza (Willows Theatre – Shellie Award nominee), and Father in Ragtime (Alameda Civic Light Opera). He is also a Jeopardy champion. ROBBY STAFFORD (’09) Ensemble. A San Francisco native, Robby’s favorite roles have included the title role in Don Pasquale with Sonoma City Opera, Mozart’s Figaro with Livermore Valley Opera, the Four Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with West Bay Opera, and PoohBah in The Mikado with Lamplighters Music Theatre. Robby has enjoyed singing Bach, Handel, and Monteverdi with many leading Baroque orchestras, and directed a performance of Guillaume de Machaut’s Messe de Nostre Dame at Notre Dame des Victoires in San Francisco, where he is Cantor and Director of Music Liturgy. Robby also leads the wonderful Lamplighters Community Chorus which is celebrating its fourth year and currently accepting new members for 2017. CHRIS UZELAC (’04) Ensemble. Lamplighters: Ko-Ko, Grosvenor, Jack Point, Boatswain, Giuseppe, Florian, John Wellington Wells, Samuel, Grand Duke Rudolph, Sir Joseph Porter, Despard. Galas: Harry Patter, Datum, Jekyll/Hyde, Sherlock, D’arth Vader. Recordings: Princess Ida, The Sorcerer, The Pirates of Penzance, The Grand Duke, HMS Pinafore. Elsewhere: The Cat in the Hat, Seussical at Ray of Light Theatre, Charley Kringas, Merrily We Roll Along at Altarena Playhouse, Charles Guiteau, Assassins; The Russian, Chess (BATCC Award, Best Actor) at Custom Made Theatre. Chris has also helped write eight Galas, including two as lead writer. SARAH VARDIGANS (’06) Managing Director. For twenty-seven years Sarah worked as Company and Touring Manager for numerous performing artists from all over the world, including Luciano Pavarotti, the Boston Ballet and Rudolf Nureyev, the Bolshoi Ballet, the Moscow Circus, Astor Piazzolla, and ten years with the San Francisco Ballet. She has also managed international touring Broadway productions of A Chorus Line, Evita, Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, and The American Dance Machine. Sarah currently moonlights as Stage Manager for the Music at Kohl Mansion Chamber Music series and the New Century Chamber Orchestra.
HANNAH VELICHKO (’11) Costumer. Hannah first worked with the Lamplighters building costumes for HMS Pinafore in 2011, and has spent countless hours since in the costume shop. She holds a BA in Technical Theatre (Costume Design) from San Francisco State University and an AS in Fashion Design from Cañada College. She has designed for Pocket Opera, The King’s Academy, the San Francisco Opera Guild, and many private clients. She has also constructed costumes for several companies including Ray of Light Theatre, Los Altos Youth Theatre, Angels on Stage, and LEVYdance, and is delighted to be working with The Bracebridge Dinner at Yosemite for her third consecutive year this coming winter. MELISSA WORTMAN (’80) Costume Design. In addition to designing 30+ shows for the Lamplighters, Melissa has also designed costumes for ACT, Circus Circus Hotels, KITKA, Abydos Theater, Dance Through Time, Marin Ballet, and numerous private clients. She is the resident costume designer for Bracebridge Dinner Theater, created by Ansel Adams and held annually in the historic Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. Melissa was awarded a 2015 Theatre Bay Area Award for Best Costume Design for the Lamplighters’ Candide, and has received five Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nominations, two BATCC awards, and two Drama Logue Awards. She has lectured at Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising, consulted for the Jarvis Conservatory in Napa, designed the nationally featured PJ for Karen Neuberger’s Pajama Walks for Breast Cancer Cure, and worked in costume construction for Lucasfilm’s Return of the Jedi, Frank Zappa, Oakland Ballet, CMC and Designs, Festival Opera, SF Miniature Theater, Woodminster Summer Theater, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, I Magnin’s Holiday windows, Gumps Holiday windows, and Beach Blanket Babylon. When not designing costumes, she works as our Costume Shop Manager.