LYRIC THEATRE @ ILLINOIS ANNOUNCES 2018-19 SEASON
Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, a division of the University of Illinois School of Music, embraces a broad continuum of opera and musical theatre, giving its students rigorous vocal training while also providing opportunities for dramatic performance. Lyric Theatre @ Illinois announces its 2018-19 season, which delves into the deepest human emotions via rich musical scores paired with innovative design. Three mainstage productions will be brought to life at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts as part of its two-season, 50th-anniversary celebration, and an additional musical theatre production will play at Allerton Park & Retreat Center. While the focal points of the upcoming seasons productions range from middle school spelling champions, to doomed Parisian lovers, ancient crimes that have echoed through history, and tap-dancing cowboys, all four works examine human nature and behavior, transporting audiences to other worlds.
Tickets for the 2018-19 season will go on sale Saturday, July 14, at 10am on KrannertCenter.com, by calling 217.333.6280 (800.KCPATIX), or in-person at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 South Goodwin Ave., Urbana, Illinois. Single tickets for Illinois Theatre productions are $35 / Senior $30 / Student $18 / UI Student and Youth $10. Group and series discounts are available. Patrons who contribute at the $250 level and above will enjoy early ticket-ordering privileges.
2018-19 PERFORMANCES
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Music and lyrics by William Finn
Book by Rachel Sheinkin
Music Barn at Allerton Park & Retreat Center: September 27-28, 2018
Sarah Wigley, director
Following last year’s successful run of [title of show], Lyric Theatre returns to Allerton Park with another contemporary musical. In The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, ambitious middle schoolers compete for the title of champion while revealing vulnerable truths about their fears, lives, and the adults in them. Rachel Sheinkin’s Tony Award-winning book and William Finn’s energetic score stir both honest emotions and raucous laughter.
For tickets and information, visit music.illinois.edu
La Bohème
Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger
Tryon Festival Theatre: October 25-28, 2018
Donald Schleicher, conductor
Nathan Gunn, director
From the freezing garrets to the festive streets of 19th-century Paris, the story and soaring music of La Bohème capture the joyful essence—and the heartbreaking realities—of young love. Through the everyday world of a group of artists living the Bohemian life, the opera reveals timeless truths about passion and friendship, material poverty and richness of spirit. Internationally acclaimed baritone and University of Illinois Swanlund Chair, professor of voice Nathan Gunn, returns as director after his spring 2018 debut; he is joined by conductor Donald Schleicher, chair of the School of Music orchestra division for what many consider the world’s most popular opera.
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
The Rape of Lucretia
Music by Benjamin Britten
Libretto by Ronald Duncan, based on André Obey’s play Le Viol de Lucrèce
Tryon Festival Theatre: February 21-24, 2019
Julie Jordan Gunn, conductor
Kirsten Pullen, director
It’s a tale as old as time: a woman is a pawn in a power struggle between men and pays the ultimate price, in Benjamin Britten’s 1946 chamber opera set in ancient Rome. Department of Theatre Head Kirsten Pullen and Lyric Theatre Co-Director Julie Gunn lead a female production team to explore how sexual violence resonates across the centuries.
Sung in English
Contains adult content
Crazy for You
Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin
Book by Ken Ludwig
Tryon Festival Theatre: April 25-28, 2019
Sarah Wigley, director
“It is heaven on earth. Everything an American musical comedy should be.” That’s how The New Yorker describes Tony Award-winning Crazy for You, the story of young, rich Bobby Child, sent from New York City to Deadrock, Nevada, in the height of the 1930s Depression to foreclose on a broken-down theatre. Bobby meets Polly Baker, spunky daughter of the theatre owner, and the rest is . . . singing, dancing, romance, and laughter! This endearing, vivacious show features unforgettable songs from American music masters George and Ira Gershwin, including “Shall We Dance,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and more.