What activity would you like to do.. but are nervous to try?

This past weekend our Summer Musical Theatre Workshop performed Disney's "High School Musical" at the McGaw YMCA's Children's Center Auditorium. We asked the our students " What activity would you like to do... but you are nervous to try?"

Their answers included:
Alice: Waterskiing
Audrey: Flipping around on a trampoline or going on a hot-air balloon
Sydney: Playing on Team Evanston
Sophia: Skydiving
Annika: Catching a giant spider or swimming with sharks
Anja: Going to Cedar Point
Eva: Playing lacrosse
Claire: Riding an ostrich or white water rafting
Madeline: Going on a scary rollercoaster
Annie: Wakeboarding
Mackenzie: Snowboarding on black diamond slopes
Maggie: Playing lacrosse
Lillian: Skydiving
Emma: Zip lining or skydiving or walking a tight-rope
Leila: Surfboarding
Leigh: Playing baseball
Molly: Going out into a blizzard with only a bathing suit on
Isabel: Dancing
Francesca: Flipping or a banana boat or zip lining
Elizabeth: Skydiving
Ele: Playing lacrosse
Elina: Trying new seafood
P.K.: Bungee jumping
Rachel: Singing a solo
Astrid: Swimming with sharks
Kyle: Skiing into an avalanche
Lila: Skydiving or going to the top of the Willis Tower
Katy: Trying to eat an oyster
Zinzi: Singing a solo
Gabriel: Going on a scary rollercoaster
Kinsey: Singing a solo
Talia: Singing in front of my parents
Lily: Playing football
Anika: Flipping off a banana boat
Emily: Horseback riding
Arielle: Parachuting out of a plane
Maddie: Singing a solo

I don't think any of us here at Light Opera Works will be "going out into a blizzard with only a bathing suit on" anytime soon. Maybe it's okay to be nervous about that one.

Many of our Summer Musical Theatre Workshop students conquered their nerves and sang solos in "High School Musical," just as the characters in the show did!

Where would you want Daddy Warbucks to take YOU?

Every week at our Summer Musical Theatre Workshop, we ask our young students a question relating to the Musical they are working on. For "Annie," the question was "Where would you want Daddy Warbucks to take YOU?"

Katherine: The Weasley's house
Jensen: Costa Rica
Elana: Somewhere far, far away!
Katerina: The Bahamas to catch lizards
Juliana: Jamaica
Delaney: Jamaica
Lily: Maine
Eva: Washington D.C. to meet the President
Rileigh: Poland
A. Odeline: The best place in the world
Brianna: Hawaii
Remy: 6 Flags and Hurricane Harbor
Sofia: Around the world
Corbin: Around the world in every transportation
Isabelle: Boston
Meg: Around the world in a private jet and submarine
Jane: Sanibel Island
Lucy: Germany, Poland, Ireland, Scotland, all around the world in modern times in Disney World
Alexa: Greece
Lillie: Hogwarts
Lily: Cruise around the world
Firouz: Bora Bora, French Polynesia, a 5... no a 10 star hotel
Laurel: Around the world, including 6 Flags and climbing the Eiffel Tower
Aurora: Middle Earth or Candyland
Julia: A beautiful, mystical, relaxing private wonderland island
Katy: Katyland
Sophie: Hawaii
Madeline: Cape Canaveral
Eileen: Hawaii
Erin: Ireland or the North Pole
Lindsay: Narnia
Gabriel: Camp Echo
Olivia: Africa
Kinsey: Candyland
Olivia: The beach in Cuba
Talia: Every amusement park in the world
Quinn: Rainforest to swing with howler monkeys
Katherine: Hawaii
Isabelle: India and the Netherlands
Maya: To take a few friends on a cruise
Claire: Australia

I think I'd like to join them on a few of these trips!

Flowers for your favorite star

An (almost) wordless Wednesday big thank you to Ron Lopez of Sun Garden flowers for providing flowers at all the performances of our Musical Theater Summer Workshop.

If you'd like Ron to provide flowers for your event, give him a call at 773-875-2679.

What happens between the shows?

Well, getting ready for the next show, of course, which is The Student Prince, opening on Saturday August 18.

But we're not just getting ready for the next show; we're getting ready for the next generation, with the Musical Theater Summer Workshop.

Last Saturday we had our first performance, of the every popular Annie, and as always, it was a sell out, with parents, friends, grandparents and fellow travelers filling the auditorium at the Second Stage to watch an amazing group of 40 kids perform the Broadway Junior® version of the show.

The Musical Theater Summer Workshop is a full time theater camp held in 5 one-week sessions every summer. Children ages eight to fifteen learn, rehearse and perform an entire show in a single week, with a final public performance at the end of six intense days.

There are still spots for H.M.S. Pinafore, the week of July 11. There are no auditions. To sign up your young thespian just call our box office at 847-869-6300.

Wordless Wednesday: Brigadoon Opening Night

McBing

I think the heat was getting to the interns

Reception at Noyes Cultural Arts Center, sponsored by Whole Foods Evanston.

General Manager Bridget McDonough with Musical Theater Summer Workshop director Anya Plotkin and sound board operator David Bradke.

There are still tickets available for the last three performances of Brigadoon at LightOperaWorks.com or through the box office at 847-869-6300 (Box office hours 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

The reviews are out!

Here are some highlights:

From Chicago Tribune theater critic Chris Jones (who wanted a wee dram to add to the authenticity. Alas for the remnants of dry Evanston): "...this entire 1947 musical is treated with a great deal of respect by director Rudy Hogenmiller — whose production goes further than most .... in offering an impressively substantial choreographic experience." (full review)

"The plaid kilts are in full swirl, the tamoshanters twirling, the “rs” rolling, and the heather in full bloom in Rudy Hogenmiller’s ravishing revival of Lerner and Loewe’s early and evergreen hit." Chicago Theatre Beat (full review)

"The Light Opera Works production is wonderfully directed and choreographed..." nwi.com (full review).

"Under the direction of Roger L. Bingaman (conductor) and Rudy Hogenmiller (choreographer and stage director), this cast sings and dances with vibrant festivity. ChicagoNow.com (full review).

"Those who have only the truncated Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse film treatment from MGM as a reference or who may never have encountered Brigadoon at all are in for the biggest treat. Fans of the musical likewise will rejoice in the exceptionally high caliber of production it has been given by Light Opera Works." Chicago Stage Style (full review).

Where to eat before our shows

Well, that's easy! Several Evanston restaurants are Light Opera Works Dining Partners through their support of our programs.

And some of them offer discounts for theater goers. On show days, show your ticket or ticket stub to the following Evanston restaurants for a discount on your dining!

at 1502 Sherman (south of Grove)
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804 Davis (at Sherman)
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1571 Sherman Avenue

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505 Main Street (between Chicago and Hinman)