Light Opera, strictly defined, was a theatrical entertainment popular at the turn of the 19th century, usually featuring a comic plot revolving on romantic themes, thus distinguishing itself from the tragedies dominating Grand Opera as well as the vaudevilles constituting the early 20th-century 'musicale'. Some of the titles evoke recognition even today—The Merry Widow, Naughty Marietta, The Student Prince, nearly all of the Gilbert and Sullivan collaborations.
But then there are the ones that don't: Angel Face, The Count Of Luxembourg, Miss Dolly Dollars, Blossom Time, The Princess Pat. Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy fans who can still sing along with 'Sweet Mystery Of Life' or 'Every Day Is Lady's Day With Me' are dwindling in number, along with the commercially viable repertoire within the artistic range of a theatre company whose very title proclaims its focus to be this nearly-extinct genre.
Clearly some changes are in order. Enter multiple Jeff award-winner Rudy Hogenmiller, new artistic director of Evanston's Light Opera Works, and—along with his partner, James Harms—a South Side musical theater veteran with experience dating back through Munster's Theatre At The Center and the Drury Lane Theatre in Evergreen Park to the heyday of the venerable Candlelight Playhouse.
MARY SHEN BARNIDGE: How has the definition of 'Light Opera' changed over the decades? In what ways does it differ from the post-Sondheim/Webber/Boublil & Schonberg musical?
RUDY HOGENMILLER: Like music itself, these terms are fluid and hard to pin down. How else could Sweeney Todd, subtitled 'a musical thriller' end up at the Lyric, or A Little Night Music be done at Chicago Shakespeare? And during the late '80s, I saw a production of La Cage Aux Folles at an opera house in Berlin. I think it's healthy and refreshing to see classic American musicals cross over into opera houses and concert halls. At Light Opera Works, we use the term 'light opera' inclusively, to cover the whole spectrum of the equally vague modern term, 'musical theater'—operettas, comic opera, musical comedy and plays where the music is of special merit or interest.
MSB: For example—
RH: Well, in our second season, we presented an early Viennese operetta, The Beautiful Galatea, but we also did Candide, which composer Leonard Bernstein and author Lillian Hellman both called 'a comic operetta'. Our seasons have always been built around an eclectic mix of the contemporary and nostalgic, with both foreign and domestic compositions represented.
MSB: Now what, precisely, is Light Opera Works' professional status? Is it a community theater like that in Western Springs, or a professional non-equity company like Porchlight?
RH: We are NOT a community theater. Except for our devoted and hardworking board and volunteers from The Saints, everyone affiliated with our productions is paid—musicians, designers, directors, actors, equity and non-equity, union and non-union. Perhaps some confusion arises because our short runs at the Cahn [ auditorium ] make us ineligible for consideration by the Joseph Jefferson Awards committee. Our Second Stage productions at the McGaw [ YMCA Child Care Center ] , however, ARE eligible. We were able to run our 2002 premiere production of Gregg Opelka's Soup Du Jour for five weeks, collecting two nominations in the process.
MSB: Both of those playing spaces present certain practical problems. The Cahn auditorium is huge and the McGaw center's furnishings are scaled to toddlers—
RH: Cahn auditorium seats 1,000. Its stage is big enough for 20-to-40-voice choruses and the orchestra pit can hold between 24 and 32 musicians. Touring shows—even Broadway shows—rarely have facilities of that size, which is one of the things that makes our larger productions unique. And our intimate 250-seat Second Stage at the McGaw space is far from glamorous, but we had air-conditioning installed in 2003 and are planning other improvements in the future. In the meantime, it allows us to do longer runs and to explore a wide variety of smaller, lesser known works. Our production this last fall of Jule Styne's Darling Of The Day would never have been attempted without a venue like this one.
MSB: What are some of Light Opera Works' other programs?
RH: Our summer workshops introduce children to the world of music and theater through learning to sing, dance and act in shows like Annie and H.M.S. Pinafore. We also have concert ensembles—two singers and a piano accompanist—that tour Senior Citizens Centers. Our current team consists of Anne Marie Lewis, a soprano, and Warren Moulton, a tenor who probably knows every song in the history of musical theater. And our Senior Dress Rehearsal at Cahn is also a way for elderly people on a limited budget to see live theatre.
MSB: So this is NOT our grandparents' light opera. It sounds like the Light Opera Works has plenty to offer beyond period replications for a coterie audience.
RH: Definitely! Our annual budget is 1.3 million and 25,000 attend our shows each year. This season we are celebrating our 25th anniversary and we look forward to 25 more years of disarming, romantic, amusing, exhilarating 'light-musical-opera-theater' or whatever you want to call it.
MSB: If you had your druthers, what would be on your company's wish list?
RH: Well, a home of our own would be a wonderful gift. Do you know of any empty state-of-the-art theaters currently available?