BLOG

Opening Night!

Submitted by Helen Vasey, Acis & Galatea Producer

All of our planning finally came to fruition last night in a wonderful first performance. It was so exciting to feel the energy of the crowd and I know that the cast were eagerly anticipating the chance to share all their hard work with an audience (and here they all are, minutes before “curtain”).

We were well supported by many friends, family and colleagues who came out in force to see the show. Here, the show’s tenor cover, Drew Duncan, is accompanied by our ever-glamorous colleague Alex Subbarao from Chicago Opera Theater.

And of course, here’s a taster of some production shots from the performance:

Photo by Nadia Oussenko

Here, Amy Conn, our Galatea, reads on, oblivious to Acis’ (John Zuckerman) attempts to pluck up the courage to approach her!
I’m sure I’m not giving too much of the story away in a sneak peek of how successful his advances prove…..

Photo by Nadia Oussenko

Our mischievous 5-part chorus play a central role in moving along the action. In this scene they persuade their “boss” Polypheme to join in the fun.

(From left to right: Scott Brunscheen, Brian Hoffman, Wilbur Pauley, Susan Nelson, Brad Jungwirth, Caitlin McKechney)
Photo by Nadia Oussenko

The one little sticking point of the evening was the member of the public who somehow managed to get backstage as our stage manager gave the performers their final call, and take one of our props. The musicians among you may have noticed our play on words with the pitch “pipe” brandished by our Polypheme in place of the stolen tobacco pipe!

As we’d managed to fit in a few extra chairs we were able to accommodate everyone who walked up on the day. So, if you didn’t manage to snag advance tickets and want to come to one of our Cultural Center shows, there are still a few tickets available for Thursday and Saturday – come and join us.