Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, 6 October 2015… Toronto Operetta Theatre’s 2015-2016 season begins on November 1, 2015 at 3 pm with a tribute to Gilbert & Sullivan featuring a semi-staged performance of their first great hit, H.M.S. PINAFORE. “We’ve very pleased to announce final casting for this amazing operetta by the Savoy masters from Great Britain.” said TOT’s General Director Guillermo Silva-Marin, “H.M.S. PINAFORE is one of the iconic works of music theatre and furthers our aim of presenting the breadth of operetta and comic opera to our patrons from across the Greater Toronto Area.”
Dedicated to supporting Canada’s wealth of vocal talent, TOT has assembled a stellar cast for this comedic masterpiece featuring artists both established and emerging. Charlotte Knight, star of TOT’s recent production of EARNEST, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING, sings Josephine, in love with the handsome British seaman Ralph Rackstraw, played by debuting Christopher Wattam. Gregory Finney, hailed as Pish Tush in TOT’s MIDADO, takes on the role of Sir Joseph Porter, a British Admiral adept at ‘polishing up the handle on the big front door’ and Rosalind McArthur appears as Little Buttercup, the Bumboat Woman so beloved by the ship's crew. Ryan Downey, a recent graduate of the University of Toronto’s Opera Division makes his debut as Corcoran, the gallant ‘Captain of the PINAFORE’. Debuting pianist and music director Natasha Fransblow will lead the production from the piano and Silva-Marin directs. ‘Never mind the why and wherefore’, ‘I’m called little Buttercup’, ‘When I was a lad’ and the grand choral anthem ‘A British Tar’ are just a few of the biggest hits from this delicious musical confection.
Fully staged with orchestra, THE STUDENT PRINCE, Sigmund Romberg’s great masterwork from the 1920’s, is Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Holiday Production this Season with performances at the St. Lawrence Centre on Dec. 27 (mat), 28, & 31, 2015 and matinees on January 2, 3, 2016.
Continuing the Viennese Silvesterball tradition, there will be a Gala New Year’s Eve performance and dinner/dance on December 31, 2015 at the HotHouse Restaurant and Bar. Dinner, dancing, champagne at midnight with friends and family!
The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts is wheelchair accessible and close to public transit and municipal parking. Call the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts at 416-366-7723, 1–800-708-7654 or on line at www.stlc.com.
Illustration: H.M.S. Pinafore, Act 2. ©1878 D.H. Friston.
2015-10-06
Toronto: Toronto Operetta Theatre presents G&S's "H.M.S. Pinafore" in concert November 1