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Music Theater Works
Music Theater Works (formerly Light Opera Works) is a resident professional not-for-profit musical theatre company in Illinois founded in 1980 by Philip Kraus, Bridget McDonough, and Ellen Dubinsky.
The company presented over 75 productions of operetta and musical theatre at Northwestern University's 1,000-seat Cahn Auditorium. Since 1998, in addition to three annual productions, Music Theater Works also produces a fourth, more intimate show, in Northwestern's 450-seat Nichols Concert Hall or the McGall YMCA Children's Center, Second Stage. From 1981 until 2019, Music Theater Works presented 138 productions at these venues.[citation needed]
In 2021, Music Theater Works moved to a residency at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois, performing in both the 315-seat thrust North Theatre and the 867-seat Center Theatre. By 2023, it had presented more than 150 productions.
Music Theater Works was founded as Light Opera Works in Evanston, Illinois, by Philip Kraus, Bridget McDonough, and Ellen Dubinsky. Kraus was the first Artistic Director of the company, serving from 1981 through 1999. The first production of the company occurred in 1981 with a staging of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. Under Kraus' leadership, the company's main emphasis in programming centered on American, French and Viennese operetta in English, and Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company produced over 75 productions at Northwestern University's 1,000-seat Cahn Auditorium.[citation needed] From 1998, in addition to its three annual productions, the company has produced a fourth show, in Northwestern's smaller Nichols Concert Hall or the McGall YMCA Children's Center, Second Stage.
Lara Teeter succeeded Kraus and served as Artistic Director until 2004. He continued to program operettas but added more musical theatre pieces from later in the 20th century. Rudy Hogenmiller took over in 2005 and continued that trend. In 2017, the company changed its name from Light Opera Works to Music Theater Works. In 2019, Hogenmiller and founding General Manager Bridget McDonough retired, to be replaced by Kyle Dougan as Producing Artistic Director.
In 2021, Music Theater Works moved to a residency at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois, performing in both the 315-seat thrust North Theatre and the 867-seat Center Theatre. In 2023, to celebrate the company's 150th production, The Producers, the Mayor of Skokie issued a proclamation.
In its early years, the company staged all twelve of the full-length extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including an Elizabethan concept Mikado (1986) and an Edward Gorey/Tim Burton-inspired Ruddigore (1996), as well as the less frequently produced Utopia Limited (1984) and The Grand Duke (1992).
Its repertory also included Emmerich Kálmán's The Duchess of Chicago (1998), Jerome Moross' The Golden Apple (1995), Karl Millöcker's The Beggar Student, Oscar Straus' The Chocolate Soldier (1987) and A Waltz Dream (1992) (both with translations by Kraus and lyricist Gregory Opelka), Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland (1994) and The Red Mill (1992), and Leonard Bernstein's Wonderful Town (1996). The company embarked on a Kurt Weill cycle in 1989 beginning with Lady in the Dark (1990), and including One Touch of Venus (1997) and Knickerbocker Holiday (1993).
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Music Theater Works
Music Theater Works (formerly Light Opera Works) is a resident professional not-for-profit musical theatre company in Illinois founded in 1980 by Philip Kraus, Bridget McDonough, and Ellen Dubinsky.
The company presented over 75 productions of operetta and musical theatre at Northwestern University's 1,000-seat Cahn Auditorium. Since 1998, in addition to three annual productions, Music Theater Works also produces a fourth, more intimate show, in Northwestern's 450-seat Nichols Concert Hall or the McGall YMCA Children's Center, Second Stage. From 1981 until 2019, Music Theater Works presented 138 productions at these venues.[citation needed]
In 2021, Music Theater Works moved to a residency at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois, performing in both the 315-seat thrust North Theatre and the 867-seat Center Theatre. By 2023, it had presented more than 150 productions.
Music Theater Works was founded as Light Opera Works in Evanston, Illinois, by Philip Kraus, Bridget McDonough, and Ellen Dubinsky. Kraus was the first Artistic Director of the company, serving from 1981 through 1999. The first production of the company occurred in 1981 with a staging of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. Under Kraus' leadership, the company's main emphasis in programming centered on American, French and Viennese operetta in English, and Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas. The company produced over 75 productions at Northwestern University's 1,000-seat Cahn Auditorium.[citation needed] From 1998, in addition to its three annual productions, the company has produced a fourth show, in Northwestern's smaller Nichols Concert Hall or the McGall YMCA Children's Center, Second Stage.
Lara Teeter succeeded Kraus and served as Artistic Director until 2004. He continued to program operettas but added more musical theatre pieces from later in the 20th century. Rudy Hogenmiller took over in 2005 and continued that trend. In 2017, the company changed its name from Light Opera Works to Music Theater Works. In 2019, Hogenmiller and founding General Manager Bridget McDonough retired, to be replaced by Kyle Dougan as Producing Artistic Director.
In 2021, Music Theater Works moved to a residency at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Illinois, performing in both the 315-seat thrust North Theatre and the 867-seat Center Theatre. In 2023, to celebrate the company's 150th production, The Producers, the Mayor of Skokie issued a proclamation.
In its early years, the company staged all twelve of the full-length extant Gilbert and Sullivan operas, including an Elizabethan concept Mikado (1986) and an Edward Gorey/Tim Burton-inspired Ruddigore (1996), as well as the less frequently produced Utopia Limited (1984) and The Grand Duke (1992).
Its repertory also included Emmerich Kálmán's The Duchess of Chicago (1998), Jerome Moross' The Golden Apple (1995), Karl Millöcker's The Beggar Student, Oscar Straus' The Chocolate Soldier (1987) and A Waltz Dream (1992) (both with translations by Kraus and lyricist Gregory Opelka), Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland (1994) and The Red Mill (1992), and Leonard Bernstein's Wonderful Town (1996). The company embarked on a Kurt Weill cycle in 1989 beginning with Lady in the Dark (1990), and including One Touch of Venus (1997) and Knickerbocker Holiday (1993).