Light Opera Oklahoma’s best of all possible seasons

Light Opera Oklahoma (LOOK) kicks off the 2008 festival season with a family favorite, The Pirates of Penzance opening Saturday, June 14th in the Williams Theatre at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. Gilbert & Sullivan’s timeless classic tale of a band of adorable nautical misfits who find they always have a soft spot for any man who cries “Orphan!” Frederic, a pirate apprentice waiting to break free of his piratical indentures upon his 21st birthday, falls for a pretty girl named Mabel.

Misfortune arises when Frederic discovers he is only 5 years old since his birthday falls on February 29th. LOOK’s exciting new twist on Pirates promises to be a family favorite and a summer highlight. This is not your grandmother’s Pirates! Additional Pirates performances can be enjoyed through July 12th.

The best of all possible seasons continues on Saturday, June 21st with Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. Though famous for West Side Story, Bernstein’s music for this 1956 masterpiece has been called the most perfect score ever written for the theatrical stage. It begins with one of the most famous overtures in history, contains masterfully written numbers and witty dialogue throughout, and ends with one of the most beautiful opera choruses ever written!

Based on Voltaire’s novel Candide, the story takes us around the world with a quartet of young people in search of truth, love, wealth and happiness. What they discover along the way is less than the “best of all possible worlds” deciding perhaps it’s best to stick close to home and “make our own garden grow.” This entertaining show is not to be missed! Additional performances of Candide can be seen through July 11th.

The third show of LOOK’s 2008 festival season is Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods opening Saturday, June 28th. Sondheim’s witty and slightly confusing take on the Brothers Grimm stories finds many of the characters and storylines mixed up as a village fights for survival against a powerful Giant. Cinderella’s Prince “mixes” with the Baker’s wife, a powerful Witch finds there is less power in beauty, and everyone learns it is often the adults who really need to learn from fairy tales since “children will listen.”  When calling to purchase tickets for Into the Woods, ask about LOOK’s unique effort with Up With Trees and Mayor Kathy Taylor to re-tree Tulsa’s city parks and help get Tulsa Back Into the Woods. Your theatre ticket purchase or extra donation will help Tulsa recover from December 2007’s ice storm damage. Additional performances of Into the Woods can be enjoyed through July 12th.

LOOK’s cabaret season returns in 2008 with “Oh, Coward!” featuring the sassy and smart songs of Noel Coward. The embodiment of elegance and wit, Noel Coward’s writing evokes jazz-age attitude with sensuous dances, lush melody and rapid-fire patter. Each one-of-a-kind performance of “Oh, Coward!” opens with a short cabaret presentation designed by Andrea Leap and members of the 2008 LOOK ensemble.

The Best of All Possible Seasons will feature the talents of James Bagwell conducting the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, and Eric Gibson, LOOK’s talented and brilliant artistic director. LOOK shows run in repertory June 14 through July 12 in the Williams Theatre at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center as part of Summer Stage.

For more information or to buy tickets call the LOOK office at 918.583.4267.  Tickets may be purchased online at http://www.lightoperaok.org/ or http://www.myticketoffice.com/