Auditions for Lyric’s spring show, Fly Me to the Moon: From Frank Sinatra to Michael Buble & Ella Fitzgerald to Diana Krall, a musical revue directed by Robert Ursan, will be held Thursday, February 16, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Lakeview United Church (use the west front entrance).

Up to 12 adults are needed for this show, featuring some of the greatest songs ever written, recorded by some of the greatest singers who ever lived. Bring a song to the audition that shows off your voice; an accompanist will be provided.

Fly Me to the Moon will be performed April 27, 28 & 29 at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Tickets will be $25 and will available soon at Bach & Beyond in the Golden Mile Centre and online here.

For more information about auditions, call 535-3728.

Tickets are still available for the Sunday, February 12, performance of Lyric’s annual fundraiser, The Best of Broadway: The Songs You Know and Love, at the Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza.

This year’s fundraiser will feature a three-course meal in the Regency Ballroom at the Hotel Saskatchewan at 12 noon, followed by the entertainment at 1 p.m.

All tickets are $45; a tax receipt issued for a portion of the ticket price. Tickets are available at Bach & Beyond, Golden Mile Centre (cash or cheque only).

This year’s show features an amazing selection of songs from a century of Broadway hits, spun out over a series of well-crafted medleys, with a plethora of solos, duets and chorus numbers. The cast features both Lyric veterans and newcomers: Stacy Allan, Deborah Amor, Andrea Armstrong, Rob Armstrong, Aiden Barker, Tyler Burton, Leah Constable, Brandee Demyen, Sharon Eisbrenner, Tajzanna Hall, Michael Hamann, David Hopkinson, John Johnston, Norma Lemmerick, Ruaridh MacDonald, Joan Miller, Dwight Muller, Carly Phillips, Elizabeth Popowich, Celia Ricker, Owen Ricker, Hayley Robinson, Jessica Scheuer, Michaela Solomon, Mason Sontag, Brittany Soriano, Linda Weir, Caitlin Bolduc Whelan, Virginia Wilkinson, Alice Willett, Edward Willett, Margaret Anne Willett and Marianne Woods.

It’s a wonderful show and the fabulous way to spend a winter weekend. Don’t miss it!

You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown finished a very successful run November 6 at the Shumiatcher Theatre in the MacKenzie Art Gallery, after five regular shows and two school matinees.

Featuring music by Clark Gesner, who also wrote the libretto, and lyrics by John Gordon, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown brings the beloved characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz to the stage.

The show featured Ruaridh MacDonald as Charlie Brown, Jessica Scheuer as Lucy van Pelt, Caitlin B. Whelan as Sally Brown, Deborah Amor as Peppermint Patty, John Johnson as Shermy, Taylor Bates as Snoopy, Nathan Sgrazzutti as Linus, Andrea Armstrong as Frieda, and Rob Armstrong as Schroeder.

Check out this gallery of photos from the production!

Auditions for Lyric’s fall production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown will be held Thursday, September 1 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Lakeview United Church, 3200 McCallum Ave. (Use the west front entrance.)

Director Evie Sawatzky is seeking energetic adults, 16 years of age and up, to play Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Sally and Snoopy in this funny musical adaptation of Charles M. Schultz’s classic comic strip, with book, music and lyrics by Clark Gesner.

Please prepare a musical theatre song. An accompanist will be provided; please bring sheet music. The director may ask you to read a monologue from the show and/or move while singing or speaking. Monologues are posted here. Although not required, you may wish to memorize your solo and a monologue.

To arrange an alternate audition time or  for more information, contact  Production Manager Joan Ziffle, 535-3728, joanziffle@yahoo.com.

The show runs November 2 to 6, 2011, at the Shumiatcher Theatre, Mackenzie Art Gallery.

July 11, 2011

Dear Friends:

As we conclude our 34^th Season, the Board of Regina Lyric Musical Theatre feels it is time for renewal.  We are considering making some changes, and we want to give you a chance to share your ideas with us.

We are proud of the shows we have produced, and are indebted to the many individuals who have donated their time and resources to make Lyric a success over the past three and a half decades.  As we move forward, we hope that you will help us generate ideas that will address the following challenges:

1. Our audience numbers for our major spring production have been declining;
2. We have seen fewer people at auditions; and
3. Our donations have been decreasing.  While our emergency fund is intact, our cash flow is at an all-time low.

Here are a few ideas and questions we have been considering:

• Moving our spring show earlier by a few weeks to avoid competing with the Cathedral Village Festival.

• Rather than staging a theatrical production in the spring of 2012, we may produce a more cost-effective musical revue featuring a variety of familiar songs based on a theme.  In the fall of 2010, for example, we produced a revue of folk music.  What themes interest you?

• How can we attract more performers to auditions?

• We have been pleased to give artists a chance to perform in lesser known shows, and audiences a chance to see gems like Sweeney Todd and Gypsy; however, we know that many people want to see more familiar shows.  When selecting shows, we have to consider factors such as the availability of copyright and whether we have the right people to fill all the roles.  What shows do you suggest?

• Our annual budget for 3 shows and general operating is about $90,000.  In recent years, the City of Regina has provided Lyric with a $1,000 annual grant.  We do not qualify for funding from the Saskatchewan Arts Board.  Do you know of any Regina businesses or individuals who could become a major sponsor?

The first rule of brainstorming is that “no idea is a bad idea.”  So please share your ideas with us.  If there is one thing we have learned, it is that Regina is full of amazingly talented people, including some of Canada’s most gifted artists.  We are proud of Lyric’s past and we are optimistic about our future.  We look forward to hearing from you.

You may reply by mail to me at 2808 Borden Street, S4N 2L3 or by e-mail to nandc@sasktel.net.  Or feel free to call me at 525-5342.  Alternatively, if you know one of our board members, please feel free to share your ideas with them.  We would be pleased to hear from you by the end of August.

Yours truly,

Carolyn Speirs, President

On behalf of the Board of Regina Lyric Musical Theatre

Ron Blechinger, Vice-President

Jeff Sawatsky, Treasurer

Susan Graham, Secretary

Joan Ziffle, Business Manager

Diane Stephenson, Fundraising/Membership

Owen Ricker, Member-at-large

Janet Wilson, Member-at-large

Jessica Scheuer, Member-at-large

David Hopkinson, Member-at-large

Tickets are now on sale for Regina Lyric Musical Theatre’s production of Baby, which runs May 25 to June 1 in the ShuBox Theatre, Riddell Centre, University of Regina.

With music by David Shire, lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., and a book by Sybille Pearson, Baby tells the story of three couples on a university campus as they deal with the painful, rewarding and agonizingly funny consequences of this universal experience. There are the college students, barely at the beginning of their adult lives; the thirty-somethings, having trouble conceiving but determined to try; and the middle aged parents, looking forward to seeing their last child graduate from college when a night of unexpected passion lands them back where they started.

Directed by Robert Ursan, with Jane Ursan as musical director, Lyric’s production of Baby stars Jeff Tonita and Donna Trainor as Alan and Arlene, the older couple; Rob Armstrong and Leah Constable as Nick and Pam, the couple in their 30s, and Lucas Popowich and Jamie Lemmerick as Danny and Lizzie, the younger couple. Rounding out the cast are Bonita Dolmage, David Hopkinson, Elizabeth Popowich, Jason Fisher, John Jonhston, Kelly Sanchuk and Sophie Yannitsos.

The show runs Wednesday, May 25, through Wednesday, June 1 (except for Monday, May 30), with shows at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for students, and are available at Bach & Beyond in the Golden Mile Centre (cash or cheque only) or online here (credit card or PayPal), using the form below.

Note: RUSH SEATING. Tickets purchased online will be held at the front of house for pick-up. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before curtain.

ONLINE TICKET SALES  HAVE NOW ENDED. PLEASE BUY YOUR TICKETS AT THE DOOR.

Funny, poignant and down-to-earth, Baby will appeal to anyone who has ever had, wanted to have, or been a baby!

Lyric’s musical fundraising brunch, From Camelot to Cabaret: The 1960s Broadway Revolution, was a great success again, as always. If you missed it, you missed a great line-up of songs from the 1960s sung by a terrific cast: Andrea Armstrong, Rob Armstrong, Janelle Bennett, Norris Bjorndahl, Lyndon Bray, Patrick Cherneski, Zachary Flis, John Johnston, Norma Lemmerick, Jamie Lemmerick, Graeme Mitchell, Julie Mombourquette, Dwight Muller, Elizabeth Popowich, Celia Ricker, Owen Ricker, Emily Schaming, Jessica Scheuer, Nathan Sgrazzutti, Carolyn Speirs, Amanda Trapp, Edward Willett, Margaret Anne Hodges, Thomas Williams and Sophi Yannitsos.

The songs included “Big Spender” and “The Rhythm of Life” from Sweet Charity, “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, “Lusty Month of May” from Camelot, “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” from Hello, Dolly!, “Try to Remember” from The Fantasticks, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” from the musical of the same name, “As Long as He Needs Me” from Oliver!, “Bosom Buddies” from Mame, “I Believe in You” from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” from Promises, Promises, “The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha, “Is it Really Me?” from 110 in the Shade, “Make Someone Happy” from Do Re Mi, “Matchmaker” from Fiddler on the Roof, “On a Wonderful Day Like Today” from Roar of the Greasepaint (The Smell of the Crowd), “People” from Funny Girl, “Put on a Happy Face” from Bye, Bye Birdie, “Two Ladies” from Cabaret, “What Kind of Fool Am I” from Stop the World, I Want to Get Off, “Where are the Snows?” from I Do, I Do, and a medley from Hair that includes “Good Morning, Starshine” and, of course, “Age of Aquarius.”

Jane Ursan directed and the wonderful three-piece band featured Bill Sgrazutti on piano, Mark Limerick on bass and guitar, and Ryan Bennett on percussion.

Here’s a Flickr set of photos taken at the final rehearsal, and here’s the program!

December’s Lyric Notes, Lyric’s quarterly newsletter, is now online, with information about Lyric’s spring show, Baby, a profile of this year’s Bob Simons Memorial Scholarship winner, Jessica Scheuer, photos from The Times, They Are A-Changin’…and a little item pointing out Lyric’s connection to the just-past season of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, top-eight finalist Mackenzie Green, who danced in “Steam Heat” in Lyric’s production of The Pajama Game a few years ago.

Read it here!

Regina Lyric Musical Theatre is now inviting applications for the $200 Bob Simons Memorial Scholarship.

To qualify for this scholarship, you must be a Lyric member in good standing; be a full-time or part-time student; and be (or plan to be) studying drama or music at a recognized post-secondary education institution.

Send an email or letter explaining how you would use the scholarship to lyric(at)reginalyric.com.

Deadline: July 31.

The May edition of Lyric Notes, the newsletter of Regina Lyric Musical Theatre, is now online as a PDF file, with information about Gypsy, a Q & A with Gypsy director Robert Ursan, profiles of the show’s lighting designer and production manager, and dates for auditions (plus some show information) for the 2010-2011 season.