Tickets are now on sale for The Lyric Singers’ spring concert, The Magic of Music, which runs Wednesday, May 22, and Thursday, May 23, at 7:30 p.m. in the Shumiatcher Theatre, MacKenzie Art Gallery.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and are available at Bach & Beyond in the Golden Mile Centre (cash or cheque only). (Note that there are no online ticket sales for this concert.)

Directed by Jane Ursan, The Lyric Singers will perform an eclectic collection of songs, songs from My Fair Lady, “Climbing Over Rocky Mountains” (Gilbert & Sullivan), “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from Spamalot), “You’ve Got a Friend,” “The Pink Panther,” “One Note Samba,” “Over the Rainbow,” “Spider Man,” “Touch the Sky” from the movie Brave, and “Viva La Vida.”

Guest performers include Highland Dance Champion Krystin Robinson and stars of the Regina Music Festival musical theatre classes: Chelsea Woodard, Griffin Hewitt, Meika and Mayson Sonntag, and Braeden and Garrett Woods.

It promises to be a wonderful evening of song. Don’t miss it!

The cast featured a talented cast of Lyric veterans and newcomers, including Rob Armstrong, Norris Bjorndahl, Adrianne Hendry-Vermeulen, Jolaine Huber, Erin Johansen, Joel Kuntz, Ruaridh MacDonald, Jessica Scheuer, Brenda Sotropa, Carolyn Speirs, Jeff Tonita, Donna Trainor and Edward Willett.

Click here to view the program!

Tickets are available before (and make a great present for) Christmas for Regina Lyric Musical Theatre’s annual fundraising lunch, which runs February 3 and 10 at the Hotel Saskatchewan Radisson Plaza.

And the Oscar Goes To… celebrates more than 75 years of Academy Award-winning songs. Directed by Jane Ursan, the show features a three-course served lunch followed by a solid hour of great music.

Tickets are $45 (a tax receipt is issued for the donation portion of that ticket price) and are available before Christmas by calling 789-7763 or emailing d.stephenson@sasktel.net. After Christmas you can purchase them at Bach & Beyond in the Golden Mile Centre (cash or cheque only).

The cast includesStacy Allan, Andrea Armstrong, Janelle Bennett, Sabrina Cataldo, Cory Chalk, Margaret Anne Hodges, Rachelle Kvamme, Jamie Lemmerick, Norma Lemmerick, Elizabeth Popowich, Celia Ricker, Jessica Scheuer, Linda Selinger, Michaela Solomon, Carolyn Speirs, Angela Willford, Rob Armstrong, Norris Bjorndahl, Patrick Cherneski, Jason Fisher, Nicholas Fudge, Michael Hamann, Dwight Muller, Doug Pederson, Owen Ricker, Mike Schmalz and Edward Willett.

Stuff your stockings or celebrate your New Year, with Regina Lyric Musical Theatre. You’ll be glad you did!

The Lyric Singers, Regina Lyric Musical Theatre’s new adult choir, presents its inaugural concerts, Puttin’ on the Ritz, Saturday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 2, at 2 p.m., at the Shumiatcher Theatre, Mackenzie Art Gallery.

Under the direction of artistic director Jane Ursan, the 45-member Lyric Singers (and, as guest performers, the Class Act Show Choir) will present Broadway, pop, jazz and seasonal music. Songs include “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup” (Kander & Ebb), “Africa” (Toto), “Blue Skies” (Irving Berlin), “Christmas Time is Here” (Vince Guaraldi, from A Charlie Brown Christmas), “White Christmas” (Irving Berlin), “Happy Holiday” (Irving Berlin), and “Winter Carol” (Robert Ursan).

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students, and are available at Bach & Beyond in the Golden Mile Centre (cash or cheque only).

Don’t miss this wonderful kick-off to the Christmas season!

See you there!

Regina Lyric Musical Theatre’s production of We’ll Meet Again has ended its very successful run. Set in a London pub during the Second World War frequented by Canadian servicemen, this nostalgic revue of music from the era was originally devised by Paul Gaffney and Nancy Turner for the Royal Canadian Legion. From the title song to “There’ll Always be an England,” “When the Lights Go On Again All Over the World” and “White Cliffs of Dover” to novelty hits like “The Whiffenpoof Song” and “Mairzy Doats,” it was a memorable stroll down memory lane.

Nora Berg directed the show, which ran November 1 to 4 at the Shumiatcher Theatre, Mackenzie Art Gallery.

Download the program!

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!

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

The Kennedy Center, no doubt inspired by Lyric’s recent outstanding production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies (that’s Amanda Dancsok as the showgirl in the photo), is mounting its own version of the show, and casting has just been announced.

 T-time Tony winner Bernadette Peters will take on Diane Burrows’s role of Sally Durant Plummer, multiple Tony nominee Jan Maxwell will attempt to live up to Donna Trainor’s outstanding performance as Phyllis Rogers Stone, two-time Tony nominee Danny Burstein will do his best to outshine Edward Willett as Buddy Plummer, Ron Raines will try to fill Jeff Tonita’s shoes as Benjamin Stone, and Olivier Award winner Elaine Paige will play Norma Lemmerick’s role of Carlotta Campion. Playbill continues:

The production will also star Terrence Currier as Theodore Whitman, Christian Delcroix as Young Buddy, Rosalind Elias as Heidi Schiller, Colleen Fitzpatrick as Dee Dee West, Lora Lee Gayer as Young Sally, Michael Hayes as Roscoe, Florence Lacey as Sandra Crane, Linda Lavin as Hattie Walker, Régine as Solange LaFitte, David Sabin as Dimitri Weismann, Kirsten Scott as Young Phyllis, Frederick Strother as Max Deems, Nick Verina as Young Ben, Susan Watson as Emily Whitman and Terri White as Stella Deems.

Rounding out the ensemble will be Lawrence Alexander, Brandon Bieber, John Carroll, Sara Edwards, Leslie Flesner (Young Dee Dee), Jenifer Foote (Young Hattie), Leah Horowitz (Young Heidi), Suzanne Hylenski (Young Solange), Danielle Jordan, Joe Kolinski, Amanda Larsen, Brittany Marcin, Edrie Means, Erin Moore (Young Stella), Pamela Otterson (Young Carlotta), Clifton Samuels, Kiira Schmidt (Young Sandra), Brian Shepard, Sam Strasfeld, Amos Wolff and Ashley Yeater.

 The production will run May 7-June 19 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.