The Memorial Opera House is coming into its 123rd year, and they decided to extend their thanks to the community in a special way.
This year, the Opera House gave full control over to community members in choosing the performances for the 2016 season. During March and April of this year, over 1,000 people voted on the shows that they wanted to see. After tallying up the votes, the Opera House planned a special reveal party to announce the 2016 lineup in a fun and memorable way.
“So this year, we decided to give the selection of the season back to our patrons because we wanted to find a way to thank them for their constant support,” Scot MacDonald, Artistic Director of the Memorial Opera House said. “We ask so much of our community and never really get a chance to say ‘thank you’ in a great big way. So we came up with the idea of letting them choose the season because not only did it offer buy in, but it generated a lot of excitement amongst the public.”
Staff and volunteers from the Memorial Opera House were dressed up, the men looming dapper and the ladies looking lovely as they welcomed guests and gave tours before the presentation. Hors d'oeuvre were served and everyone helped themselves as they waited for the big reveal. Five productions were chosen, ranging from comedies to musicals to dramas.
The 2016 performances will be: the Wizard of Oz
The Odd Couple
Grease
Into the Woods
Meet Me in St. Louis
“Keeping everything under wraps has been quite a challenge, but we are so excited to reveal the season tonight,” MacDonald said. “I think we have a really well balanced season that many generations will recognize and want to be a part of either in the audience or on stage. It's really going to be a lot of fun!”
On top of the 2016 lineup reveal, the Memorial Opera House announce two new Season Ticket Packages. These new packages make excellent gifts and will fulfill the taste of any theatre buff.