Ohio Light Opera

My first experience with the Ohio Light Opera was not that great. I have a season ticket, so I saw all the shows this summer. Now I may just be inexperienced in operetta (of which many of the shows were not operettas, but musicals) however I have a BFA in Acting and have put a lot of time into this art. At over $ 50 a pop, I would have expected the quality of the show to be much more than a glorified mediocre community theater.
The sets were nice and sufficient for the needs of the production and pretty well done when you consider they switch them out after every show.
The lighting Design seemed to be lacking. This may also be due to the number of shows they do, however a couple of specials were needed for some of the productions and could have easily been put in.
The only mics were from 8 or so hanging mics that often caught the actors at random moments and sometimes picked up the voices of anyone who was whispering while moving set pieces.
There was a pre-​recorded piece at the beginning that I believe was about cell phones and candy wrappers, but the audio quality was bad and it was set to a high paced tune that I didn’t understand 80% of it and I believe the majorly geriatric audience didn’t understand 95% of it. Plus it went on for 3 unintelligible verses. [Update]- It turns out that if you were on row 6 or back, you could hear this better due to speaker placement.
The makeup design was poorly executed. Eyebrows didn’t match mustaches and the men’s blush was not applied properly, inducing the male actors to look younger than they were: and they are all pretty young to begin with. These actors needed instruction on how to apply makeup: it felt as if there were no makeup designer and everyone was left to their own devices.
There was an obvious lack of dramaturg to help with the anachronisms and I guarantee you there was no dialect coach for any of the productions as the dialects were either completely wrong or inconsistent across the board with the exception of an actor named Ted.
The orchestra was beautiful and well executed. I dare say they were absolutely the best part of the experience.
My biggest concern was the lack of connection on stage. One of the women who played a lead in several of the shows kept looking out to the audience after she chewed every one of her lines in a terribly affected voice– I’m not sure what she was trying to achieve with this. I can probably count on one hand the number of times she made eye contact with another actor on stage. During one of the scenes which was ideal for connection, she didn’t look in her co-star’s eyes, but rather past them at his right ear. My point is, why tell the story if there’s no connection nor vulnerability? It might have been easier to listen to on the radio than to watch. I thought this was just the efforts of a selfish actor, but I believe it to also be the fault of the director for not calling her on it. I cringed every time she stepped on stage and began to loathe any production she was in. (Mind you, she wasn’t the only one on stage pandering to the audience.)
The male lead that was used in numerous shows was quite the opposite and with the exception of a few direction issues, he’s the one who kept me in the theater after intermissions. He was able to balance the operetta style with connection on stage. He was grounded and present. When other people were talking, he listened to them and reacted. I actually really enjoyed the show that he was in and the other woman was not.
I will say that the ensemble was well rehearsed and sounded great.
The singing in general was beautiful (and even the lead girl was able to drop her spurious affectations and actually connect during songs on occasion). In fact, I believe these actors were cast because of their voices. They were not cast because they could dance, however. I found the choreography to be lackluster and I felt that the actors felt (and looked) awkward in their mundane movements.

I grew up, in a lot of ways, with the OLO. My family started taking me to Gilbert & Sullivan performances every summer from a young age, and now I still try to see at least one show a year if I can.
The talent assembled is remarkable when you consider this is a relatively small company performing in a tiny Midwestern college town. The art direction, costuming, and set design is always impressive, and the performances at Freedlander Theatre are welcoming and intimate rather than feeling cramped or overwhelming.
If you can, I strongly encourage you to attend the pre-​show lectures, held 1 hour before each performance, where they talk about the history of the production you’re going to see, and provide samples of the music.

3.5 stars
I was brought here on a date to see «Camelot». 1. I can’t believe the ratio of older folks to the young. 2 The theater is smallish so there isn’t really a bad seat in the house 3. OMG Camelot, a 2 hour first act…
The music was pretty awesome and the set a little plain. But hey its a small stage. Annoying amount of sunlight came through when people were entering and exiting the theater during the performance… you would think the college would put in curtains by now.
The cast did a decent enough job except for dropping lines and a wig gaff.
The OLO only gets 3.5 stars from me because I thought I thought it was a lil pricey and I didn’t even pay for the tickets. $ 46 dollars is a lot in an economy like this. Plus, we were coming from Columbus so we had to drive to Egypt for this production. My date said he bought the tickets online and there was a feature that allows you to choose where you sat. And it must have been broken because we sat in row L and there was only one row left behind us.

The best G&S productions anywhere in the US (including companies much better known) happen every summer in the middle of Amish country. Go figure. But it’s the rarities that make OLO unique. The cast and crew put in a staggering amount of time and manage to put together seven shows in as many weeks, and although the extremely hectic work schedule means that not every one of the summer’s 60+ performances will be the best thing you’ve ever seen, you’re still certain to get your money’s worth. A company unlike anything else, at least in America, and for someone with even the slightest interest in operetta it’s essential.

OLO is the pride of Wooster. But after seeing several of their performances, the music and the staging remain underwhelming.

The OLO started in 1979, and I started going when I was a wee little thing back in 1984. in 1987, I began donating 25.00 a year, which made me the youngest patron on record. I don’t say thins to brag, only to explain that I’ve grown up in the theater and have seen performances of all genres across the country, and can say that the OLO is truly world class.
That being said, I think the productions lost something when the troupe lost Dr. Stewart (a great man with a great heart, who offered to take me on a tour of the bayous. He retired to Louisiana before his death). It was his vision that built the OLO, and no one, I repeat NO ONE I have ever seen has matched his speed, agility, and ability to sing G&S’s pattersongs.
Still, this is a truly great company, and anyone within 200 miles of Wooster should take it upon themselves to catch a show.

the ohio light opera rocks. (not literally, since you can’t really rock out with gilbert and sullivan… but i digress.) i worked there as an usher a few times, which was fun. i then joined the running crew for two summers while in high school, performing spotlighting and prop management duties, and getting hit on by creepy college boys. i also had a bit part as a kid playing on the street in a show, and performed a vocal solo in this professional operetta company. crazy!
the late james stewart (aka doc) gave a tremendous gift to northeast ohio with OLO. this is the only professional company in the country entirely devoted to operetta, and they perform around 7 shows per summer — *concurrently*. that’s pretty amazing. people travel from far and wide just to see their shows, and it’s well worth it.
you know that you will love the gilbert and sullivan shows as well as the strauss, offenbach, and other popular works, but be sure to try some of the more obscure productions which include revived and newly-​translated works or more modern shows. and after the show, be sure to visit matsos, the unofficial OLO hangout, for some of the best greek food anywhere.