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Join the Olney Central College Music Department for a journey through musical theater as the OCC Concert Choir and Musical Theater Workshop students present a Spring Variety Show at 7 p.m. on April 29 in the Dr. John D. Stull Performing Arts Center.
Director of Choral Activities Dr. Andrew Pittman said the evening’s entertainment will offer a little something for everyone with musical selections ranging from the baroque period to Broadway and a sampling of short comedies.
“I have always wanted to do an evening of one-act plays,” said Pittman. “With the new talent we have and a smaller choir this year, this was the perfect opportunity to do so.”
The choir will open with the Final Chorus from Carissimi’s Jepthe, composed in 1648. This early oratorio is based on the Old Testament story in Judges 11. Jephthah promises the Lord that if he defeats the enemy in battle, he will sacrifice the first living creature he sees upon returning home. To Jephthah’s dismay, it is his daughter who runs out to meet him.
From the 18th Century, the choir will perform Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Hymn of Mary. Composed in the final weeks of Pergolesi’s life, Stabat Mater is one of the most popular sacred works of the late baroque-early classical era. Pittman calls it “one of the most beautiful things ever written.”
The students also will perform, in English, the Act 1 Quintet from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The work premiered in September 1791, just two months before the composer’s death at age 35.
The program will transition to 19th Century British India with Flower Duet from the first act of Leo Delibes’ 1883 opera Lakme.
“It is very well-known,” Pittman said of the song. “It has been used in commercials and many people will recognize it.”
Also familiar to the audience will be the Pirate King’s song Oh Better Far to Live and Die from Gilbert & Sullivan’s 1879 comedic opera The Pirates of Penzance.
The musical theater journey wraps up with George Gershwin’s 1928 standard, I’ve Got a Crush on You, from Treasure Girl and the Agony Duet and Agony Reprise, from 1987’s Into the Woods by renowned composer and lyricist Steven Sondheim, who passed away late last year.
The evening will conclude with three one-act plays including DMV Tyrant and Wanda’s Visit by Christopher Durang and Sure Thing by David Ives.
Known for his satirical and absurd comedies, Durang’s DMV Tyrant follows the frustrations of a man trying to renew his driver’s license.
“It’s extreme satire and it is brilliant,” Pittman said.
Wanda’s Visit centers on a married couple who receive an unexpected visit from the husband’s former girlfriend.
“It is so ridiculous, and although the opening is serious, anyone who has been in a long-time relationship will find it hilarious,” Pittman said.
Sure Thing shares a premise similar to the popular 1993 movie Groundhog Day as a couple finds their interactions continually reset during a chance meeting.
