Judy Kaye to Appear as Julia Child in Boston Midsummer Opera's BON APPETIT! 7/28-8/1

The Boston Midsummer Opera has just announced that it will present TROUBLE AND CHOCOLATE, pairing Leonard Bernstein's one-act opera TROUBLE IN TAHITI with Lee Hoiby's BON APPETIT!, a musical transcription of one of Julia Child's shows starring Tony Award®-winning Broadway veteran Judy Kaye.   The productions will be presented on July 28 and 30 and August 1, 2010.

TROUBLE IN TAHITI, which was originally produced in 1952, will be directed by Scott Edminston.  Bernstein drew on the American vernacular for both the music and the libretto, which examines the stagnant lives of suburban families post-World War II and depicts one day in the life of a married couple, Sam and Dinah.  The production will star mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy as Dinah and baritone Steven Salters as Sam.  It will also feature Megan Roth, Brian Robinson, and David Lara as what Bernstein describes as "a Greek chorus born of a radio commercial."

BON APPETIT! will be directed by David Green.  It is based on a classic Julia Child broadcast in which the chef teaches viewers to make a classic French chocolate cake.  Star Judy Kaye has appeared in many sucessful Broadway musicals and plays.  She won a Tony Award® as Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Carlotta Guidicelli in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and was nominated for two additional Tony Awards® for MAMMA MIA! and SOUVENIR.  Her other Broadway credits include the recent revival of SWEENEY TODD and the original productions of RAGTIME and ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.  Kaye has also performed with many operas and orchestras, including the New York City Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and the Boston Pops. 

The productions will be musically directed and conducted by Susan Davenny Wyner.  The July 28 and 30 performances will be at 7:30pm; the August 1, at 3pm.  Each will feature a pre-performance talk one hour beforehand and a post-performance question and answer session with the cast.  Performances will be held at the Tsai Performance Center and Boston University, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston.  Tickets are available either by visiting http://www.bostonmidsummeropera.org, by calling 617-227-0442, or by mailing a request to Boston Midsummer Opera, Box 513, 66 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.