Music Theater Works to Mark 37th Year with MAKE OUR GARDEN GROW Gala

On Saturday, April 1, 2017, Light Opera Works will celebrate its 37th year and its new name, Music Theater Works, with its annual spring gala benefit at the Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northfield, Illinois.

This year's theme is "Make Our Garden Grow," in celebration of "Candide," the first production under the new company name, coming up in June.

Proceeds will benefit the Music Theater Works 2017 season and Youth Reach programs.

The Music Theater Works benefit committee includes Diane and Tom Blake (Wilmette),Penelope Boukidis (Libertyville), Jefferson C. Collins (Evanston), Fran Faller (Skokie),Joseph Greco, M.D. (Chicago), Electra Kontalonis (Chicago), Mary Nicholas (Evanston), Pamela T. Pettibone (Chicago), Pamela P. Rosenbusch (Evanston), Catherine Westphal (Glencoe) and Trudene Westerman (Chicago).

The VIP Reception, "Everything's Coming Up Roses," at 4:45 pm honors Mary Robin Roth, star of Music Theater Works' upcoming August production of "Gypsy." It is hosted by Catherine Westphal and Gary Raphael (Glencoe).

The benefit begins at 5:30 pm with cocktails and a silent auction, followed by dinner at 6:30 pm with performances paired with each course, directed by Music Theater Works artistic director Rudy Hogenmiller.

A raffle drawing will be held to win $1000 cash. Raffle tickets are one for $10, three for $25, seven for $50 and 15 for $100.

Benefit sponsors include Footlights Magazine, Marcus Promotions, On Track Fulfillment Inc., Davenport Designs and Horizon Photography.

Tickets for the event are $195, $265 and $390 per person, or tables of 10 for $1,950, $2,650 and $3,900. For benefit tickets, call the Music Theater Works box office at (847) 920-5360.

Music Theater Works (formerly Light Opera Works) is a regional professional theater, founded in 1980. The organization produces three shows each year at Cahn Auditorium (a 1,000-seat theater in Evanston), and an annual concert at Nichols Concert Hall (an intimate 450-seat venue in Evanston).

Music Theater Works' mission is to produce musical theater from a variety of world traditions, to engage the community through educational and outreach programs, and to train artists in musical theater.

Light Opera Works is now known as Music Theater Works, effective January 2, 2017.

General manager Bridget McDonough said, "After 36 years, we decided to make a change. Light Opera Works was a wonderful name for a long time, but we felt it no longer told the full story of who we are and what we do."

"The company will remain a home for light opera," she continued, "but we are also the home of Broadway classics, Great American Songbook concerts and popular educational programs for young people. We wanted our new name to reflect the diversity of our repertoire and programs."

Artistic director Rudy Hogenmiller added that people unfamiliar with the company often asked "if we perform short -- 'lite' -- versions of grand operas. There's nothing 'lite' about our productions! We pride ourselves on full-scale stagings of musical theater classics. Everything from Gilbert and Sullivan and Franz Lehar to Lerner and Loewe and Jerry Herman, with big casts and full orchestras. We needed a name that gives people a sense of that."

McDonough and Hogenmiller asked for input from Light Opera Works subscribers and patrons earlier this year. "Suggestions poured in," said Hogenmiller. "Our audience was not shy!"