The Merry Widow at Oklahoma City University's Kirkpatrick Auditorium

Oklahoma CIty University Presents The Merry Widow Operetta Feb. 27-March 1

 A cast of 34 and full 42-piece orchestra will present Franz Lehár’s operetta The Merry Widow Feb. 27-March 1 on Oklahoma City University’s Kirkpatrick mainstage.

“This flirtatious frolic is perfect for Valentines month,” Dr. David Herendeen, OCU’s director of opera and music theater, said. “Winking waltzes, twirling tunes, playful polkas fill the stage and embroider the stories of love forbidden — and love rekindled.”

The operetta will be performed in English, with projected supertitles. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: www.okcu.edu/tickets or 405.208.5227. 

Guest director Cynthia Stokes, returning to campus after directing The Magic Flute in 2023, will present a free talk 30 minutes before curtain. 

The production feature Jan McDaniel as music director and Vincent Sandoval, Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment resident artist, as choreographer. Original costumes are designed by Megan Hickey, with lighting by Brady J. Hillman, and scenic design by guest artist Robin Vest. Madeline Belcher is assistant director.

The plot follows the schemes of the tiny nation of Pontevedro to keep a wealthy widow’s fortune within its borders by finding her a new love. The Metropolitan Opera calls Lehár’s 1905 work “a delightful concoction of elegant romance, screwball comedy, and biting social critique, all wrapped up in infinitely hummable melodies and unforgettable dance tunes.”

OCU’s spring season continues with the Spotlight musical comedy The Prom (March 6-8)  and the season-finale musical Anastasia (April 24-26).

The Bass School of Music is home to the nation’s oldest campus-based troupe specializing in both opera and music theater, now celebrating its 74th consecutive season. 

OCU has been honored with 11 National Opera Association production awards, and selected multiple times by Playbill for its honor roll of top schools educating Broadway performers. For details, visit www.okcu.edu/music.

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THE CAST: Featuring Nick Montgomery as Baron Mirko Zeta; Avery Benjamin, Teagan Sharkey and Elina Viana (cover) as Valencienne; James Pendergast and Ryan Walshaw as Count Danilo Danilovitch; Faith Dengate, Olivia Flores and Lailah Johnson (cover) as Hanna Glawari; Gavin Felciano and Alessandro Gucciardi as Camille de Rosillon; Blake Narcisian as Cascada; Isaac Lynee as Raoul de St. Brioche; Brady McComas as Bogdonovich; Lailah Johnson and Hannah Beth Baker (cover) as Sylvaine; Zane Brolin as Kromov; Elina Viana and Lily Cherney (cover) as Olga; Giancarlo Holland as Pritschitsch; Malori Martin as Prascowia; Dominic Sicola as Njegus; and Ella Hayes, Chloe Orfanella, Evie Shirah, Grace Smithy and additional dancers as Grisettes. 

In the chorus: sopranos Hannah Beth Baker, Lily Cherney, Ella Hayes, Abbie Mitchell and Evie Shirah; mezzo-sopranos Emma Johnston, Chloe Orfanella, Grace Smithy and Ella Thurlow; tenors Tyler Hoverson, Alek Lipinski, William Lovell, Trip Shirah and Hayden Thompson; and baritone/basses Decouteau Lamb, Reid Negron, Sam Owens, Noah Parker and Brady Simanton.