Diablo Light Opera Company Changes Name To Diablo Theatre Company Effective 6/1

DLOC (the Diablo Light Opera Company), currently celebrating its 50th anniversary as one of the Bay Area's premier producers of musical theater, announced today that it is changing its name to the Diablo Theatre Company, effective June 1.

"Because we haven't produced a light opera since 1996, we decided it's time to select a name that more accurately reflects the type of entertainment we now produce-mainly Broadway musicals," said Claudia Nemir, the company's president.

Although the name of the company is changed, its tagline-"The Music and Magic of Broadway"-will be retained.

Nemir said the new name maintains a link to the past by continuing the use of "Diablo," a designation that helps establish the company's geographical location near Mt. Diablo, a San Francisco Bay Area landmark. "And the word ‘theatre' is neutral and broad enough to allow us to venture into other areas of the arts, non-musicals perhaps, should that decision be made some time in the future," Nemir said.

When the company was formed in June 1959, its repertoire was largely Gilbert and Sullivan shows and operettas such as "The Merry Widow" and "The Vagabond King. According to Nemir, research studies over the years suggested that patrons are sometimes confused by the words "light opera" in the old name since the company's programming no longer includes that type of musical.

"The old name mistakenly led some patrons to think we perform classic opera, which we don't. What we do produce are first-rate Broadway musicals such as ‘The Producers,' which we premiered in the East Bay in February, and ‘Hello, Dolly!,' opening June 5," added Nemir.

Diablo Theatre Company maintains offices and rehearsal studios in a former fire station in Pleasant Hill. Since its founding five decades ago, the company has produced 103 shows. The company has produced its shows at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek since it opened 19 years ago and, before that, the old Civic Arts Center, a walnut warehouse which was originally modified to support DLOC's performances and that became affectionately known as "the Nuthouse."

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