The Rose Valley Chorus & Orchestra begins its 109th season with one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s operettas, THESPIS (or The Gods Grown Old) with book by William S. Gilbert and music by Arthur S. Sullivan and Bruce Montgomery. Performances are on November 7, 11 and 14 at 8:00 PM, and on November 7, 8, 14 and 15 at 2:00 PM. The performances will take place at the Strath Haven Middle School, 200 South Providence Road (Route 252) Wallingford, PA.
Tickets, available at the door, are $20 for adults, $17 for senior citizens (60+) & students, and $7 for children 12 years and under. Tickets bought in advance are discounted to $17 for adults, $14 for seniors and students; children remain at $7. All tickets are good for any performance and seating is general admission. Tickets for groups of ten or more for the same performance are only $12. Send advance orders with a SASE to Rose Valley Chorus, Box 414, Media, PA 19063.
Thespis, the Greek father of drama, leads a group of actors who temporarily replace the elderly gods on Mount Olympus. The actors are inept and mayhem follows. The angry gods must return and send the actors back to earth. This comic operatic extravanganza was the first collaboration between Gilbert and Sullivan. No musical score was ever published and most of the music has been lost. Bruce Montgomery, a Philadelphia composer and world-renowned stage director of G & S operettas, composed the original score which will be used in this production. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Bruce Montgomery Foundation for the Arts which provides financial support to talented students and student organizations pursuing excellence in the performing arts.
The fully costumed THESPIS cast, accompanied by the Rose Valley orchestra, includes Ed Nealley of Ardmore as Thespis, Jay Anstee of Havertown as Sparkeion, Lyndsay Varsaci of West Chester as Nicemis, Ryan Goulden of Drexel Hill as Mercury and Ray Murphy of Media as Jupiter. Additional cast members hail from numerous areas of Delaware, Montgomery and Chester counties. Kate Nealley is the stage director and Seth Gardner is the music director.
For more information and directions to the theater, call 610-565-5010 (recorded message/voice mail) or visit our website at www.rvco.org.
Theater/Organization Rose Valley Chorus & Orchestra
Theater/Organization Website: http://www.rvco.org
Theater/Organization Address: Box 414 Media, Pennsylvania 19063 (Map It)
Theater/Organization Phone: (610) 565-5010
