The Village Light Opera Group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Melissa Hemann

THE VILLAGE LIGHT OPERA GROUP TO STAGE “MY FAVORITE YEAR”

DIRECTED BY EVAN PAPPAS, STAR OF ORIGINAL BROADWAY PRODUCTION

NEW YORK, NY – The Village Light Opera Group (VLOG), one of New York’s oldest theatrical organizations, is finishing its 70th year with a new production of My Favorite Year which will feature a cast of over 50 performers and full orchestra. The production will be directed by Evan Pappas, who starred in the original Broadway production, with musical direction by Ronald W. Noll and choreography by Cathy Roy. Performances will be April 9 and 15 at 8 p.m. and April 10, 16 and 17 at 2 p.m. The April 16, 2 p.m. performance will be a special children’s matinee with a backstage tour and a question-and-answer session with the actors and backstage crew following the show. Performances take place at Haft Auditorium at the Fashion Institute of Technology, located at 227 West 27th Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Ticket prices range from $20 to $30 and can be purchased through VLOG’s website at www.vlog.org, or by phone through TheaterMania at (212) 352-3101. Group sales of 10 or more can be made through J.C. Lindstrom at (212) 627-8586.

Director Evan Pappas played Benjy Stone in the original 1992 Broadway production and has also appeared on Broadway in A Chorus Line, Parade and Putting It Together. Mr. Pappas has numerous off-Broadway, regional and West End credits both as director and performer. Musical director and conductor Ronald Noll, in his 48th year with VLOG, is an award-winning pianist, the recipient of a New York-area Emmy Award, and an International Broadcasting Award from the Hollywood TV and Radio Chapter of Broadcasting. Choreographer Cathy Roy has performed and directed at various regional theaters, was the founder of The John Harms Center Performing Arts School in Englewood, New Jersey, and is currently an Artist in Residence for The New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

My Favorite Year features music and lyrics by the Tony Award winning team of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens who were also the team behind Ragtime, Once on This Island, and Seussical the Musical. Their new musical, Dessa Rose, is premiering this month at Lincoln Center Theater. Joseph Dougherty is the author of the musical’s book.

My Favorite Year is based on the hit 1982 film starring Peter O’Toole and Mark Linn-Baker and is loosely based on the real life experiences of Mel Brooks as a comedy writer for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows”. The show tells the story of Benjy Stone, freshman writer on TV’s hottest show, “The King Kaiser Comedy Cavalcade”, during the week he is assigned the task of baby-sitting the show’s guest star: veteran Hollywood swashbuckler and Benjy’s childhood hero, Alan Swann. His effort to keep the reckless and washed-up Swann away from booze, women and out of the papers until Saturday night’s live performance nearly drives Benjy to the brink, when he's given an unexpected glimpse into Swann’s broken heart that teaches him about human frailty, tragedy, comedy, love – and about what made 1954 his favorite year.

The Village Light Opera Group, a community theatre organization founded in 1935 to promote the production of Gilbert & Sullivan works, has long since added Broadway hits and other light opera classics to its repertoire. Over the years, critics, such as Bijou Miller of digitalcity.com have heaped praise on the Village Light Opera Group’s community aspect. “The productions are always well done and professional, but they also have a community theatre feel which, as you will see, is one of the best things about the group. The enthusiasm and joy radiating from the stage is infectious, and you’ll find yourself humming along, clapping and maybe even cheering.” VLOG’s professional standards have led the Daily News to proclaim the company as “New York’s leading operetta theatre” and The New York Times wrote, “…. [VLOG’s] choral work … is exemplary in its rousing force and clarity.” Today, VLOG boasts a membership of several hundred volunteers who work on all aspects of the productions. VLOG is a New York Not-for-Profit corporation and is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

For further information about the Village Light Opera Group, visit our web site at www.vlog.org.

# # #