THE VILLAGE LIGHT OPERA GROUP, LTD.

Founded in 1935 by a talented group of medical doctors, The Village Light Opera Group, Ltd. (VLOG) is today a recognized staple of New York City's cultural life.

Although formed by Allen and Elizabeth Hinckley to offer Gilbert & Sullivan classics to the Greenwich Village community, VLOG has since greatly expanded both its repertoire and its audience. Now Broadway hits such as The Music Man and The Most Happy Fella, and light opera classics like The Desert Song and The Merry Widow, are performed along with Gilbert & Sullivan's offerings at the 800-seat Haft Auditorium of the Fashion Institute of Technology. With its professional, full-sized orchestra lead by Emmy award-winning Music Director Ronald Noll, each of VLOG's twice-annual shows is a highly polished production incorporating anywhere from 40 to 60-plus cast members.

In the summer of 1976, VLOG joined forces with London's Philbeach Society, a London-based amateur theatre company, and the British American Light Opera Exchange (BALOE) was born. BALOE shows are produced every five years during the summer and alternate between London and New York, giving each company a chance to travel.

In 1960, VLOG celebrated its Sliver Jubilee and also performed for the first time at F.I.T, which has since become the group's performing home. In March 1985, VLOG marked its 50th Anniversary with a special Golden Jubilee Celebration chaired by longtime supporter Issac Asimov.

Today, VLOG boasts a paid membership of more than 200, its own set and costume construction/storage facility on West 27th Street, and an annual budget of more than $100,000. The professionalism of VLOG performance may surprise some audiences, considering that the majority of its cast and crew hold `regular' nine-to-five jobs, although a number of its alumnae have gone on to successful careers in the performing arts. VLOG remains overwhelmingly a volunteer organization: all members serve multiple capacities, whether by building sets, making costumes, or working on publicity, ticket sales, or marketing. For the members of the Village Light Opera Group, each production is truly a labor of love.

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