Directed by Lori Turner, the Renaissance Youth Opera Theatre will perform Gilbert and Sullivan’s operatic extravaganza, Thespis the piece that gave the legendary duo their start, and Hercules composed by the Renaissance’s Artistic Director, Michael Thomas on May 25 at 7:00 PM and May 26 at 3:00 PM.
Thespis follows an acting troupe and the gods on Mount Olympus. The gods need a vacation, so decide to leave Mount Olympus and take a holiday. As luck would have it, the acting troupe, headed by Thespis, the legendary Greek father of drama, arrives and they agree to temporarily take the place of the gods. The actors turn out to be comically inept rulers. Having seen the ensuing mayhem down below, the angry gods return, sending the actors back to Earth as “eminent tragedians, whom no one ever goes to see.”
Younger performers will perform a “curtain-raiser” of Hercules, another original work by Michael Thomas. Hercules follows the Greek Hero through his seven labors in a zany spoof on the original myth.
The cast includes: Hope Abel, Isaac Abel, Chris Barnes, Ian Barnes, Kadelyn Becker, Abby Beckstein, Hanna Bilheimer, Ethan Byrom, Talia Byrom, Maria Casto, Momoka Chang, Jennifer Covel, Gillian Donley, Isla Donley, Lacie Flint, Landon Flint, Amy Gardner, Braylon Gardner, Justice Gardner, Nykera Gardner, Anissa Gosser, Brock Gosser, Lia Gosser, Abby Heininger, Sarah Heininger, Jamie Howard, Juliana Howard, Emma Hutchinson-Deehr, Aiden Karger, Kylee Kent, Lily Kime, McKinnley King, Xy’Mara Lee, Rebecca Matz, Jackie Metz, Katelynn Miller, Nicole Miller, Addison Nicol, Anna Perkins, Jimmy Perry, Jenna Reitler, Olivia Slaubaugh, Grace Them, Alexi Vega, Karis Vega, Delaney Wilson, Mya Wind, Makenzie Wynn, Hannah Yoak, Joshua Yoak.
Tickets for Thespis and Hercules are $15 and can be purchased at the Box Office, by phone at 419.522.2726, or online at MansfieldTickets.com. Part of the Mechanics Bank Education Series, with additional support from Sharon Granter, in memory of her late husband Don.
Source, Photo: Renaissance Performing Arts Association
