Welcome (Back) to the Madness!
In just a few days, the long-long-long anticipated world premiere of Opera Steamboat’s Welcome to the Madness will finally be here! I arrived in Steamboat Springs last Monday with the rehearsal process already well underway. The road from 2019 to this moment has been full of twists and turns; to say we finally arrived at the manifestation of what Leanna Kirchoff and I imagined all along is a gross understatement. We have a complete choral complement and children’s ensemble rounding out our cast directed by Amanda Berg Wilson, dancers performing a José Limón/Harriette Ann Gray dream ballet choreographed by Perry-Mansfield dance history expert Chris Compton, a traveling orchestra conducted by the great Mila Henry (also contributing on melodica and ukulele while in motion)…and and AND! After years of bracing myself for "Sorry, we gotta lose the horse," at the last minute, instead I was told "Horses don't like being alone and behave better in groups." As a result, we are now joined by three: Olaf, Calvin, and Hobbes! How many operas can boast that?
CAST
Charlotte Perry: Shannon Delijani
Portia Mansfield: Cree Carrico
Marjorie Perry: Michelle Blauman
Margery Mansfield: Sabina Balsamo
José Limón: Sebastian Martinez
Harriette Ann Gray: Piper Northburg
Louis Horst: Jeff McEvoy
America Marshall: La'Shelle Allen
Marjorie Margery Ensemble: Lauren Baumgarner, Sarah Cain, Elijah English, Thomas Litchev, John Joseph Haney, Miguel Ortega Bañales, Mason O'Brien, Monica Talavera
Read more about our process here:
Trailblazers: Opera Steamboat's 'Welcome to the Madness' driven by all-female creative team
On That Note… | Opera Steamboat presents the world premiere of “Welcome to the Madness”
We have been keeping a relatively low profile because there are so many fun surprises and breathtaking moments of natural beauty revealed on the Perry-Mansfield campus that we don’t want to give away. Below is a random assortment of images; you can follow me on Instagram to keep up with the backstage (can I call it that if it’s almost all outdoors and moving?) fun as final preparations unfold, and we’ll gladly welcome you to the madness on location at Perry-Mansfield this coming week, August 22nd-25th!
UPDATE: The production has concluded, and you can now find a gallery of official production photos taken by Melissa Hampton here. Leanna’s and my program notes are below.