Opera and Civic Theatre announce 11/12 schedules

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'Tis the season for the announcement of next season's shows.

Recently I wrote of the 2011/12 lineups for the Broadway series and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Now comes word of what the Indianapolis Opera and Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre (formely known as Indianapolis Civic Theatre) have in store.

The Opera will be offering full productions at Clowes Hall of perennial favorites "Faust" and "Madama Butterfly." In addition, Clowes will also be the venue for "Opera Goes to the Movies," featuring film clips from the likes of "Apocalypse Now" and other flicks that prominently feature operatic music.

IO will also make use of its Basile Opera Center space on Pennsylvania Street (used to positive effect with this seasons' "Carmen") for a double bill of one-singer/one-act operas that would never play the Clowes stage. First up is "A Water Bird Talk," in which a lecturer can't keep his home life out of his lecture on the title subject. The second, "Bon Appetit!," musicalizes a Julia Child television broadcast (in which she makes a chocolate cake). I'm hungry for this one already (more info here).

As for the professionally managed/volunteer acted Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre, it will move into its new home at the Center for the Performing Arts with the local premiere of "The Drowsy Chaperone." The inventive musical focuses on a lonely musical theater fan who finds comfort in a 1920s musical, which comes to life in his living room. It will be followed by Peter Shaffer's "Amadeus."

(Shhhhh … don't tell the supposedly conservative Carmel crowd that the first show focuses on a gay man and the second on a man questioning God.)

Civic then will break out of its "Beauty and the Beast"/"Joseph"/"Wizard of Oz" formula with a December-January production of "Willy Wonka," featuring music from the real film version.

The light tone continues for the rest of the season with the door-slamming farce "Lend Me a Tenor" and the classic "Guys and Dolls." More info on Civic can be found here.

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