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When the OPAS 50th anniversary season cranks up this fall on the Texas A&M University campus at the Memorial Student Center, it won’t be the first time the community’s renowned arts organization has brought Broadway performances of “My Fair Lady” and “STOMP” to Brazos Valley audiences.
“OPAS originally stood for Opera and Performing Arts Society,” explained the Anne Black, executive director. Eventually, the organization decided to just call it, simply, OPAS. “We didn’t just want it to be perceived as only being for people who had a lot of money and could dress up and buy expensive tickets,” Black says. “We wanted to make sure we had something for everyone.”
Indeed, OPAS has been true to that vision over the years. From classical performances by violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Van Cliburn, comedian and pianist Victor Borge, ballet dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev, and the Bolshoi Ballet, OPAS has branched out to rock ‘n’ roll, Broadway shows, comedy, children’s entertainment, and more.
“In the not-too-distant past, we’ve been able to bring [comedienne] Carol Burnett,[singer] Tony Bennett, [comedian] Jerry Seinfeld. It’s an amazing list,” Black recalls. “We’ve also been able to bring an incredible array of Broadway shows, like ‘Les Misérables,’ which was a huge success.” She adds, “You can imagine our delight at being able to bring in a couple of other shows we’ve brought before along with some new favorites.”
The 50th Season
At its season reveal this year, OPAS announced Broadway’s hit musical, “Waitress,” only to have the show subsequently back out of its tour commitment. While these types of disappointments may be daunting for some, Black explains that it’s helpful to be well connected, and they were quickly able to fill that season with another Broadway hit, “Legally Blonde: The Musical.” “Our audiences have come to expect the best,” she says. “We give them what they’re expecting— and maybe even give them a few unexpected and delightful surprises along the way.”
OPAS’ golden anniversary season celebrates its roots as well as its ability to present a variety of entertainment. This season will open with an original production by Neil Berg, “50 Years of Rock ‘N’ Roll,” a musical extravaganza tribute to big-name rock icons from Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley to The Beatles, the Beach Boys, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Elton John, Journey, and more. The show begins set in the 1940s and continues through the rock heyday of the1980s with music that will likely have audiences on their feet.
Returning to the Rudder Auditorium stage this season will be two shows that OPAS has presented previously. In November, the long-running Broadway hit “STOMP” will come to College Station. It features unconventional percussion instruments, including brooms, garbage cans, wooden poles, hubcaps, and even some new props (think tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans!) to make the mostunique sounds. In December, The Lincoln Center production of “My Fair Lady” will once again bring the Lerner and Loewe’s lovable cockney flower lady, Eliza Doolittle, and her linguistics tutor, Professor Higgins, to the local spotlight. It will, indeed, be “loverly” to have this beloved musical back in the Brazos Valley.
In addition to the humor and wit of “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” the 50th season’s Broadway offerings will include the lush musical score and fabulous costumes of a newer Broadway musical, “Anastasia.” The season will also feature “The Simon & Garfunkel Story,” the Dublin Irish Dance’s Celtic dance celebration “Wings,” and “Back Home Again,” a tribute to folk-rock singer John Denver. “The John Denver concert will feature a 38-piece orchestra,” Black says, “but it won’t be our only show to feature an amazing live orchestra.” The awe-inspiring documentary “Our Planet Live InConcert,” narrated by legendary broadcaster David Attenborough, will combine cinematography on the screen with a live symphony orchestra performing the musical score by Steven Price. The result, Black says, will be an immersive experience for audiences into the flora and fauna of our home planet.
Intimate Gatherings
Since Season 27, OPAS has also offered what it calls Intimate Gatherings, featuring a series of one-night-only performances in the smaller, more personal space of Rudder Theatre rather than the larger Rudder Auditorium. Originally, Intimate Gatherings included a Q&A with the performers after the show. This year’s series will include “The Other Mozart,” written and performed by Sylvia Milo; “Swingle Singers Holiday,” a holiday concert performed by a group of seven young London-based singers; and “Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom,” based on the inside, true story by Gregg Oppenheimer, the son of the popular TV show’s writer-producer.
Children’s Entertainment
Throughout its 50 years, OPAS has always also provided entertainment for the young and the young at heart. “We bring about 17,000 kids each year [in grades K through 8] to performances each year,” Black says. “This year we’re doing Disney’s “Winnie the Pooh” stage musical featuring life-sized puppetry. I think kids are going to actually feel like they’re in the Hundred Acre Wood.” “Winnie the Pooh” will run for three performances during the first weekend in October in Rudder Theatre.
Complete ticket information for all OPAS performances can be found online at OPAStickets.org or by calling the MSC Box Office at (979) 845-1234.
About the Author
Mark Taylor is a full-time educator, a part-time writer, an award-winning graphic designer and marketing consultant, and a professional vocalist, actor, and stage director. His original musicals have been performed locally across the Brazos Valley, and his articles appear in a variety of statewide publications. He and his wife, Beverly, reside on a14-acre property in Grimes County where they keepbees and entertain their children and grandchildren.
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