Baseball: a musical love letter photo by Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Inc. Left baseball photo by Mike Bowman on Unsplash, Right baseball photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash BASEBALL: A MUSICAL LOVE LETTER Hello! We are so thrilled to have you join us as we, for the very first time in over a year, perform indoors for a live audience. Our performers are so happy to be part of an ensemble and to see your faces. With the start of spring, we look forward to the promise of new life and warmer, better days ahead. This program celebrates the great history of baseball and we celebrate in song. Our performers consist of our Young Artists and many new friends in the cast and in the instrumental ensemble. We are delighted to enlarge our world with the wonderful talent in Kansas City and the wonderful members of our audience who are new to Lyric Opera. Stay tuned for the June announcement of details of our season for next year. Enjoy! Deborah Sandler, General Director and CEO BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2020-2021 OFFICERS Joanne Burns, President Tom Whittaker, Vice President Scott Blakesley, Secretary Craig L. Evans, Treasurer BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dr. Ivan Batlle Mira Mdivani Mark Benedict Edward P. Milbank Richard P. Bruening Jeff Poe Tom Butch Steve Taylor Melinda L. Estes, M.D. Benjamin Mann, Counsel Karen Fenaroli Michael D. Fields Lafayette J. Ford III Kenneth V. Hager Niles Jager Amy McAnarney EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Andrew Garton | Chair, Orpheus KC Mary Leonida | President, Lyric Opera Circle Dianne Schemm | President, Lyric Opera Guild Presents Baseball: a musical love letter Production in one act by Kathleen Belcher and Dan Rigazzi in alphabetical PLAYERS order DARRINGTON CLARK* THOMAS DREW~ KATARINA GALAGAZA~ ALLISON JONES* ANTHONY PERKINS, JR. ROBERT H. RIORDAN~ TURNER STATON* KELLI VAN METER~ WILLIS WHITE* SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY: DANNY COX* Written and conceived by Kathleen Belcher and Dan Rigazzi Presented in English Running time: approximately 75 minutes with no intermission ~Apprentice Artist *Lyric Opera Debut CREATIVE TEAM MUSIC DIRECTOR Piotr Wiśniewski CREATOR/CO-DIRECTOR Kathleen Belcher LIBRETTIST/CO-DIRECTOR Dan Rigazzi SCENERY COORDINATOR Brad Kanouse LIGHTING DESIGNER Kris Kirkwood SOUND DESIGNER John Story ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER Mario Raymond SUPERTITLE COORDINATOR Sarah Zsohar STAGE MANAGER Karl Anderson HEAD SCENIC ARTIST Gen Goering PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Emilia Covault, Michael LeDesma SCENIC CONSTRUCTION CREW Stephen Cochran, Melvin McClenahan, James Hare ORCHESTRA PIANO Piotr Wiśniewski BASS James Albright* SAXOPHONE Michael Herrera* DRUMS Michael Warren* Season Sponsors: This program is supported by the Thomas & Sally Wood Family Foundation. Stage crew provided by IATSE Local 31 Wardrobe crew provided by The Theatrical Wardrobe Union Local 810 *Lyric Opera Debut ^Former Resident Artist ~Apprentice Artist SONG LIST “In 1839” from The Mighty Casey Robert H. Riordan, Full Cast William Schuman, Jeremy Gury “What a Game!” from Ragtime Turner Staton, Anthony Stephen Flaherty, Lynn Aherns Perkins, Jr., Thomas Drew “The First Baseball Game” Willis White Don Raye, Gene de Paul “Prologue” from 1919: A Baseball Full Cast Opera Rusty Magee “What have you got to lose?” from Turner Staton, Darrington 1919: A Baseball Opera Clark, Anthony Perkins, Jr. Rusty Magee “Say it Ain’t So, Joe” from 1919: A Kelli Van Meter Baseball Opera Rusty Magee “Baseball Boogie” Allison Jones Bill Williams “Don’t Look Back” Full Cast Fred Sturm, Satchel Paige “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit Anthony Perkins, Jr., That Ball?” Full Cast Count Basie, Fred Sturm, Buddy Johnson “Six Months Out of Every Year” Katarina Galagaza, Rob from Damn Yankees Riordan, Full Cast Richard Adler, Jerry Ross “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” Full Cast Albert von Tilzer, Jack Norworth “In the Cards” from Diamonds Willis White Alan Menken, David Zippel “Heart” from Damn Yankees Willis White, Darrington Richard Adler, Jerry Ross Clark, Anthony Perkins, Jr., Thomas Drew “The Ballad of Buck O’Neil” from Danny Cox Fair Ball Danny Cox DIRECTOR’SDIRECTOR’S NOTESNOTES By Kathleen Belcher The world as we knew it came grinding to a halt in March of 2020. We theatre-types struggled with our loss of work, losing our creative outlets, and our mental health. This project is a reaction to the aforementioned items. Dan Rigazzi, my dear friend and Metropolitan Opera co-worker, and I spoke on the phone frequently to give each other pep talks, worry out loud, and brainstorm about what we could do next. This “Baseball Cabaret” was born from those conversations. I do not recall what first made me plug baseball and opera into a search engine, but once I went down that rabbit hole a crazy idea began to form. The University of Kansas Opera program agreed to workshop our piece and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City believed in our original vision. What you are going to see is a culmination of a deep love of baseball, history, and music theatre come to fruition on the stage. Ultimately, we discovered that despite our differences and disagreements, we could look to our national pastime to unite us all. So, while we theatre people wait for the words “Places, please,” we will rejoice in the words “Play ball!” ABOUT THE ARTISTS DARRINGTON CLARK Darrington Clark, baritone, is a regional actor and singer based in Kansas City, Missouri. This is his Lyric Opera debut, and he is grateful to make art and entertainment at a needed time. Regional credits include Starlight Theatre, Musical Theater Heritage, Spinning Tree Theatre, Coterie Theatre, and the Unicorn Theatre. National credits include Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Circa 21, and Children’s Theater of Madison. THOMAS DREW Thomas Drew, tenor, is a second-year Apprentice Artist with Lyric Opera. Prior to Covid cancellations, he was slated to sing Romeo (Romeo and Juliet) with Lawrence Opera Theatre and cover Frederick (Pirates of Penzance) at Sugar Creek Opera. Thomas is pursuing his Artist Diploma at the UMKC Conservatory under Raymond Feener and Natalia Rivera’s instruction. He performed Albert (Albert Herring) and Eduardo (La cambiale di matrimonio) with UMKC opera. He received his master’s degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and Performance Diploma from Southern Methodist University. Thomas is from Cleethorpes, United Kingdom. KATARINA GALAGAZA Mezzo-soprano Katarina Galagaza is a recent graduate of Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and a first-year Lyric Opera Apprentice Artist. She received a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music. Notable roles include Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Mrs. Soames (Our Town), La suora infermiera (Suor Angelica), Suor Pazienza (Mese Mariano), Prince Charmant cover (Cendrillon), Mrs. Webster (Sweets by Kate), Nancy (Albert Herring), Flora Bervoix (La traviata), and Fox Goldenback (The Cunning Little Vixen). Katarina is currently pursuing an Artist Certificate at the UMKC Conservatory, where she studies with Dr. Maria Kanyova. ABOUT THE ARTISTS ALLISON JONES Heralded as a Kansas City “Artist to Watch,” soprano Allison Jones burst onto the theater scene in 2018 with roles including Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Sarah in Ragtime, and Gifty in School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play. Jones has performed with the Black Musical Arts Community Choir under the direction of Dr. Robert McNichols Jr., and the 49th Centennial United Methodist Messiah Chorus under Dr. John Murray’s direction. Other performances include Fun Home and A Christmas Carol (KC Rep), Once on this Island (Spinning Tree Theatre), and Sister Act (The Barn Players). ANTHONY PERKINS, JR. Anthony Perkins, Jr. graduated from Wichita State University with a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance, where he studied voice with Alan Held and character development with Samuel Ramey. Anthony has performed with Village Presbyterian Church, Landlocked Opera, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Finding a great niche of Kansas City resources, he’s more than thrilled and honored to be a part of Baseball: A Musical Love Letter, which excels in musicality and tells a remarkable story. It is a one-of- a-kind production but with a universal message and context. ROBERT H. RIORDAN Robert H. Riordan, a Wisconsin native, is in his second season as an Apprentice Artist with Lyric Opera. This season, Robert performed the Wolf/Dr. Dulcamara in Finger Lakes Opera’s production of Pinocchio and was in the chorus of Lyric Opera’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. He will return to FLO in 2021 as a Tomita Young Artist to sing Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia. In the previous season, he sang the Sergeant in Lyric Opera’s La bohème and Sid in Albert Herring with UMKC. In summer 2019, he covered Carl-Magnus in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with the Aspen Music Festival. ABOUT THE ARTISTS TURNER STATON Turner Staton, bass-baritone, is making his professional debut with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. A native of Liberty, Missouri, Turner is currently finishing his Artist Diploma at William Jewell College under Daniel and Kathleen Belcher’s tutelage. He holds a master’s degree from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University. In 2020, Turner was selected as a Vocal Fellow for the Tanglewood Music Festival. Roles include Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (WJC), the title role in Don Giovanni (Pepperdine), and Mercurio in La Calisto (CCM). Upcoming roles include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro and Uncle in Elizabeth Cree, both with William Jewell. KELLI VAN METER Soprano Kelli Van Meter is a second-year Apprentice Artist with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Van Meter is pursuing her doctorate at the UMKC Conservatory of Music under Dr. Maria Kanyova. Recent roles include Alice Ford (Falstaff), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Arminda (La Finta Giardiniera), Gretel (Hansel und Gretel), Elle (La voix humaine), and Violetta (La traviata).