Happy snowy Monday!  We hope you are safe and warm inside today!  While you are (hopefully) lounging in your pjs, check out our cast interview with Christie Phillips!

Name
Christie Phillips

What's your role in Robin Hood?
Annabel

What's your favorite part of the show?
Each time the Sheriff is thwarted or humiliated (sorry Gary)

Why is operetta important to you?
Operetta is usually fun and lighthearted with a lot of great singing. Having spoken, instead of sung, dialogue is a welcome challenge for me, as I am really quite green with memorizing lines not attached to music. Each way lends itself to a different sort of opportunity for expression, but as spoken dialogue has no built-in constraints with timing or pitch, I'm enjoying playing with the possibilities.

Why should people come see this 19th century show about the 12th century in the 21st century?
You said it. It's an exciting melding of 3 distinct influences: a modern lens we can't fully escape; 19th century language, musical style, and interpretation; and an old story that everyone loves!

When you're not performing in community theatre, what do you do? (job, hobby, family, etc.)
According to my three kids, my primary job is taking care of our dog. They're probably right.

Don't miss Christie and the rest of the fabulous Robin Hood cast next month!  Call the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre box office at 240-314-8690 for your tickets or go online HERE. 

Want to help VLOC put on our next production, H.M.S. Pinafore? Check out our Power2Give video, and any amount you donate will be matched by Montgomery County and help us construct the Pinafore!

You might have noticed this name along with Reginald De Koven's as getting credit for Robin Hood.  So what did this Harry guy do to get Robin Hood in it's ready-for-stage form?  Lots!

De Koven got Smith to write the libretto for Robin Hood, and he cranked out the entire thing in just 3 weeks. He shipped it off to De Koven, who then took 3 months to compose the score. 

The opening of Robin Hood in Chicago was generally considered a success, and De Koven promptly went to England to try to secure a European debut of the operetta in London.  Smith ended up selling his rights to Robin Hood to De Koven around this time because he was wrapped up with a very successful revival of a ballet he had written and writing a libretto for another operetta that ended up with rave reviews.  

As Robin Hood went through its run in London, with his libretto specifically getting praise from critics, Smith got a little miffed with De Koven, who seemed to be snubbing him in the media.  It is generally thought that De Koven saw himself as better than Smith - De Koven got a European education and ran around in higher social circles, while Smith was a middle-class writer without a college degree. When it came time for De Koven to work on his next couple of operettas, he tried to get W.S. Gilbert to work with him as the librettist.  Gilbert had no interest, so De Koven had to come crawling back to Smith.

Having written over 300 librettos, Smith is considered to be an exceedingly successful American librettist. He wrote librettos mainly for operettas and musicals, including Irving Berlin's first musical, Watch Your Step. Despite the odd and somewhat strained relationship with De Koven, his writing for De Koven is considered some of his best.  Don't miss your chance to experience some of Smith's best work!  Call the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre box office at 240-314-8690 or go on line HERE to get your tickets for Robin Hood!

Happy New Year from VLOC!  We're excited to kick off 2016 with an interview with our Robin Hood director, Gregory Scott Stuart!  This is Gregory's first time directing a show with VLOC - welcome, Gregory!

Name
Gregory Scott Stuart

What's your role in Robin Hood?
Stage Director

What's your favorite part of the show?
There are many parts of the show that I adore. The musical numbers for all male voices are amongst them. However, the standout in this show for me are the dialogues of the Sheriff of Nottingham. They are written with comedy and wit that in the hands of a wonderful comic actor are irresistably funny. Our Sheriff, Gary Sullivan, is just such an actor - and that they are true highlights of the show. 

Why is operetta important to you?
Operetta offers a chance to immerse ourselves in a world where all things are either pleasant or in some way laughable. While musical, it's also upbeat, blithe, folicsome, buoyant, vivacious. It affords us a chance to chuckle or even to laugh out loud.

Why should people come see this 19th century show about the 12th century in the 21st century?
This sylvan fable, enduringly popular for its merry band of criminal who steal from the rich to give to the poor, wherein the underdog is lifted up to triumph and good wins over evil, has resonance centuries later when hue and cry has raised awareness of the privileged 1%. But in the world of DeKoven’s fairy tale, the direst of circumstances is painted with a light-hearted touch – even the evil Sheriff of Nottingham is comic and the cavalcade of romantic and jaunty seems ever fresh and sincere. I can’t imagine why this operetta is not done more often.
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When you're not performing in community theatre, what do you do? (job, hobby, family, etc.)
I sing and act professionally in churches, in opera, and in plays. I work in arts management for Vocal Arts DC, a concert series of classical vocal recitals, I lecture on dramatic literature to senior adults, I teach voice lessons, accent reduction lessions and yoga and Pilates. I serve on the Board of Directors of Loudoun Lyric Opera and Shakespeare Opera Theatre. I'm a polyglot and adore speaking languages other than English. I love to get out in nature.

Thanks, Gregory!  Can you believe it's 2016 already?  Robin Hood will be opening before you know it, so get your tickets today!  Call the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre box office at 240-314-8960, or purchase your tickets online HERE.