Upcoming UCO Operas: The Ghosts of Gatsby and The Old Maid and the Thief

The University of Central Oklahoma School of Music will be showing a double feature with “The Ghosts of Gatsby” and “The Old Maid and the Thief” starting Friday, Feb. 27 until Sunday, March 1, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Mitchel Hall Theater.

According to Rob Glaubitz, the UCO School of Music Director, Students have been working on the shows since November, with entire cast rehearsals starting at the beginning of the spring semester in January. The cast rehearses each week on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 7-10 p.m and Fridays from 4-7 p.m.

Glaubitz said, “The Old Maid and the Thief is a hilarious show that is a standard of the American opera repertoire.  It’s always been one of my personal favorites because of its vivid characters, its catchy and occasionally gorgeous music, and its silly but relatable plot.”

He continued, “The Ghosts of Gatsby is a newer work written in the last ten years that focuses on F. Scott Fitzgerald, the writer of The Great Gatsby, and his difficult relationship with his wife, Zelda.  It’s a short, dramatic gem of a show.”

Kendra Moon, who plays Ms. Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief, says that she started learning the music for this role over winter break and that it was hard but came together beautifully. Moon also mentioned that the opera, written by composer Gian Carlo Menotti, was originally meant to be performed on the radio, and because of the need to illustrate the characters’ actions and emotions, Moon says it works incredibly well in the performances alongside their acting.

“As I have gotten to know Ms. Todd, I’ve really come to sympathize with her. She has had some disappointing experiences in her life, and I think the reason she gets caught up in this over-the-top drama is a need to feel wanted, desired, and important – such a fundamental, human need. She’s an older woman who wants to be the heroine in her own grand love story when older women are frequently overlooked.” Said Moon.

Helena Gay, who plays the 18-year old version of Zelda in “The Ghosts of Gatsby”, said that she spent a lot of time working on the music for her role and doing research on Zelda Fitzgerald. Gay did so by reading Fitzgerald’s novel ‘Save Me The Waltz’ that was published in 1932, and reflects the life of jazz that she lived.

Gay says she would describe young Zelda as vivacious, saucy, naive, and bright-eyed, and says that the character is drastically different from the two older versions of herself that are reflected in the opera.

“Both Zelda and Scott lead very captivating lives, and it definitely helps put the show into perspective! It is a jazzy good time, and I’m excited for people to come out and see it!” Said Gay.

University Productions, the College of Fine Arts and Design’s production team, has been working on the costumes and sets for the entire spring semester. According to Susie Williams, Costume Shop Manager, the costumes for the Operas are a collaborative effort between herself and the Costume Designer, Rebecca McGuigan.

“Once the design phase is complete and the show officially moves into the shop, we work within an approximately three-week production period to prepare all costumes.” Said Williams.

During the three-week period of production, Williams says there are several steps that they must take before the costumes are stage-ready. Performers schedule an initial fitting to try on their assigned garments, and the costume designers work with Williams to ensure the fit and function of the items.

Williams says that some garments used in this production are to be entirely house-built, meaning these pieces are patterned, cut, and constructed specifically for individual performers and characters. The Costume Shop has 10 employed student workers who help with construction, alterations, organization, and maintenance throughout the production.

McGuigan also offered insight into the themes for each of the performances. She said that since the operas are very different from one another in that The Ghosts of Gatsby is a drama and Old Maid and the Thief is a comedy, it provided her and the students a unique opportunity to design two stories.

“We started by breaking each story down into parts and discussing themes as a class, determining what pieces each character would wear in each scene, and then each student completed time period research to get a good feel for what shiouette each character would wear,” Explained McGuigan.

UCO School of Music student and flute player in the opera pit, Kieran Sowerby, says that although the original music was originally written for radio performance, the score for this stage performance was not changed. This made it much easier for the music performed in the orchestra to complement the opera.

“Being a Flute player, I usually play the higher things that either signal distress or tension, or longer lyrical things, or simply the cherry on top of the rest of the ensemble. This is my first opera, and it really has been a fun, but very challenging experience for me,” Said Sowerby.

Tickets for the show can be purchased at cfadtickets.uco.edu or by calling 405-974-3375. UCO students can also receive one free ticket with a valid student ID.