Ruddigore will be directed by Gary Slavin (Show Choir! - The Musical) and feature musical direction by Zachary Schwartzman.

Ruddigore, according to press notes, "is a delicious parody of Victorian melodrama, complete with a villain who carries off the village maiden; a hero in disguise; a snake-in-the-grass best friend; a madwoman out of the attic; and ghosts stepping down from their portraits to enforce a family curse. But in typical topsy-turvy fashion, Gilbert turns the moral absolutes of melodrama upside down, as good becomes bad, bad becomes good, and heroes take the easy way out."

The Blue Hill Troupe's donation will support QSAC's efforts to "integrate augmentative communication and learning devices (e.g. tablets) in their educational programs for participants with autism."

Since its inception in 1924, the Blue Hill Troupe has produced a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta every spring with a full orchestra, donating the net proceeds to a New York City charity. To date, the Blue Hill Troupe has donated a total of $4 million. Prior charities include The GO Project, I Have a Dream Foundation-New York Metro, The Carter Burden Center for the Aging, The New York Foundling and Inwood House.

In its 90-year history, the Blue Hill Troupe has produced the entire Gilbert and Sullivan canon, including the long-lost Thespis, with a new score by Grammy Award-winning composer and record producer Thomas Z. Shepard. In 2005 the Blue Hill Troupe was honored with three awards at the 12th Annual International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, U.K., for its innovative production of the Gilbert and Sullivan rarity, The Grand Duke. El Teatro of El Museo del Barrio is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street. For more information and tickets, call (212) 988-2012 or visit BHT.org.