The Sorcerer will play eight performances April 17-25 at Teatro Heckscher of El Museo del Barrio at 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street.
According to Blue Hill, "Magical mix-ups and mayhem ensue in The Sorcerer, a giddy, 'upstairs, downstairs' confection of mismatched lovers and love potion-spiked tea. Blue Hill Troupe's novel production gives the Midsummer Night's Dream-like plot a contemporary spin, while presenting Sullivan's buoyant, festive score with the first-class musical values audiences have come to expect."
The Sorcerer is directed by Gary Slavin, recently represented Off-Broadway by Show Choir! - The Musical and the hit political revue Bush is Bad. Musical direction is by Zachary Schwartzman, an associate conductor with New York City Opera and Glimmerglass Opera.
The cast features Alan Abrams, Lesley Berry, Craig Burmeister, Dena Cubbin, Cornelia Iredell, Ron Madden, Leslie Middlebrook, Rich Miller, Kevin Murray, David Pasteelnick, Julian Rosenblum, Dan Rous, Win Rutherfurd, Liz Sanders, Amanda Smith, Kathleen Stetson, Suzanne Taylor and Bill Tost, among others.
Performances play April 17, 22, 23, 24 and 25 at 8 PM, April 18 and 19 at 3 PM and April 25 at 2 PM. Tickets ($25-$65) are available online at www.bht.org or by calling (866) 811-4111.
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Since 1924, the Blue Hill Troupe has produced a large-scale Gilbert & Sullivan operetta every spring, "with lavish production values and full orchestra." Each year, the net proceeds benefit a different New York City charity, with total donations topping $3 million. Prior charities include Covenant House New York (2008), New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2007) and The Doe Fund (2006).
Proceeds from The Sorcerer will benefit Inwood House, a leader and innovator in youth development, teen pregnancy prevention, and family support, serving nearly 5,000 young people in New York City and New Jersey.
The all-volunteer Blue Hill Troupe has been featured with The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. For 14 years, they have presented a concert in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Concerts and Lectures series.
Over its 85-year history, the Blue Hill Troupe has produced the entire Gilbert & Sullivan canon, including Thespis, the pair's first collaboration, to which Sullivan's score has been lost. In June 2008, the Blue Hill Troupe presented a concert version of 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, UK, for their innovative production of the G&S rarity, The Grand Duke.
