Performances play the Studio Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center. The 99-seat Studio space is in the same complex that houses Skylight's mainstage Cabot Theatre.
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"This one-man show, created by Mr. Briggle, recounts the joys, passions and clever wit of actor, singer, playwright, composer, lyricist, director and producer Nöel Coward," according to Skylight.
Coward's rich career is the framework for the show, which has Gary Briggle, with Jamie Johns on piano, perform some of the master's famous tunes, including "Poor Little Rich Girl," "Mad About the Boy," "The Party's Over Now" and "Mad Dogs and Englishmen."
Skylight reports that for this production, Briggle has created a new segment about Coward's good friends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne and his frequent visits to Ten Chimneys, their home in Genesse Depot, Wisconsin. Gary Briggle returns to the Skylight where he appeared as Ko-Ko in the Skylight's recent hit, The Mikado. He has also been seen on the Skylight stage as Lord Tolloller in Iolanthe, Tiger Brown in The Three Penny Opera, and Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd. He is a freelance singer-actor and director, based in Minneapolis. Briggle served as artistic director of Lyric Opera Cleveland and is an artistic associate with Seaside Music Theater in Florida, as well as a former ensemble member of the Minnesota Opera Company, The Children's Theater Company of Minneapolis and the Arizona Theatre Company. He frequently directs for Sacramento Opera and was recently a guest director at the University of Ohio/Miami and teacher with The Artist's Crossing, a new professional training institute. In addition to devising the production A Talent to Amuse, he has also appeared in the revues Oh, Coward! and Noel & Gertie. He won a South Florida Carbonell Award for his staging and portrayal of Bunthorne in Gilbert & Sullivan's Patience. Upcoming projects include The Pirates of Penzance with Nevada Opera and Turandot with Sacramento Opera.
Jamie Johns is the Skylight’s resident music director. He has conducted Skylight’s productions of Cabaret, Little Shop of Horrors, The All Night Strut! and The World Goes 'Round. He is also a frequent pianist in the Skylight’s Miller Cabaret Series. Previously he oversaw the Resident Artist Program at Orlando Opera and served as coach/accompanist for the mainstage shows. In 1997, he made his conducting debut at Lyric Opera Cleveland with Mozart's The Abduction of the Seraglio. He has also worked with Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Madison Repertory Theatre, Florentine Opera, Orlando Philharmonic, Present Music, Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee, Kenosha Symphony and UW-Milwaukee.
For more information, visit www.skylightopera.com.
