ASU Herberger Mainstage Lyric Opera Theatre turns on the charm with the catchy 1920s period musical, The Boy Friend
ASU Herberger Mainstage Lyric Opera Theatre presents The Boy Friend, Sept. 30-Oct. 9. Actors: Aaron VanderYacht and Lynette Kidman Rogers. Photo by Tim Trumble.
Photo courtesy of Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
TEMPE, Ariz. - The ASU Herberger Mainstage Lyric Opera Theatre (LOT) season kicks off Sept. 30 with another crowd-pleasing musical, The Boy Friend. Set in the Roaring Twenties against the lavish backdrop of the French Riviera, this variety-filled production tells the tale of a young English lord and an aristocratic lady who pretend they're much lower on the economic food chain in order to win each other's hearts.
First performed in London's West End in 1954, The Boy Friend features a small cast of 10 and a catchy score of 13 songs including "A Room in Bloomsbury," "I Could Be Happy With You" and "It's Never Too Late to Fall in Love."The Boy Friend was British composer Sandy Wilson's best-known musical and launched the career of Julie Andrews, who made her American debut at 18 starring in the Broadway production. She continues to direct revivals of the production to this day.
The Boy Friend offers wave after wave of catchy jazz-era tunes and period dances - including the inevitable Charleston - amid a sea of glamorous costumes. There are mistaken identities, smart aleck servants, older couples with secret romances and randy old men. Everything is played for laughs.
The LOT production is based on the original Broadway show and is directed by Claude N. Pensis. The musical director is Daniel O'Bryant and Lynette Kidman Rogers choreographs.
Tickets for The Boy Friend are $5-$20 and available online at http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/mainstage/ or through the Herberger College Box Office, 480-965-6447. Show times are 7:30 p.m., Sept. 30, Oct. 1, 5, 7, 8; and 2 p.m., Oct. 9 at the Evelyn Smith Music Theatre, 40 E. Gammage Pkwy. in Tempe. A pre-show lecture will be held Oct. 9 at 1 p.m.
The ASU Herberger Mainstage Lyric Opera Theatre season is sponsored by The Harris, "Leaders in wealth management since 1882." For a complete Mainstage schedule of theatre, dance and music performances, go to http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/mainstage/
Media Contact:
Denise Tanguay
480.965.7144
denise.tanguay@asu.edu