JACKSON, Tenn. — March 11, 2004 — The 51社区 Opera Workshop will present Giacomo Puccini鈥檚 Gianni Schicchi as a dinner theater April 15-17. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. with the performance beginning at 7:30 p.m. An additional matinee will be presented on Saturday, April 17, with dinner at 1 p.m. and performance at 2 p.m. Performances are in the Coburn Dining Room in the Barefoot Student Union Building on the Union campus.
The comic opera lasts 50 minutes and will be sung in English. In Gianni Schicchi, a family in Florence, Italy is furious when they find a rich relative has left them no money in his will. They call on a clever farmer to alter the document 鈥� only to see him leave the money to himself.
Playing the farmer Gianni Schicchi is Jeremy Warner from Friendship, Tenn. Lindsey Rapp of St. Genevieve, Mo., sings his daughter Lauretta, and Matt Jones of Dyersburg, Tenn., sings her suitor Rinuccio. The family matron Zita is portrayed by Rachel Sebby of Yorkville, Ill. The other family members are Beth Saxe of Thompsonville, Ill.; Christina Crevisour of Akota, Tenn.; Tim Justice of Jackson, Tenn.; Chris Lyles of Brighton, Tenn.; Brennan Uthe of Hudsonville, Mich.; Josh Hussung of Bowling Green, Ky., and Spencer Guth of Jackson, Tenn. Aaron Powell of Memphis, Tenn., plays the doctor. Logan Creasy of McKenzie, Tenn.; Dan Schafers of Kirkwood, Mo.; and Jimmy Byrd of Covington, Tenn., are appearing as the lawyer and two witnesses. The accompanist is Joan Forbes. Michael Penny, associate professor of music, is directing, and the opera assistant is Jeremy Parker of Evansville, Ind.
Dinner theater tickets are $17 for adults and $14 for students or children. For the show only, adult tickets are $7 and student or child tickets are $4. Reservations are requested. Call 661-5345 or 661-5230 for reservation information.