Hughes Brings Singers to the Soo Theatre for The Revenge of the Bat

Daniel Webb, Lance Hedlund, and Eric Shaw perform a scene from Die Fledermaus at the pre-show Around the Piano fundraising event.

Resident artist and soprano Karen Hughes brings her friends to Sault Ste. Marie to star in the Soo Theatre Project’s September 11, 13, and 14 production of Die Fledermaus or The Revenge of the Bat. These guest singers will be coming from as far away as Toronto and Omaha, Nebraska.

Toronto-based tenor Eric Shaw returns to the Soo Theatre to sing the role of Herr Eisenstein, husband to Rosalinde (Karen Hughes). Shaw performed in the Soo Theatre’s first season, giving his time and superb talents to That’s Amore! in 2006. Shaw was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and was raised in Soo, Ontario. Shaw’s aunt and uncle, Phyllis and Dave Bigelow, will be hosting Eric for his time-in-residence as well as hosting a benefit soirée featuring all of the singers.

Baritone Daniel Webb comes to us from Knoxville, Tennessee to play the role of Prison Warden Frank. Hughes met Webb this summer in Italy where they performed together in The Marriage of Figaro. Webb played the role of Figaro to Hughes’s Countess. Webb recently performed the role of Colline in Baz Luhrman’s La Bohème on Broadway in over three hundred performances.

Guest artist and tenor Lance Hedlund was a graduate school friend of Hughes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Hughes and Hedlund frequently performed the famous love duet from La Bohème at many a venue during their three years in Nebraska. Hedlund, too, made his Italian debut in 2007 in Novafeltria, Italy, singing the role of Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.

Lifelong friends Rosemary and Chris Hollingsworth will return to the Soo Theatre stage for the second time this season, their first appearance in A Grand Night for Singing: Broadway and Opera Favorites! Rosemary will be singing the role of Adèle, the chambermaid of the Eisensteins. Rosemary’s beauty and graceful high notes will be perfect in this charming role. Husband (in real life) Chris will return to sing the role of Falke, the mastermind of the revenge plot on his friend Eisenstein (Eric Shaw). Both Hollingsworths and Hughes attended DePauw University where they earned their degrees in music performance. Rosemary and Chris went on to Tri-Cities Opera as resident artists at Binghamton University where they earned their master’s degrees in vocal performance. These friends are not strangers to the Upper Peninsula, as they have visited the Hugheses in Hessel many a summer.

Eric Shaw proposes a toast as Rosemary Hollingsworth and other cast members of Die Fledermaus look on at the pre-show Around the Piano fundraising event.

Local favorites who will appear in the show include: Maureen Delaney-Lehman as the bored Prince Orlovsky; Anna Wilson who plays Sally, friend to Adèle, the chambermaid; Chris Friese, recently seen as Lt. Buzz Adams in South Pacific, in the role of Frosch the jailor; and Mark San Angelo, South Pacific’s riveting Luther Billis, in the role of Ivan. The Chamber Singers of Algoma will make up the guest chorus at the ball with Lola Kennedy, Melanie Case, Liz Jacobus, Dianna George, and new resident opera star, Trisha Wells, leading up the stage chorus. On opening night there will be surprise performances during the Act II party scene, including Cedarville’s Lisa Dunn and the men of South Pacific!

Daniel Webb and Karen Hughes perform a duet from Die Fledermaus at the pre-show Around the Piano fundraising event.

Tickets are available at the Soo Theatre, 534 Ashmun Street, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Thursday, September 11 and Saturday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. adults $18 and students $10. Matinee Sunday, September 14th at 2:30 p.m. adults $15 and students $10. Contact the Soo Theatre by phone at (906) 632-1930 or by email at sootheatre@lighthouse.net.

Die Fledermaus Photos:

Around the Piano event Part 1

Around the Piano event Part 2

Tuesday Night Dress Rehearsal

Wednesday Night Dress Rehearsal

Opening Night Performance