DCLO releases schedule

DOWNEY - Season tickets are now on sale for the Downey Civic Light Opera's 2009-10 spring season, which includes the return of the Lerner and Loewe classic, "My Fair Lady," on October 1.The rest of the production schedule includes "Rodgers & Hart, A Celebration" (Feb. 18 - March 7) and "Carousel" (May 27 - June 13). "My Fair Lady," based on George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion," made a star of Julie Andrews and is considered one of the most literate musicals ever written, including memorable songs such as the rousing "Get Me to the Church on Time" and the poignant "I've Grown Accustomed to her Face." "My Fair Lady" is one of the rare instances in which nothing is lost between a great play and its musical adaptation, said Marsha Moode, executive director of the Downey Civic Light Opera. "Rodgers & Hart" Lorenz Hart, who died relatively young, was a gifted lyricist unique in his ability to blend the breezy energy of sophisticated city life and the universality of romance into a wised-up slang that has never dated. He wrote clever love songs for adults, and Richard Lewine and John Fearnley's idea for this retrospective shows how Richard Rodgers' music stayed with him all the way. Rodgers adapted to a wholly different musical personality in Oscar Hammerstein II, who wore his heart on his sleeve. In "Carousel," his book and lyrics reveal how any heart can be capable of great love and goodness, even that of a carney roustabout. Season tickets can be ordered by writing to the Downey Civic Light Opera, P.O. Box 429, Downey, CA 90241, or by calling (562) 923-1714.

********** Published: May 15, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 4