Skylight opera theatre
Encyclopedia
The Skylight Opera Theatre is a professional light opera company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. Founded in 1959, Skylight performs in the 358-seat Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center
in Milwaukee. Offering a broad spectrum of works, including Gilbert and Sullivan
and other light opera, small-scale operas and musicals
, the company is known for its all-English repertoire.
The company experienced a turbulent 2009. Amidst mounting debts, the company fired its popular artistic director, Bill Theisen, in June, assigning most of his duties to its new managing director. After audience and staff protests, mass resignations and national media attention, the managing director eventually resigned, and Theisen was rehired in October. Successful fundraising initiatives allowed the company to repay some of its debt. The 2009–10 season marked the company's 50th anniversary season.
was an early artistic director. The company is based at the Broadway Theatre Center
, a building that it has owned since 1993 Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward District. It rents space in the building to other arts organizations, including Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and offers set-building and other services to these organizations.
The company gives over 80 performances each season. One of Skylight's specialties is the production of Gilbert and Sullivan
operas, and it produces one of the Savoy operas every other season. The company has also established a reputation for an adventuresome repertoire, encompassing baroque opera, operetta
, contemporary chamber opera
s, musicals
and original musical revue
s. The company also offers smaller productions in the smaller Studio Theatre in its building, as well as a free cabaret after Friday and Saturday night performances in the Cabot Theatre. The company states that, as of 2010, it has "produced 30 world premieres, three American premieres, over 70 original cabaret shows and 29 touring productions."
The Skylight operates an arts-in-education program, called Enlighten, that provides free classroom workshops, residencies and performances for the Milwaukee Public Schools. In 2009, over 12,000 students viewed or were otherwise engaged by Enlighten programs. The mission of the company is "to bring the full spectrum of musical theatre works to a wide and diverse audience in celebration of the musical and theatrical arts and their reflection of the human condition."
Skylight Opera Theatre is a non-profit organization with a $3.2 million annual budget and an endowment. In addition to ticket sales, it raises funds through the rental of sets, costumes, theatres and public spaces in its theatre center, which it owns and operates. It also receives contributions from the United Performing Arts Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts
, Wisconsin Arts Board, CAMPAC, Theatre Communications Group
, The Pew Charitable Trusts
, and various foundations, corporations, and individuals.
. They rented an empty building next to Richardson's office. Soon, at a nearby fundraising event for another of their cultural projects, Bel Canto Chorus, two church musicians, Jim Keeley and Ray Smith, gave an impromptu performance of Gilbert and Sullivan songs. Vonier and Richardson asked them to put on a show in their empty space above the coffeehouse. The theatre opened with a holiday puppet show. Next, Keeley and Smith starred in a 13-week run of a revue, "An Evening with Gilbert and Sullivan" that was a surprise hit. More revues and a variety of shows followed. In June 1960, the little theatre produced a piano-only production of Cosi fan Tutte
. A nearby outdoor space was acquired, and the company produced more small-scale Italian operas and operettas, alternating with Gilbert and Sullivan
pieces.
Richardson continued to run the company, attracting donors, borrowing singers from other opera companies and expanding the repertoire to French, German and other operas, an all-black production of Weil's Lost in the Stars
and Jerome Kern
musicals, which were perfect for the company's intimate space and modest finances. Colin Cabot joined the company in 1974 as an assistant. Richardson died in 1980, leaving Cabot as Managing Director. Stephen Wadsworth and Francesca Zambello directed operas for the company in the early 1980s, increasing the company's artistic standards. The company staged its first world premiere, Richard Wargo's Ballymore, in 1999. The premiere attracted national attention. The success of that project led to the company receiving a large grant to finance a two-year residency at the Skylight for Wargo. Another world premiere was The Little Prince
, an opera by Rachel Portman
.
, the contemporary American comic opera
Tartuffe
, Smokey Joe's Cafe
, and Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience
. 2007-08 included Carlson's
The Midnight Angel, Irving Berlin
's White Christmas
, La traviata
, Temperley's Souvenir and The Spitfire Grill
. 2008-09 featured La bohème
, The Producers
, Blues in the Night
, I Do! I Do!
and The Pirates of Penzance
.
The 2009-10 season, Skylight's 50th anniversary season, included The Barber of Seville
, Plaid Tidings, The Marriage of Figaro
, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine and the first licensed production of Rent
. Its 2010-11 season includes: Dames at Sea
, H.M.S. Pinafore
, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
, Così fan tutte
and a 2007 work by Joshua Schmidt, Adding Machine – The Musical
.
and Milwaukee Radio 620 WTMJ
, encouraged the company to reconsider their action. Many suggested that managing director Dillner be ousted. In July, the Board offered to rehire Theisen to work with Dillner, but Theisen declined.
On July 17, 2009, Board President Suzanne Hefty sent letters withdrawing the contracts of two local actors over what the company considered disloyal comments on Facebook. This move, in turn, further angered Theisen, who revoked an earlier offer to direct four works on a freelance basis during the season. Former artistic director Richard Carsey, who had been asked to return to music direct two productions, also resigned, writing to the Board, "The Skylight is being destroyed by Eric and Suzanne's leadership. I can't support this, even by working on productions – that would imply my approval. I passionately ask you to reverse this course of events. You have the means to change leaders and repair severed relationships. I can't imagine what you are waiting for." Over the next few days, two dozen of the other artists scheduled to perform in or work on the company's upcoming season resigned in protest at the firings. On July 23, the Board voted to retain Dillner despite the many calls for his dismissal, and Hefty resigned from the Board. On July 24, 2009, Terry Kutenbach replaced Hefty as temporary board president.
On August 5, 2009, Eric Dillner resigned his position. Kurtenbach and the board immediately retained former Managing Director Colin Cabot as interim Artistic Director and former Managing Director Joan Lounsbery as interim Managing Director. Cabot soon announced that many of the artists who withdrew would return for the Skylight's 50th season, and Theisen agreed to direct the four productions that he had earlier offered to helm. On September 23, 2009, former Skylight CFO Amy S. Jensen was named Managing Director, and on October 14, 2009, Theisen was re-hired as Artistic Director. Following the first of these announcements, benefit fundraisers for Skylight were held in Milwaukee and New York City, the latter coordinated by artists engaged over the years by Skylight and dubbed "The Sky Is Not Falling".
A November 2010 review of the company's H.M.S. Pinafore
praises the performances, technical aspects and conducting and comments that the production "handsomely adds luster to the G&S tradition at Skylight. ... Bill Theisen’s direction and choreography are full of invention and very funny".
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Founded in 1959, Skylight performs in the 358-seat Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center
Broadway Theatre Center
The Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, houses two distinct theatres and is host to a dynamic collaboration of theatre companies. It is owned by the Skylight Opera Theatre.- Description :...
in Milwaukee. Offering a broad spectrum of works, including Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
and other light opera, small-scale operas and musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, the company is known for its all-English repertoire.
The company experienced a turbulent 2009. Amidst mounting debts, the company fired its popular artistic director, Bill Theisen, in June, assigning most of his duties to its new managing director. After audience and staff protests, mass resignations and national media attention, the managing director eventually resigned, and Theisen was rehired in October. Successful fundraising initiatives allowed the company to repay some of its debt. The 2009–10 season marked the company's 50th anniversary season.
Description
Skylight's Managing Director is Amy Jensen, and its artistic director is Bill Theisen. The founder of Skylight was Clair Richardson, and Francesca ZambelloFrancesca Zambello
Francesca Zambello is a leading American opera and theatre director. Zambello lived in Europe when she was a child, learning to speak French, Italian, German and Russian. Zambello is of Italian descent, the daughter of Jean , an actress and Charles C. Zambello, a former actor who became head of...
was an early artistic director. The company is based at the Broadway Theatre Center
Broadway Theatre Center
The Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, houses two distinct theatres and is host to a dynamic collaboration of theatre companies. It is owned by the Skylight Opera Theatre.- Description :...
, a building that it has owned since 1993 Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward District. It rents space in the building to other arts organizations, including Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and offers set-building and other services to these organizations.
The company gives over 80 performances each season. One of Skylight's specialties is the production of Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operas, and it produces one of the Savoy operas every other season. The company has also established a reputation for an adventuresome repertoire, encompassing baroque opera, operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, contemporary chamber opera
Chamber opera
Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra.The term and form were invented by Benjamin Britten in the 1940s, when the English Opera Group needed works that could easily be taken on tour and performed in a variety of small...
s, musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and original musical revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
s. The company also offers smaller productions in the smaller Studio Theatre in its building, as well as a free cabaret after Friday and Saturday night performances in the Cabot Theatre. The company states that, as of 2010, it has "produced 30 world premieres, three American premieres, over 70 original cabaret shows and 29 touring productions."
The Skylight operates an arts-in-education program, called Enlighten, that provides free classroom workshops, residencies and performances for the Milwaukee Public Schools. In 2009, over 12,000 students viewed or were otherwise engaged by Enlighten programs. The mission of the company is "to bring the full spectrum of musical theatre works to a wide and diverse audience in celebration of the musical and theatrical arts and their reflection of the human condition."
Skylight Opera Theatre is a non-profit organization with a $3.2 million annual budget and an endowment. In addition to ticket sales, it raises funds through the rental of sets, costumes, theatres and public spaces in its theatre center, which it owns and operates. It also receives contributions from the United Performing Arts Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, Wisconsin Arts Board, CAMPAC, Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group is an organization dedicated to the promotion of non-profit professional theatre in the United States. TCG has over 450 member theatres located in 47 states; 17,000 individual members; and a growing number of University, Funder, Business and Trustee Affiliates...
, The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization , founded in 1948. With over US$5 billion in assets, its current mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, and stimulating civic life."-History:The Trusts, a single...
, and various foundations, corporations, and individuals.
History
Skylight was founded in 1959. Sprague Vonier, the program manager at WTMJ television, public relations agent Clair Richardson decided to add to the cultural variety of Milwaukee by founding a coffeehouse, like those in San Francisco, with live beat poetry and folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. They rented an empty building next to Richardson's office. Soon, at a nearby fundraising event for another of their cultural projects, Bel Canto Chorus, two church musicians, Jim Keeley and Ray Smith, gave an impromptu performance of Gilbert and Sullivan songs. Vonier and Richardson asked them to put on a show in their empty space above the coffeehouse. The theatre opened with a holiday puppet show. Next, Keeley and Smith starred in a 13-week run of a revue, "An Evening with Gilbert and Sullivan" that was a surprise hit. More revues and a variety of shows followed. In June 1960, the little theatre produced a piano-only production of Cosi fan Tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
. A nearby outdoor space was acquired, and the company produced more small-scale Italian operas and operettas, alternating with Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
pieces.
Richardson continued to run the company, attracting donors, borrowing singers from other opera companies and expanding the repertoire to French, German and other operas, an all-black production of Weil's Lost in the Stars
Lost in the Stars
Lost in the Stars is a musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton...
and Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
musicals, which were perfect for the company's intimate space and modest finances. Colin Cabot joined the company in 1974 as an assistant. Richardson died in 1980, leaving Cabot as Managing Director. Stephen Wadsworth and Francesca Zambello directed operas for the company in the early 1980s, increasing the company's artistic standards. The company staged its first world premiere, Richard Wargo's Ballymore, in 1999. The premiere attracted national attention. The success of that project led to the company receiving a large grant to finance a two-year residency at the Skylight for Wargo. Another world premiere was The Little Prince
The Little Prince (opera)
The Little Prince, subtitled A Magical Opera, is an opera in two acts by Rachel Portman to an English libretto by Nicholas Wright, based on the 1943 book of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry...
, an opera by Rachel Portman
Rachel Portman
Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman, OBE is a British composer, best known for her film work. She was the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Score...
.
Productions
In recent decades, the company has focused on presenting works in English. The 2006-07 season included Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, South PacificSouth Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
, the contemporary American comic opera
Comic opera
Comic opera denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending.Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria...
Tartuffe
Tartuffe (Mechem)
Tartuffe is an opera in three acts by Kirke Mechem. Mechem also wrote the English libretto. Based on the Molière's play Tartuffe, or the Impostor, it is a modern opera buffa set in Paris in the 17th century...
, Smokey Joe's Cafe
Smokey Joe's Cafe
Smokey Joe's Cafe is a musical revue showcasing 39 pop standards, including rock and roll, rhythm and blues songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller...
, and Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience
Patience (opera)
Patience; or, Bunthorne's Bride, is a comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. First performed at the Opera Comique, London, on 23 April 1881, it moved to the 1,292-seat Savoy Theatre on 10 October 1881, where it was the first theatrical production in the...
. 2007-08 included Carlson's
David Carlson
David Carlson American composer.Carlson studied theory and composition at the Los Angeles High School of the Arts and with Leonard Stein at the California Institute of the Arts...
The Midnight Angel, Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
's White Christmas
White Christmas (musical)
White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The libretto is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin...
, La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, Temperley's Souvenir and The Spitfire Grill
The Spitfire Grill (musical)
The Spitfire Grill is an American musical with music and book by James Valcq and lyrics and book by Fred Alley, based on the film by Lee David Zlotoff. The Off-Broadway production by Playwrights Horizons began previews at the Duke Theatre on 42nd Street on September 7, 2001 and concluded its...
. 2008-09 featured La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, The Producers
The Producers (musical)
The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
, Blues in the Night
Blues in the Night (musical)
Blues in the Night is a musical revue conceived by Sheldon Epps. It was produced by Mitchell Maxwell, Alan J. Schuster, Fred H. Krones and M Squared Entertainment, Inc., and Joshua Silver ....
, I Do! I Do!
I Do! I Do!
I Do! I Do! is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt which is based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter. The two-character story spans fifty years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the ups and downs experienced by Agnes and Michael Snow throughout their...
and The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
.
The 2009-10 season, Skylight's 50th anniversary season, included The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
, Plaid Tidings, The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine and the first licensed production of Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
. Its 2010-11 season includes: Dames at Sea
Dames at Sea
Dames at Sea is a musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise.The musical is a parody of large, flashy 1930s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals in which an understudy steps into a role on Broadway and becomes a star...
, H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is an American musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel.-Original Off-Broadway Production:...
, Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
and a 2007 work by Joshua Schmidt, Adding Machine – The Musical
Adding Machine (musical)
Adding Machine is a musical adaptation of Elmer Rice's 1923 play The Adding Machine, with music by Joshua Schmidt, and book and lyrics by Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt. The show opened in 2007 in Illinois before moving Off-Broadway in 2008...
.
2009 controversy
In June 2009, at the conclusion of the 2008-09 season, popular long-time artistic director Bill Theisen and several other staff members were dismissed due to a projected budget deficit and the economic downturn. The position of artistic director was eliminated, and Theisen's administrative responsibilities were assigned to the company's managing director, Eric Dillner. New productions were to be staged by directors hired for each show. Theisen's colleagues, including music director Jamie Johns (who was fired on June 18, 2009 for speaking out on the dismissals), company donors, and other supporters protested the firings, contacting board members, distributing petitions and staging demonstrations outside the theatre and the board room. The Milwaukee theatre community reacted strongly, through social media and in blogs. Mainstream media, such as the Milwaukee Journal SentinelMilwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...
and Milwaukee Radio 620 WTMJ
WTMJ (AM)
WTMJ is a radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin broadcasting at 620 AM. It is a 50,000-watt station airing a format of news, talk and sports. WTMJ is owned by Journal Broadcast Group, which also owns the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and sister station WLWK-FM....
, encouraged the company to reconsider their action. Many suggested that managing director Dillner be ousted. In July, the Board offered to rehire Theisen to work with Dillner, but Theisen declined.
On July 17, 2009, Board President Suzanne Hefty sent letters withdrawing the contracts of two local actors over what the company considered disloyal comments on Facebook. This move, in turn, further angered Theisen, who revoked an earlier offer to direct four works on a freelance basis during the season. Former artistic director Richard Carsey, who had been asked to return to music direct two productions, also resigned, writing to the Board, "The Skylight is being destroyed by Eric and Suzanne's leadership. I can't support this, even by working on productions – that would imply my approval. I passionately ask you to reverse this course of events. You have the means to change leaders and repair severed relationships. I can't imagine what you are waiting for." Over the next few days, two dozen of the other artists scheduled to perform in or work on the company's upcoming season resigned in protest at the firings. On July 23, the Board voted to retain Dillner despite the many calls for his dismissal, and Hefty resigned from the Board. On July 24, 2009, Terry Kutenbach replaced Hefty as temporary board president.
On August 5, 2009, Eric Dillner resigned his position. Kurtenbach and the board immediately retained former Managing Director Colin Cabot as interim Artistic Director and former Managing Director Joan Lounsbery as interim Managing Director. Cabot soon announced that many of the artists who withdrew would return for the Skylight's 50th season, and Theisen agreed to direct the four productions that he had earlier offered to helm. On September 23, 2009, former Skylight CFO Amy S. Jensen was named Managing Director, and on October 14, 2009, Theisen was re-hired as Artistic Director. Following the first of these announcements, benefit fundraisers for Skylight were held in Milwaukee and New York City, the latter coordinated by artists engaged over the years by Skylight and dubbed "The Sky Is Not Falling".
2010 developments
In the company's February 2010 newsletter, John Stollenwerk, the new Board president, announced that the company has raised over $200,000 plus other large gifts for maintenance and replacement of the ageing building systems at the company's Broadway Theatre Center; a matching fund of $250,000 has been created by a group of donors; and the Board has set a goal of eliminating the company's debt in four years or less. The ThirdCoast Digest wrote in July 2010, "A year after a summer of strife and financial crisis, the Skylight Opera Theatre appears to be righting itself", reporting that after continued successful fundraising, the company's budget for 2010-11 is $3.2 million, while the building requires about $1 million in renovation work over the next several years.A November 2010 review of the company's H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
praises the performances, technical aspects and conducting and comments that the production "handsomely adds luster to the G&S tradition at Skylight. ... Bill Theisen’s direction and choreography are full of invention and very funny".