Scott Warrender

Blend a hilarious opera parody with five all-out comic singer/actors and you have 'Das Barbecü' at Swift Creek Mill Theatre, a fond memory from 2005.

There must be something in the air, with a couple of New York's small opera companies transporting 19th-century German Romantic operas by Weber and Wagner to Texas within a couple of months, in search of ways to attract new audiences. The first was Weber's DIE FREISCHUTZ from Heartbeat Opera, now On Site Opera's new production of Jim Luigs' and Scott Warrender's DAS BARBECU, complete with all the fixin's at Hill Country Barbecue Market on West 26th Street in Manhattan.  

Are you lamenting that you can't get more cornbread and chili while taking in a performance of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's OKLAHOMA? Well, On Site Opera's site specific production of the family friendly musical DAS BARBECÜ, written by Jim Luigs and featuring music by Scott Warrender, is just for you! The musical is for you if you're looking for a fun date night, a crash course in Wagner's The Ring Cycle performed in roughly two hours (and that includes intermission!), or just want an evening of hearty laughter with a side of delicious barbecue. Following a recent rehearsal, BroadwayWorld sat down with co-directors Eric Einhorn and Katherine M. Carter to get a peek at the funny bones behind the tantalizing, well-seasoned ribs at DAS BARBECÜ

On Site Opera, an organization dedicated to presenting site-specific opera productions in non-traditional venues throughout New York City, has announced casting for Das Barbecü at Hill Country Barbecue Market, January 26- February 11, 2020. With book and lyrics by Jim Luigs and music by Scott Warrender, Das Barbecü's songbook ranges from Broadway to Texas swing, jazz to twangy country and western with a multi-disciplinary cast to reflect the show's artistic demands.

On Site Opera, an organization dedicated to presenting site-specific opera productions in non-traditional venues throughout New York City, will present Das Barbecü at Hill Country Barbecue Market, January 26- February 11, 2020. A delicious piece, both musically and gastronomically, Das Barbecü is a reimagining of Wagner's Ring Cycle that takes place in Texas by way of Chelsea's tastiest Barbecue pit.

On Site Opera, an organization dedicated to presenting site-specific opera productions in non-traditional venues throughout New York City, announces its dynamic 2019-2020 season. As the company has grown in recent years, they have established a season that includes three core mainstage productions, The Turn of the Screw, October 25-27, Amahl and the Night Visitors, December 4-8, and Das Barbecu, January 26-February 11, along with additional partnerships and events beyond the boundaries of the New York City boroughs in summer of  2020. 

Houston Grand Opera announced at its annual meeting today that its 2016-17 season closed on a strong financial footing despite recent pressures on the Houston economy.

Houston Grand Opera presents Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods), the final installment of Wagner's epic Ring cycle, featuring a new generation of leading Wagnerians including Simon O'Neill as Siegfried and Christine Goerke as Brunnhilde, starting April 22.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present Das Barbecu, a fast-paced and raucous retelling of Wagner's epic Ring cycle, on April 23at Jackson Street BBQ, and April 30 at Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon. Five actors play over 30 roles in this comic take on opera's most spectacular saga, complete with mismatched lovers, a double shotgun wedding, and family feuds, all wrapped up in a Texas-sized heap of Wild West fun. Songs run the gamut from Broadway to Texas swing, from jazz to twangy country and western. Ticket prices include a BBQ feast and drink. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for dinner, with performances beginning at 7 p.m. 

In the fall of 1987, Houston Grand Opera's world premiere of Nixon in China made political headlines and galvanized the opera world. Thirty years later, John Adams's trailblazing opera returns in a new-to-Houston production that sheds light on the electronic media's role in political history, just as a new media-savvy American president takes office.

Some of Seattle's most talented actors will be hard at work in collaboration with writers from around the country in the rehearsal halls of The 5th Avenue Theatre this month as the company's NextFest: A Festival of New Musicals launches its three week intensive development cycle this weekend.

Donizetti's ebullient comedy The Elixir of Love sets a celebratory tone as Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 62nd season opener on October 21.

Houston Grand Opera will present four pinnacles of the operatic repertoire during the company's 2016-17 season, which also features the highly anticipated world premiere of It's a Wonderful Life by composer Jake Heggie with libretto by Gene Scheer, and much-loved comedies by Donizetti and Mozart. Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers will lead Gotterdammerung, the final installment of Wagner's epic Ring cycle, featuring a new generation of leading Wagnerians includingSimon O'Neill as Siegfried and Christine Goerke as Brunnhilde. HGO will bring back its popular production of Gounod's Faust, with the HGO debut of international star tenor Michael Fabiano in the title role partnered by Houston favorite Ana Maria Martinez as Marguerite, along with the role debut of prominent bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni as Mephistopheles. The company will celebrate the 30thanniversary of HGO's world premiere of John Adams's pivotal Nixon in China by presenting James Robinson's production, of which HGO is a co-producer, with HGO Studio alumnus Scott Hendricks as Richard Nixon and soprano Andriana Chuchman as his wife, Pat. Patrick Summers will conduct Verdi'sthrilling Requiem, which critics at the time termed "an opera in ecclesiastical robes," with soloists Angela Meade, soprano, in her HGO debut; Sasha Cooke, alto; Alexey Dolgov, tenor; and Peixin Chen, bass; and the HGO Orchestra and Chorus. HGO's 62nd season will open with a whimsical production of Donizetti's buoyant The Elixir of Love, featuring tenor Dimitri Pittas as Nemorino and HGO Studio alumna Nicole Heaston as Adina and led by the eminent English conductor Jane Glover, HGO's 2016-17 Lynn Wyatt Great Artist, in her first HGO appearance. Mozart's zany yet deeply emotive comedy TheAbduction from the Seraglio-featuring Russian coloratura soprano and HGO Studio alumna Albina Shagimuratova as Konstanze and leading American tenor Lawrence Brownlee as Belmonte in HGO's inventive 2002 co-production-will close the main-stage season.  

This season holds a wealth of 'theatre magic' for you! A little frightening, and a lot of fun! Spotlighters tackles a variety of genres, and takes our audiences on some dark travels into the world of politics, feuding families and neighbors, gossipy friends, crime, murder and Dungeon & Dragons.

The 'choir with a sense of humor,' The Washingtonians, reunites on December 5th (8pm) and 6th (2pm) to launch SHOWTUNES Theatre Company's 16th season. Over 80 singers will fill Benaroya Hall's intimate yet acoustically rich 500-seat Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall. This 'best of' concert promises to delight die-hard fans and 'newbies' with a distinctive choral style, memorable music and hilarious lyrics.

The 'choir with a sense of humor,' The Washingtonians, reunites on December 5th (8pm) and 6th (2pm) to launch SHOWTUNES Theatre Company's 16th season. Over 80 singers will fill Benaroya Hall's intimate yet acoustically rich 500-seat Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall. This 'best of' concert promises to delight die-hard fans and 'newbies' with a distinctive choral style, memorable music and hilarious lyrics.

Seattle-based actor and director Matt Wolfe recently took the reigns as artistic director for SHOWTUNES Theatre Company. His first full day of work was Monday October 5, 2015 and he is knee-deep in preparations for the start of the expanded three-show 2015-2016 Season. On December 5th The Washingtonians will kick things off by performing Songs We Know; it will be their first concert after a 12-year hiatus and more than 65 chorus members are expected to participate.

Seattle Musical Theatre's 2015/2016 season roars to life with the high-voltage rock opera JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Seattle superstar Billie Wildrick makes her SMT directorial debut as director and will be joined by SMT Associate Music Consultant Brandon Peck as music director and BroadwayWorld Award-winning Troy Wageman as choreographer.

For their 2015-2016 season SHOWTUNES Theatre Company will expand their offering from two to three concerts. They are adding the long-awaited reunion choral concert of The Washingtonians on December 5 and 6, 2015; the season continues with two rarely produced concert version musicals Finian's Rainbow on March 19 and 20 and Working on May 7 and 8, 2016.

Theater Schmeater is proud to announce a co-production of a new workshop with celebrated author and composer Scott Warrender of his new musical Peanutty Goodness, directed by Billie Wildrick and with Warrender himself musically directing and playing the performances.