Set amid the glittering elegance of Paris, Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow is a sparkling romantic comedy of love, pride, and mistaken intentions. When a wealthy young widow and her former love are reunited, romance collides with diplomacy as an entire nation’s fortune, and perhaps two hearts, hang in the balance. Plot Synopsis: At the Pontevedrian Embassy in Paris, the charming and immensely wealthy widow Hanna Glawari becomes the center of attention. Her late husband’s fortune is vital to the struggling nation of Pontevedro, and the embassy fears financial disaster if Hanna marries a foreigner and takes her wealth abroad. Baron Zeta therefore sets his sights on Count Danilo Danilovitsch, a handsome Pontevedrian diplomat and notorious bachelor, as the ideal husband. There is only one complication: Hanna and Danilo were once deeply in love, but pride, family expectations, and old wounds drove them apart. As Hanna and Danilo are drawn together once more, neither is willing to admit that their feelings have never disappeared. Their spirited battle of wit and jealousy unfolds against a glamorous world of embassy receptions, Parisian nightlife, dancing, and romantic intrigue. After misunderstandings and carefully guarded emotions finally give way to the truth, Hanna reveals that her fortune need not stand between them. Danilo at last declares his love, not for her wealth, but for Hanna herself, bringing Lehár’s beloved operetta to a joyous and romantic conclusion.
Doors open at 6:45 pm — bring your photo ID.
Performance begins at 7:30 pm
CAST
Hanna Glawari — Esther Tonea
Count Danilo Danilovitsch — John Tibbetts
Baron Mirko Zeta — Branch Fields
Valencienne — Jessica Gu
Camille, Count de Rosillon — Jason Karn
Olga — Victoria Isernia
Praskowia — Erin Rosales
Narrator — Robin Phillips
PRODUCTION TEAM
Conductor — Julien Benichou
Director — Dashiell Waterbury