Weekly Newsletter - July 26, 2022

Tom & Meg Stallard present
In The Heights
Opening Next Week

Tickets Now On Sale HERE

August 5, opening night of In The Heights is just around the corner! We’re so excited to bring this wonderful and inspiring production to you. From Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the Broadway phenomenon Hamilton, comes our 2022-2023 season opener. The incredible four-time Tony Award winning (including Best Musical) production about family, community, and life in the Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, New York City will be a must-see.

The story follows Usnavi, played by Elio Gutiérrez-Montoya (pictured), and several other characters over a three-day period. Usnavi owns a bodega and aspires to open a bar in his home country of the Dominican Republic one day. His girlfriend, Vanessa, works in a beauty salon and has big dreams of her own. The two of them exude the same sense of hope that so many immigrants are fueled by. Bursting with lively dance scenes and a score that features hip-hop, salsa, merengue, and soul music, there’s something for everyone in this show. 

The production is directed & choreographed by Jacob Gutiérrez-Montoya, with music direction by Sandra Gallegos. Performances are slated for Friday & Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Reserved seats are $30 for adults, $23 for seniors 62+, and $15 for children 17 and under. Balcony tickets are $18 for adults and $9 for children. Flex Pass specials and group rates are available.

Running from August 5 through August 28, online tickets can be purchased at the button below. Tickets are also available through our box office at (530) 666-9617/340 Second Street, Woodland. Hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Find our current COVID protocols on our website.

In The Heights

Season Tickets are still On Sale!

Save Money, get Reserved Seating from show to show, special Exchange Privileges, and more! Find all of the details in our Season Brochure HERE.

The 32nd Annual Chesley Awards
are coming next month
on Sunday, August 28
at 7:00 p.m.

Enjoy an evening of celebration with our theatre community. We'll highlight the shows of this past season, our wonderful actors, and the people who volunteer & work behind-the-scenes to bring us such stellar productions. Following the program, a champagne & dessert reception will be held in Heritage Plaza. Open to the public and free of charge. Semi-formal attire is requested.

See the full list of Chesley Award nominees here.

Reminder: If you are a season ticket holder, ballots have been sent out. Please note that the play, Our Town should have shown as a selection in the Favorite Production section of the ballot. If you would like to vote for Our Town, kindly write in the title. And if you've already sent in your ballot and would like to make a change, please email [email protected] and make the request. Ballot deadline is August 1.

Classes for Youth & Adults
Dance classes for all ages open!
Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Cardio & Hip Hop. Come join the fun!

We are committed to protecting the health and safety of our students and community by following the guidelines provided by Yolo County and the CDC.

As of March 12th, in accordance with the latest CDC guidelines, TADA is now masks optional. We highly encourage families to make the best decision for their students. We will still have masks available on-hand and will be following proper sanitization standards to ensure a healthy environment for all.

Find All Class Information and Register Online HERE

Fall Dance Schedule

We are growing, and FAST! Many of our classes for younger students currently have a waitlist. Please know that the staff at TADA are working to ensure that we can create new classes for those on crowded waitlists. As current class spots and new classes open, if you are on a waitlist, you will be contacted by Martha in our front office. Please note that we will not be able to hold spots on a waitlist once she has reached out for enrollment, so a prompt response will be appreciated.

Education Program Scholarship
Recipient - Isabelle Messner

Like many young performers that have matriculated through our education program here at the Woodland Opera House, Isabelle Messner got her introduction to the performing arts through Show Biz Kidz. Though the prospect of putting on a show in 4 weeks was intimidating, a young Isabelle quickly found that all were ready when the performance date arrived. She loved being a part of a large group of people working towards the same goal — putting on a show.

Fast forward several years when Isabelle found herself back on our stage as we re-opened after the pandemic. Isabelle was one of two high schoolers featured in our production of Singin' in the Rain, under the direction of Rodger McDonald. Isabelle had never tapped a day in her life but was determined to get the steps down! Outside of rehearsals, she put on her tap heels and watched YouTube tutorials on 0.75 speed, practicing the steps for "Broadway Melody" in her kitchen. Despite its difficulty, "Broadway Melody" soon became one of her favorite parts of the show.

Isabelle will be heading to the University of Southern California to participate in their BA Theatre program this coming fall. Of the Woodland Opera House, Isabelle says, “The BA Theatre program at the University of Southern California is ideal for me because it will allow me to cultivate my many interests in performance, writing, language, music, and dance, and I’m really looking forward to learning as much as possible about each of these. I can hardly ignore, though, how much inspiration I received from the Woodland Opera House over the years.”

We are proud to name Isabelle Messner the recipient of our $500 Woodland Opera House Education Program Scholarship! Congratulations, Isabelle!

Special Send Off for Longtime
Education Program Instructor, Eva Sarry

This past week a large group of Opera House friends, students, and staff gathered to send off much beloved longtime instructor, Eva Sarry. Eva has retired and is moving out of the area. 

Read the great article that ran in the Daily Democrat about the send-off here, and enjoy learning more about Eva and the positive impact she's made. 

New Members for our Board & Guild

The Woodland Opera House is very fortunate to have an active Board of Trustees. At the Annual Board Meeting in July three new Trustees joined the Board: Ryan Gordon-Morgan, Amber Robinson-Burmester and Jia-Min Rosendale. At the same time the new 2022-2023 leadership team was elected: President – Lou Anderson, VP of Marketing & Programs – Katie Fuller, CFO – Grace Wheeler, Secretary – Lydia Venables, and Immediate Past President – Steve Cairns. The other members of the Board are: Pat Aukes, Randy Blake, Marc Hutt, Suzi Ishikawa, Jenna Moncrief, Gil Sebastian, and Miyo Uchida.

The partnership established last year with UC Davis’ Graduate School of Management to provide Board Fellows that will assist continues with Ian Early & Dr. Shreyanshi Khanna serving. And the new student representative to the Board is Amelia Robinson-Burmester. Says Lou Anderson, “We have a great group of people joining the Board. I look forward to working with them to keep the Opera House moving forward and always striving to enrich the quality of the theatre experience & our educational programs that we provide to our community.”

If you are interested in serving on the WOH Board of Trustees or one of the committees, contact the WOH at (530) 666-9617 or visit https://woodlandoperahouse.org/about-us/board-members/

The WOH Guild also recently announced their officers for 2022-2023.

President – Pat Aukes
Vice-President – Kelly Coleman
Secretary – Erik Daniells
Treasurer – Chris Olvera

The Guild looks forward to this next year and plans to continue with usher recruitment, providing quality concessions during show intermissions, expanding its overall membership, and finding new ways to support the Opera House.