Setting the stage: Preparing for the SIU School of Music’s opera performance of “The Old Maid and the Thief” are from left: Olivia Rogers, Lucas Reilly, Skye O’Sullivan and Angelique Jones. (Photo by Malea Bailey)
February 08, 2023
‘The Old Maid and the Thief’ take to SIU’s Shryock Auditorium stage this week
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The tale of a lovelorn old woman in a small town, her catty maid and a wandering thief who becomes their houseguest set the stage for the Southern Illinois University Carbondale opera production of “The Old Maid and the Thief” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11, in Shryock Auditorium.
The one-act play was originally written for radio in 1939 by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti.
The students rehearsed during the fall semester to put the production on now, said Carissa Scroggins, voice area coordinator, opera director and assistant professor of practice in the School of Music.
The student cast, with hometowns listed, comprises:
- Laetitia — Skye O’Sullivan, graduate student, vocal performance, Williamsburg, Virginia.
- Miss Todd — Angelique Jones, sophomore, musical theater, Cairo, Illinois.
- Miss Pinkerton — Olivia Rogers, junior, secondary English education, Carterville, Illinois.
- Bob — Lucas Reilly, junior, musical theater, Beecher, Illinois.
In addition, Mitchell Brandon, a sophomore majoring in music education from Herrin, Illinois is assistant director; Aleka Fischer, a graduate student in costume design from Altoona, Iowa is in charge of costumes, and Destiny Cox, an undergraduate public health major with an American Sign Language minor from Bloomington, Indiana is in charge of lights.
The pianist is Anthony Gray, assistant professor of practice in the School of Music.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and will be for sale at the door, with cash, check and Venmo accepted.