FANTASIES TAKE FLIGHT:
AN EVENING OF SHORT OPERAS

“I’m about to tell you why you should sit through six operas in one evening. Six operas? Precisely right, and they’ve just begun an eight-week run at the Encompass Theatre in Manhattan. Last night’s opening performance was not only consistently entertaining, it was also often marvelously funny.”
- Bob Micklin, Newsday

“A first-rate chamber orchestra, under the musical stewardship of Jack Gaughan, turned in a first-rate performance. And the directors, Nancy Rhodes and Suzanne Trauth, did just about everything right.” - Peter Kivy, SoHo News

THE OPERAS

A HAND OF BRIDGE
Words by Gian-Carlo Menotti
Music by Samuel Barber
Directed by Suzanne Trauth

SATISFACTION
Words and Music by Charles Strouse
Directed by Nancy Rhodes

“Strouse’s Satisfaction… is a neat little comedic vignette.”
- Bob Micklin, Newsday

INTRODUCTIONS AND GOODBYES
Words by Gian-Carlo Menotti
Music by Lukas Foss
Directed by Nancy Rhodes

“(Ms. Rhodes) has made Introductions and Goodbyes much funnier than it was originally. She has also introduced a few new touches into The Four Note Opera that are hilarious.” - Raymond Ericson, The New York Times

FRUSTRATION
Words and Music by Sheldon Harnick
Directed by Nancy Rhodes

MR. AND MRS. DISCOBOLUS
Music by Peter Westergaard
From a poem by Edward Lear
Directed by Suzanne Trauth

THE FOUR NOTE OPERA
Words and Music by Tom Johnson
Directed by Nancy Rhodes

“I must single out her staging of The Four Note Opera as a gorgeously paced job. Ms. Rhodes, who is also artistic director of the Encompass Theatre, and Roger Cunningham, who is the producer, deserve the most vociferous praise for being so dedicated to the promotion of the American lyric theatre.”
- Jerome Max, The Village Voice

“The samples of their works are not brand new, but they have freshness and bright, incisive appeal, especially as produced by the Encompass Theatre’s Roger Cunningham and Nancy Rhodes.” - Bob Micklin, Newsday

Directed by Nancy Rhodes & Suzanne Trauth
Musical Director Jack Gaughan
Set Design by Barbara Rosenthal
Lighting Design by David Petersen
Costumes and Dolls by Bill Campbell
Assistant Musical Director Henry Aronson
Technical Director Sheldon Rieke
Associate Producer Josephine Hemsing
Producer Roger Cunningham

THE CAST
Baritone (William Madsen)
Contralto (Ruth Elmore)
Soprano (Pat Ernest)
Tenor (Bert Lindsey)
The Waitress, Maid (Susan Micari)
The General (Michael Pipito, Jr.)
The Gigolo (Nick Stallone)

THE ORCHESTRA
Henry Aronson (Piano)
Claudia Saslow (Violin)
Simon Karasoff (Cello)
Susan Wahling (Clarinet)
Janet Muller (Flute)
John Walter (Bassoon)
Steve Reid (Trumpet)
Richard Hein (French Horn)
Linda Brownell (Percussion)

THE STAFF FOR FANTASIES TAKE FLIGHT
Production Stage Manager (David Petersen)
Technical Director (Sheldon Rieke)
Master Carpenter (Corey Jonas)
Costume Mistress (Alicia Lurye)
House Manager (Vicki Foskolos)
Lighting Technician (Richard Mandel)
Assistants to the Costumer
(Margorie Vanselow, Alvin Perry, Jane Gootnick, Gary Stevens, Tom Serabins)

THE STAFF FOR ENCOMPASS THEATRE
Producer (Roger Cunningham)
Artistic Director (Nancy Rhodes)
Production Stage Manager (David Petersen)
General Manager (Suzanne Trauth)
Technical Director (Sheldon Rieke)
Dramaturg (Leonard Lehrman)
Development Director (Josephine Hemsing)
New Play Development (Nan Harris, Jeffrey Sweet)
New Play Programmer (Patty Rout)
Attorneys (Cohen, Lerner, Levy & Walker)
Accounting (Cultural Council Foundation Beverly Sims, Program Representative)