Lamplighters Music Theatre Announces New Artistic Structure & Creative Team for ‘Iolanthe’

By David Salazar

San Francisco’s Lamplighters Music Theatre has announced a new artistic structure and named the creative team for its upcoming production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe” this summer.

Following a period of leadership transition, the 74-year-old company has formed a new Artistic Oversight Committee, chaired by Dennis Lickteig, to guide the organization’s creative direction. The committee launched an inaugural Request for Proposal process open to Bay Area directors, drawing a large field of submissions, more than half from diverse local stage directors.

Ted Zoldan has been selected as stage director for “Iolanthe.” A Bay Area-based actor, director, and arts maker, Zoldan is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a founding member of Waffle Opera, where he directed the West Coast premiere of Isouard’s “Cendrillon.” He has also directed for San Francisco Pocket Opera and Custom Made Theatre Company, and first worked with Lamplighters as a chorus member at age 20.

“We are incredibly excited to see what Ted has in store,” said Dennis Lickteig, Chair of the Artistic Oversight Committee, per an official press release. “Ted’s passion for the material is unmatched. He is a die-hard Gilbert & Sullivan devotee who understands the nuance of the work, but brings a modern eye that is exactly what we need right now.”

Jennifer Ashworth will make her debut as music director, having previously served as assistant music director under Baker Peeples after rising through the company’s ranks from chorister to principal artist.

“Iolanthe” follows the half-mortal son of a fairy whose love for the ward of the Lord Chancellor sets off a battle between magical forces and the British Parliament. Tickets are available at lamplighters.org.

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