Tickets
Operavised! are classically-trained singers/improvisers, performing continuously-sung, fully-improvised, musicals. Our May cast features Rebecca Castelli, Michael Fleming, and Liz Garfinkle, and special-guest accompanist, Laura Hall!
Why Operavised? "Opera" means different things to different people, but to us, it's musical-theater with the emphasis on the music. We avoid spoken dialog, instead using the traditional recitative/aria format, where the recit moves the story along and the catchy, melodic, arias highlight our characters' emotions, but with long-form improv comedy as our narrative foundation. We learned this format by studying the classics: from Mozart to Puccini to Sondheim to Bugs Bunny.
You can see our shows with guests, Laura Hall (Whose Line Is it Anyway) and Lisa Rowland (BATS), on our Youtube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeVHpcPSs2vvyOv4Dn7aIHA
The featured player for this show is Laura Hall from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
Laura Hall is best known as the improvisational pianist and Musical Director on the hit TV show, “Whose Line is it Anyway”, which ran for eight years on ABC with Drew Carey hosting. After a long hiatus the show is currently in its fourth season on the CW Network, with Aisha Tyler as the host.
Laura toured extensively with “Drew Carey and the Improv All Stars”. She performed with “Whose Line Live” in the West End of London for two summers. She has played with many other improv groups at theaters around the country including: iO West and iO Chicago; “Girls, Girls, Girls” in Austin; ImprovBoston Mainstage; Arcade Comedy Theater in Pittsburgh; The Groundlings and The Improv Institute. She currently often sits in to create fully improvised musicals with “Opening Night: The Improvised Musical!”
While at The Second City, Laura was Musical Director and Composer for the Jeff Award winning E.T.C. revue, “Channel This!” She composed original musicals with The Annoyance Theater and Theater-A-Go-Go, including “Patty, Patty, Bang! Bang!” which won an L.A. Weekly award for Best New Musical.
Laura has written music for several indie films, including “Slice of Pie”, written by and starring her husband. She scored two award winning documentaries about the holocaust, “After Auschwitz” and “Swimming in Auschwitz”, as well as two romantic comedies, “Anatomy of a Breakup” and “Look at Me”. She wrote the music for “The Wheels on the Bus” video series, starring Roger Daltrey as an 8 ft dragon.
Laura has created “Improv Karaoke”, fully produced original tracks improvisers can use to make up their own improvised songs. She has co-written a book, “The Improv Comedy Musician: The Ultimate Guide to Playing Music with an Improv Group” to help teach musicians about the specialized world of being an improv Musical Director
Tickets: $17 Online/$20 At The Door