Light Opera of Manhattan, known as LOOM, was an off-Broadway repertory theatre company that produced light operas, including the works of Gilbert and Sullivan and European and American operettas, 52 weeks per year, in New York City between 1968 and 1989.
Founded by William Mount-Burke, LOOM's first long-term home was in the Jan Hus theatre from the late 1960s to 1975, where it succeeded another small light opera company, the American Savoyards. At the Jan Hus, LOOM performed predominantly the Savoy operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, such as The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado and H.M.S. Pinafore. Led by conductor-director Mount-Burke, principal comedian Raymond Allen and choreographer/stage manager Jerry Gotham, the company mentored many young actors and singers who went on to careers on Broadway or elsewhere in theatre or music.
In 1975, the company moved across the street to a legitimate Off-Broadway theatre, the Eastside Playhouse. There it expanded its repertoire beyond Gilbert and Sullivan to American and continental operettas, such as those of Victor Herbert, Rudolf Friml, Franz Lehár, Sigmund Romberg, Jacques Offenbach and Johann Strauss II. LOOM was often featured on WQXR radio.
By 1979, diabetes had blinded William Mount-Burke, but he continued to conduct and even to direct new productions. The company remained strong until 1984, when Mount-Burke died and the company's playhouse was closed and subsequently demolished. After this, led by Allen and Gotham, with music director Todd Ellison, the company played in a series of theatres around New York that challenged its ability to keep its Upper East Side audience, and it was forced constantly to raise funds. In 1986, the company closed, opening for its final seasons from 1987 to 1989.
Beginning years at the Jan Hus
In the fall of 1968, William Mount-Burke (1936–1984), the former director of The Miami Light Opera"William Mount-Burke, Head of Light Opera of Manhattan". The New York Times, July 11, 1984, accessed April 18, 2011 and The Stamford Symphony, took steps to start an Off-Broadway company specializing in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He first presented a free showcase performance of The Pirates of Penzance at his apartment in New York City.Kenrick, John, "A Brief History of LOOM", Musicals101.com, 2002, accessed October 26, 2013 The success of this performance encouraged Mount-Burke to move forward with his plan. The producer and his company offered a number of free performances at St. Michael's Church on West 99th Street in Manhattan. In 1969, the company moved into the 247-seat basement gymnasium of The Jan Hus House on East 74th Street, previously the home of Dorothy Raedler's American Savoyards, intending to play a limited engagement. However, it stayed at the Jan Hus for almost seven years, performing predominantly the Savoy operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, such as Pirates, The Mikado and H.M.S. Pinafore. By 1970, Mount-Burke had formed a non-profit organization, The Light Opera of Manhattan, which came to be known as LOOM; by 1974, the company was playing 9 of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas in repertory and soon added two more."Gilbert & Sullivan in a Church Basement/Light Opera of Manhattan", Theatre Crafts, Vol. 8, No. 2 (March/April 1974), pp. 18–19 and 33–35
Raymond Allen, who had previously sung with the American Savoyards and made guest appearances at New York City Opera and the City Center Gilbert & Sullivan Company, was the leading comic actor for most of the company's performances.Scan of Raymond Allen's obituary in the NY Times, February 3, 1994 Allen wrote an introduction to The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan: 42 Favorite Songs from the G&S Repertoire, a songbook published by Chappell Music Company in 1974. The book includes many photographs of LOOM productions and states that LOOM's year-round performing season was the longest of any company in the United States.The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan: 42 Favorite Songs from the G&S Repertoire. Introduction by Raymond Allen. Book design by Lee Snider. Distributed by Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, HL00312177. Re-issued by Chappell in 1991.
Under LOOM's Equity union contract, casting consisted of seven union principals and over twenty non-union actors who could receive their Equity membership after an apprenticeship with the company. This arrangement was unique among full-time theatre companies in New York. The pay for the non-union actors was nominal, but many young actor/singers who aspired to be full-time professionals were able to receive training and could work their way up from the ensemble to featured roles in the course of a year.
Many future New York City Opera and Broadway professionals started out at LOOM, including writer/director Gerard Alessandrini (Forbidden Broadway); Craig Schulman (Les Misérables);Interview with Schulman (2001); and "On and Off Broadway: Craig Schulman", YouTube: PolyphonicOrg atEastman (2013) Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde); Stephen O'Mara, opera singer; Penny Orloff, City Opera and Broadway;"Penny Orloff", Internet Broadway database, accessed July 30, 2019; and Dale, Michael. "Jewish Thighs on Broadway: Super Trouper", BroadwayWorld.com, March 22, 2005, accessed July 30, 2019 Carolyne Mas, recording artist; Susan Marshall, recording artist and songwriter; Michael Connolly (Amadeus);"Michael Connolly", Internet Broadway database, accessed July 30, 2019 Larry Raiken (Woman of the Year, Big River, and Follies);"Larry Raiken", Internet Broadway database, accessed July 30, 2019 and Joan Lader, recipient of the 2016 Tony Honors for Excellence in TheatreSchonberg, Harold C. "Light Opera Stages Vagabond King With a Royal Air", The New York Times, December 11, 1975, p. 58; and "2016 Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre Announced", TonyAwards.com, April 14, 2016 and vocal coach to numerous performers, such as Madonna,"Joan Lader" , February 2, 2006, accessed May 4, 2016 Sutton FosterFerri, Josh. "Tony Winner Sutton Foster Reacts to Six YouTube Videos From Her Past", BroadwayBox.com, August 5, 2015 and Frederica von Stade.Fleming, Jon. "On a New Road", Tampa Bay Times, September 30, 2005, November 7, 2021 Macaulay Culkin played Tom Tucker (the juvenile "midshipmite") in H.M.S. Pinafore.
LOOM initially bought a number of its costumes and stage properties from the American Savoyards. It designed its own sets and other costumes, seeking to achieve a professional appearance in a small space on a small budget.Information about LOOM costumes The orchestra consisted of two players: pianist Brian Molloy, a graduate of Juilliard, who played every score by heart, and Mount-Burke himself, covering the organ and timpani, while conducting the performance.
The peak years Moving up to the Eastside Playhouse
In 1975, the company moved out of the Jan Hus to the legitimate Off-Broadway Eastside Playhouse, just across E. 74th Street.Donadio, Michael. Photographs of LOOM productions at the Eastside Playhouse; Archive of Donadio's home page, accessed January 24, 2014 This 284-seat house was still intimate, but the company could generate substantially more revenues than it could in the Jan Hus basement.1981 NY Times preview of LOOM's 1981 spring season In addition, the theatre had better stage facilities, good seating, stage lighting and a balcony. All the sight-lines were good, whereas in the Jan Hus there were vertical poles interfering with some views. At Jan Hus, the company's staging had been designed to refer to the positions of these poles, and even after the company moved to the Eastside Playhouse, choreographer Jerry Gotham (a former Broadway dancer)"Jerry Gotham", Internet Broadway Database, accessed August 18, 2015 taught the staging of the shows in the repertory by reference to the imaginary positions of the poles, as they had existed at Jan Hus. While at the Eastside Playhouse, LOOM published a music book containing an introduction by Raymond Allen and many photographs of the company in its Gilbert and Sullivan productions.The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan: 42 Favorite Songs from the G&S Repertoire. Chappell Music Company, c. 1975. Introduction by Raymond Allen; book design by Lee Snider.
Beginning in 1975 and through the 1980s, LOOM added American and continental operettas to its roster, eventually carrying over 30 shows in its repertory. Its first non-G&S show was Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta, with guest artist Joan Sena-Grande in the title role, to open its tenure at the Eastside Playhouse in 1975. Larry Raiken played Captain Dick Warrington. The next operetta with a guest star was Rudolph Friml's 1925 hit, The Vagabond King, with Broadway veteran Jeanne Beauvais as Huguette.
In the mid-1970s, the company asked Alice Hammerstein Mathias (Oscar Hammerstein II's daughter) to create a new translation of Franz Lehár's The Merry Widow."Alice Hammerstein Mathias" . Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, accessed May 10, 2011 The translation is lighter and focuses more on the humorous aspects of the show than some of the standard translations. With Jeanne Beauvais again in the lead, The Merry Widow was a success that increased LOOM's audiences and received positive reviews. Friml's The Vagabond King and Rose-Marie; Sigmund Romberg's The Student Prince, The Desert Song, The New Moon; Herbert's Naughty Marietta, The Red Mill, Mlle. Modiste and The Fortune Teller; Jacques Offenbach's The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein; and Johann Strauss II's A Night in Venice, and others became favorites of the company. The Student Prince and Mlle. Modiste became showcases for Georgia McEver, LOOM's leading soprano for several seasons.
Alice Hammerstein Mathias then prepared a new book and lyrics for Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland, which had not been given a professional New York production in many years. Her original story centered on two unhappy children who run away to Toyland but are eventually reconciled with their parents. Children were invited onstage from the audience to "wind up" the choristers who played toys in the "March of the Wooden Soldiers." Babes was a perennial hit for LOOM, offering parents an alternative to Radio City's annual Christmas show, and Victor Herbert's beloved tunes delighted older audience members.Crutchfield, Will. "Operetta: Babes in Toyland, The New York Times, December 17, 1987 LOOM played Babes in Toyland each year from Thanksgiving through New Year's.
In the 1970s, LOOM also presented a series of September concerts at the Naumburg Bandshell, in Central Park, which were broadcast live over WNYC radio. The company was also featured on NBC's Today program, as well as numerous times on WQXR's The Listening Room. 1970s Naumberg Bandshell concert schedule
The Festival Year and bright hopes