1994

Sault Opera produced two stage productions during 1994: Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" at the end of April and Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" in mid-October.

"Sweeney Todd" was directed by Richard Howard with Marie Arcangeletti as the assistant director, produced by Diane Wysynski along with Brenda Robb as the assistant producer, music directed by Susan Barber along with a five-piece band, vocals coached by Bonnie Forsell, and stage management by Gerry Forsell along with three assistants.

The Show had a cast of over 40 with the following leads: Keith Waldie in the title role of the demon barber Sweeney Todd, Doris Chaumont as Mrs. Lovett, Will Gartshore as Anthony, Tricia Lahde as Johanna, Dave Walsh as Judge Turpin, and many others.

Although Richard Howard's concept of the show made it an artistic success, the show financially lost over $7000 mostly due to poor ticket sales.

For Sault Opera's second production of "The Pirates of Penzance", the company received a grant from the Theatre Ontario Community Theatre Training Program to hire Ruth Harcourt to direct the show and teach two director trainees: Patsy McLean and Matt Paradis. Arno Ambel was back in the pit to conduct the 20-piece orchestra and direct the music with the asssitance of Lorraine Smith and Norene Morrow coaching the vocals. Joan Foster and Robert LaPorte co-produced the show along with Penny Martin as the stage manager, Kate McNally co-ordinating the costumes, Paul Sawchyn as the technical director, Adam Eusepi designing and operating the lights, and many others working behind the scenes in various departments.

The fine cast of "Pirates" featured Dave Walsh as the Pirate King, Shane Halpin as Samuel, Norene Morrow making her Sault Opera debut as Ruth, Don Currie as Frederick, Joni Henson also making her Sault Opera debut as Mabel, Tom Hendrie was the very model of a modern major-General as Stanley, and 36 others in various chorus roles such as pirates (with cat-like tread), wards of the major-general (climbing over a rocky mountain), and policemen (Tarantara!). A notable addition to the cast was Michael Muscat driving in the "Keystone cops" in his vintage automobile.

Since the show sold more tickets than "Sweeney Todd" and the production costs were kept very low, the show made a net profit of over $3500 in addition to being a musical and artistic success.

Also in 1994, the company purchased with the help of a provincial grant to cover half the cost ten Electro-Voice wireless "body-pack" microphones of the highest professional quality for use on the lead performers to help overcome the acoustical problems in some theatres, especially its primary venue, the Sault Community Theatre Centre. As a result, people in the audience could now hear a "pin drop" on stage even from the back rows. These units were also rented to other theatre groups in the city as well, which also kept the company afloat with some rental income.