Opening September 12th
Sugar! Oh Sugar! *WORLD PREMIER*
An Old Fashioned "Meler-Dramer" of Hawaii
Book and Lyrics by
Wil Welsh
Music by
Ed Dato and Jerome Gilmer
The play takes place in Hawaii, circa early 1900s, in and around a modest sugar worker's house where Lilly and her grandmother live. Of course, the history and the beauty are merely background to this entertainment: a tongue-in-cheek, good-timey, old fashioned "meler-dramer", with that genre's theatrical tradition of booing the villain, cheering the hero and crying for the poor, incredibly innocent, heroine.
A dozen original songs sung by a wonderful ensemble of the area's top talent light up this production, including "Sugar Plantation Rag", "What I Want In a Woman", "Granny's Hangover Song", and "How Do You Love Someone Like That?"
Recommended for anyone over 15, this new meler-dramer will have you laughing, clapping booing the villain, and cheering the hero from beginning to end!
Let the fun begin!
About the Creators
WIL WELSH, Director, Playwright
A former teacher and school administrator, Wil began his teaching career at Lompoc, California, then took a job in Kapaa, Kauai as an English teacher, attended graduate school at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, served as a high school vice-principal and a K-8 principal before going into real estate sales. Meanwhile, he wrote and directed plays, acted in various movies filmed on Kauai (King Kong, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Thornbirds, and others), and starred in a number of stage plays (Macbeth, The Importance of Being Ernest, Man of La Mancha, Jakeʼs Women, and others).
Sugar! Oh, Sugar! is Wilʼs third original musical, the earlier shows produced by the Kauai Community Players in Hawaii. Over the years, KCP produced a number of Wilʼs non-musical plays as well, and he has been active in the organization as director, actor, board member and, currently, board president. His wife, the former Jo Grande, acted for Santa Maria Civic Theatre some years ago. Jo graduated from Santa Maria High School as Josephine Brewer. She and her husband, Guy Grande, owned Maestroʼs Italian restaurant in Santa Maria for many years before moving to Hawaii.
It was through Jo that various SMCT members met Wil, read Sugar! Oh, Sugar! and decided it would be a good season opener for the celebration of SMCTʼs 50th Anniversary!
Jerome Gilmer - Composer
Jerome Gilmer has lived and worked in Denver, Colorado since 1976 when he moved there from his hometown of Mobile, Alabama with his wife, Pattie. Since settling in the area he has worked as a composer and producer of music for film, television and advertising, and his work has played cities and countries all over the world. His music was featured in both the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan and the Goodwill Games here in the US; he produced the theme for the BBC's Summer Sunday series; his theme for NBC's award winning News For Kids played in over 150 markets throughout the US; and his work frequently appears on the Late Show with David Letterman. He currently produces music for the 29 station Hearst-Argyle Television group and has received six Emmy's from the the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Ed Dato - Composer
Ed was playing piano by ear before his feet touched the floor and started formal lessons at 4 years old. Growing up in Chappaqua, NY, he benefited from living within 30 miles of New York City and enjoyed amazing arts experiences. As church organist, he wrote original music and arranged compositions for the church choirs and conducted an a cappella youth choir in high school.
After receiving a Degree in Music from Southern Methodist University in 1966, Ed taught elementary school music and formed a society band called “The Majority of One”. Following his short teaching career, he began what turned out to be a 35+ year career in the computer industry.
Music is in his bones, however, and he performed continuously with the band and as a jingle singer, arranger, and pianist until 1985 when he focused solely on the computer industry starting and ultimately selling his own computer business. Since retirement from the day-to-day business world, he began to focus on his music once again and now divides his time between Austin, TX and Haena, HI, where he has been working with Wil Welsh to create the music for Sugar! Oh, Sugar!
Ed says “Thanks to my Mom and Dad for giving me piano lessons…my life has been forever changed. Thanks to Wil for the opportunity to write again. Thanks to Barry Gray, my wife, for encouraging me to get back to music. And thanks to my friend and talented musician, Jerome Gilmer. He warned me that I was embarking down a very slippery slope in doing so…and he is right.” What a ride!