For immediate release
May 7, 2001

The Sorcerer to bewitch Belleville

        Move over Harry Potter - The Sorcerer is coming to town. The Montreal West Operatic Society (M.W.O.S.) is coming to Belleville for a very special one night only performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan musical The Sorcerer. The engagement is through a unique partnership that has developed between the M.W.O.S. and  Marmora Senior Public School with support this year from Proctor & Gamble.
        The M.W.O.S. is the oldest operatic society in Canada and the second oldest in North America. Two years ago, both the M.W.O.S. and Marmora Senior were in rehearsals for H.M.S. Pinafore. A relationship developed between this prestigious society and the school. The school cast was invited to visit Montreal, tour the theatre, meet the cast, and enjoy a performance of Pinafore. Shaun Lynch, President of the M.W.O.S. even contacted other operatic societies about the Marmora Senior production and the school received help with costumes from Boston, and advice and good wishes from many well known groups in California, Tennessee, New York, Connecticut and across the United States. Last year the M.W.O.S. staged a benefit performance of Patience in Belleville with proceeds going to Marmora Senior.
        "The Montreal Society's support of Marmora Senior continues this year with the exciting news that the M.W.O.S. will bring its production of The Sorcerer to Belleville as a fund raiser for the school," said Alan Danford, Drama teacher at Marmora Senior. The M.W.O.S. is bringing the full cast, and as much of the staging as the stage can accommodate. The funds raised by the performance will help Marmora Senior equip its gymnasium for its own productions and community use.
        The performance by Canada's premier Gilbert and Sullivan theatre company will be in the auditorium at Centennial Secondary School on Saturday, May 12 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are only $15 and are available through Marmora Senior at 472-2222 or the Quinte Arts Council at 962-1232. Marmora Senior's Drama department is also producing its own version of The Sorcerer at the school on May 30 and 31.
 
For more information contact:
Alan Danford, teacher, Marmora Senior Public School, 472-2222