Lyric Theatre of San Jose
Lyric Theatre of San José is a non-profit community theater group which has been dedicated to preserving and presenting our vocal musical heritage for over 40 years. Our annual season consists of shows by Gilbert & Sullivan, Broadway composers, and American & European operetta composers. Our productions receive many fine reviews for the quality and skills of the performers, orchestra, conductors, and stage directors. Our sets and costumes are designed by professionals with major stage experience. In summary, we provide excellent performances, all for a very reasonable ticket price.
We have moved from the Montgomery Theater, our home for many years. As of October 2017, we are performing our main stage shows at the Theater at San José City College. Click the image above for information about the theater.
Lyric Theatre is a performing group of over 150 dedicated volunteers who have committed themselves to the art of stagecraft. Since 1972 we have brought quality family entertainment to San Jose, California and the surrounding South Bay. Community members, students and professional quality performers grace our stage, play in our orchestra, and work behind the scenes, giving their talents and sharing our love of musical theater and especially operetta. As members of the non-profit Gilbert & Sullivan Society of San José, the light operas of William S. Gilbert and Arthur S. Sullivan are a cornerstone of our repertoire. We also stage works by other composers including Victor Herbert, Jacques Offenbach, and many more. Lyric Theatre is a member of Theatre Bay Area and the Silicon Valley Arts Coalition
Our activities encompass:
Helping to educate children to the joys of music and theater by staging special daytime presentations of our shows for school groups.
Providing talented individuals with scholarships for higher education in stagecraft.
Creatively and innovatively staging productions with full chorus, orchestra, elaborate sets, lights and costumes.
Publishing a membership newsletter with interesting articles about our productions and our many Outreach activities.
Maintaining an online store for the purchase of operetta-related items and tickets for the convenience of our audience.
After each performance our cast fills the lobby to greet the audience that has come to love the Bay Area's cornerstone in light operetta, Lyric Theatre. We look forward to seeing you at our next performance!!
History of Lyric Theatre
The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of San José (GSSSJ) was founded in 1972 as a result of a notice placed in the local newspapers by John P. Healy, Jr. He called for a meeting of persons interested in works of the Victorian music era while still in his early 20s. At the tender age of 17 years he founded San José Children's Musical Theater. A small but enthusiastic turnout decided that we wanted to be a producing company and a board of directors was elected. Michel Stein was elected as the president. The first production was The Pirates of Penzance. The assembled cast was a mixed bag: some of the cast members were adults and others were drawn from the San José Children's Musical Theater. The leading role of Major General Stanley was portrayed by a talented 14-year old who aged half a century with makeup, and a 12-year old policeman arrested a 55-year old pirate. Ruth Stein, Michel's wife and a life-long Gilbert and Sullivan buff, sang in the chorus. She has been, from the beginning, a prominent member and visionary for GSSSJ. During the first five years, GSSSJ grew from a small, but passionate group of about forty talented volunteer doctors, engineers and housewives to a close-knit theatrical company, playing to sold-out houses. By the end of this period we were now mounting two to three productions per year, had money in the bank, sets, lights, costumes, props, a technical crew, directors, musicians, designers, and a loyal audience.
Long time Lyric performer and director Mark Blattel has compiled a searchable index of Lyric Theatre shows. On it you can find out who all the actors, musicians, stage personnel, and directors were going back to our 1973 production of "The Pirates of Penzance"
