Light Opera Works artistic director Rudy Hogenmiller was slightly shocked to be outed by theater critic Chris Jones in the Chicago Tribune a few years ago.
"I don't think he meant to do it particularly, but it was an article in the Friday section about theatrical couples. All the other couples were straight and then he included myself and [Jeff Award-winning actor] Jim Harms," Hogenmiller said with a laugh during a recent telephone interview. "And I was just like, 'Chris Jones has outed me in the Tribune!'"
Though Hogenmiller and his longtime partner, Harms, were publicly open about their relationship in theater circles, they hadn't made the leap to acknowledge it in the press.
"I have no problem with it," Hogenmiller said. "Chris Jones had known me for years in theater and stuff, but it was never a discussion we ever had. My partner and I have been together for 40 years."
As Hogenmiller reflects on his past coverage in the press, he's focusing on a legendary American celebrity of the 19th century who had plenty of run-ins with the media throughout her long and now mythologized career. Hogenmiller is directing and choreographing Light Opera Works' upcoming production of Irving Berlin's 1946 musical Annie Get Your Gun, which is about the celebrity sharpshooter Annie Oakley who rose from humble backwoods beginnings to worldwide fame headlining Buffalo Bill's touring Wild West Show.
Although an established classic of the U.S. musical-theater repertory, Annie Get Your Gun has faced criticisms over what many see as politically incorrect depictions of Native Americans ( particularly in Annie's big Act I finale number "I'm an Indian Too" ) and a perceived anti-feminist capitulation at the end. Some attempts to address these concerns were partially addressed in the revised Tony Award-winning 1999 Broadway revival ( when "I'm an Indian Too" was cut ), but Hogenmiller has opted to stick with the licensed 1966 Lincoln Center revival of Annie Get Your Gun for Light Opera Works.
"That's just the way it is in terms of the time and sensibility," Hogenmiller said of the 1966 production, which many wags dubbed as "Granny Get Your Gun" since star Ethyl Merman was re-creating the title role 20 years after originating it on Broadway.
"Many people on my staff brought up those concerns and we had many discussions about it, and [the 'I'm an Indian Too' number] is a whole comedic scene and it's almost a little ballet onto itself and we're not making any kind of attempt to do any authentic Indian representation," Hogenmiller said. "It's very much a theatrical musical theater happening and everything that she says and does in that scene—she never says anything maliciously and all of the Indians find her very amusing and they don't take offense at it."
Hogenmiller also opted for the 1966 version because it offers a fuller orchestration which fits with Light Opera Works' mission of presenting classic musicals and operettas with their original orchestrations as much as possible. ( A 28-piece orchestra is advertised for Annie Get Your Gun, something that wasn't available with the reduced orchestrations created for the 1999 revision. )
Hogenmiller has been artistic director of Light Opera Works since late 2004, largely putting his acting career mostly on the back-burner as he handled directing, choreographing and administrative duties for the 33-year-old arts organization. Yet Hogenmiller has been making more of an effort to cross in front the footlights recently, since he starred as the Emcee in Light Opera Works' Cabaret earlier this season. Hogenmiller is also slated to play the devil, Mr. Applegate, in Light Opera Works' forthcoming June production of Damn Yankees.
"A lot of the people [and subscribers] at Light Opera Works don't know my career from the work I had done in Chicago as a performer," Hogenmiller said about acting again. "There was a lot of buzz within our circle of people and our friend and patrons. It was such a response that I thought maybe financially this will be a wise move to kind of capitalize on the situation rather than to let it go as a one-time thing."
As Light Opera Works artistic director, Hogenmiller has faced a few challenges. One is the realization that the company needs to program more recognizable Broadway musicals as opposed to former bread-and-butter programming of 19th- and early 20th-century operettas in order to bring in audiences. ( Hogenmiller noted how Light Opera Works' last production of Sweethearts by esteemed operetta composer Victor Herbert was a financial bomb. ) Cuts in arts funding has also meant that Light Opera Works has veered away from too much adventurous programming.
Hogenmiller says there is also concern of competition from the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which is now producing a Broadway musical at the end of its regular season. Since the Lyric is a larger organization, it's able to obtain and hold the rights to titles before Light Opera Works.
But on the plus side, Light Opera Works has recently obtained its own rehearsal and office space in Wilmette, which it also rents out to other companies for rehearsals and exercise classes. Hogenmiller also says subscriptions are up.
"It's a big deal for a company that's been in existence for more than 30 years," Hogenmiller said about previously having to rehearse in church basements and cafeterias. "Now we have a really nice open rehearsal space with a big dance floor the size of the Cahn Auditorium stage. We're in a really good place right now."
Light Opera Works' Annie Get Your Gun plays at Northwestern University's Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St., Evanston, from Saturday, Dec. 21, through Tuesday, Dec. 31. Performances are at 8 p.m. Dec. 21, 27, 28 and 31, with 2 p.m. matinees Dec. 22, 27, 28 and 29. Tickets are $32-$92 and $34-$94 on New Year's Eve. Call 847-920-5360 or visit www.lightoperaworks.com for more information.
