Memories of the

Toronto Light Opera Association

1942 - 1955

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The Toronto Light Opera Association was created by Fred Mawson, with the help of his son Howard, sometime before its first production, Trial by Jury, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, in 1942. The Association staged productions with Fred Mawson as music director in various locations around Toronto until it was disbanded in 1955. For some of the productions, Alfred Kidney acted as stage director.

Below are some documents and photos from the productions.

1942
Trial by Jury

 This short operetta was the group's first production, first in May and then again in October. although they were not yet billing themselves as the "Toronto Light Opera Association".
1943
H.M.S. Pinafore
 This was the group's first full-length operetta, and was presented in March and November, 1943.
1944
 Because many of the men in the group were away fighting in WWII, no productions were staged in 1944, although the remaining members continued to rehearse.

1945
H.M.S. Pinafore

  This May, 1945 production, held at Northern Vocational School, benefitted from the inclusion of a number of experienced Toronto players, including Geoffrey Hatton of D'Oyly Carte Company experience.
1946
The Pirates of Penzance
  This production was held in March, at Danforth Technical School.
1947
Patience

Here is a program from the production of Patience, held in March, 1947 at the Central School of Commerce auditorium.
1947
The Mikado
Here is a cast photo of the Association's production of The Mikado in 1947, held December, 1947.
1948
The Pirates of Penzance

 

This production of The Pirates of Penzance was held in April at the Northern Vocational School auditorium.
 

1948
Iolanthe

 The production of Iolanthe was held in November at the Ukranian Temple Theatre.

 This is a cast photo from about 1948. Because the photo is undated, and there are no costumes, I'm not sure which production the cast was working on when the picture was taken.

 
1949
Trial by Jury/H.M.S. Pinafore
  
Here is a copy of the program for Trial by Jury and H.M.S. Pinafore, which were performed together as one production in May of 1949, at Danforth Technical School auditorium. It contains a history of the Toronto Light Opera Association to that date.

1949
Yeomen of the Guard
Here is a copy of the program for the November, 1949 production of Yeomen of the Guard, held at Bloor Collegiate Institute auditorium. It contains a history of the Toronto Light Opera Association to that date.
1950
The Gondoliers
  This production took place in November at Bloor Collegiate.
Members of the Toronto Light Opera Association taking part in Music Day at the Canadian National Exhibition, August, 1948
 Were there more productions after 1950?
 
 
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