'Night at the Opera' advocates activism, positivity at Buskirk

Since 1988, Middle Way House has presented its supporters with the annual Night at the Opera to raise funds for the organization.

“A board member started it, and we just stuck with it all these years,” Middle Way’s executive director Toby Strout said. “We raise in the area of $20,000 for this event.”

With performers such as Sylvia McNair, Terry LaBolt, Erin Wells and master of ceremonies Peter Jacobi, this likely comes as no surprise to Middle Way’s supporters.

To conclude his introduction, quoting theater critics, historians and artists on the subject of “The Great White Way,” Jacobi recited verses from the “Annie Get Your Gun”  classic “There’s No Business Like Show Business.”

“So it’s now our turn to get on with the show,” he said, bringing McNair to the stage to join LaBolt, a former Broadway conductor and the IU musical theater program’s music director.

With her first song, McNair advised audience members to “eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive,” with LaBolt accompanying her on piano.

“I wish I could have heard that song 25 years ago,” she said afterward. “I could have save hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on therapy.”

The artists followed up with “I’m Old-Fashioned” and “Moon River,” made famous by Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

McNair was also celebrating the 100th birthday of composer Johnny Mercer, who wrote each of her first three songs. Then, however, she announced a “tribute to Georgia” and got out a violin.

“Now, some of you know what’s coming,” she said to the audience. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be laughing.”

McNair and LaBolt then proceeded with a rousing rendition of “Devil Went Down to Georgia.”

“I don’t know how you follow that, but we’ve got something worthy,” Jacobi said, calling the Bloomington High School North choirs, directed by Louise Wohlafka, to the stage to perform “Sing, Sing, Sing.”

Though graduate student and tenor Matthew Wells was scheduled to perform, he was unable to do so because he had laryngitis. His wife, mezzo soprano Erin Wells, however, delighted audiences with an aria from “Die Fledermaus.”

“What would Night at the Opera be without a little opera?” she said with a laugh. “Just a drop.”

BHSN singers returned to round out the first half of the evening with “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from “The Lion King.”

IU First Lady Laurie Burns McRobbie, who is also a board member for Middle Way, spoke during the intermission about how the work Middle Way does is vital to any civilized community. She thanked the attendees for their support and told them about the new building on South Washington Street, which will open in March.

“It’s so important to the quality of life in all the communities Middle Way House serves,” McRobbie said.

After another song from the BHSN choirs, Erin Wells returned with “Alto’s Lament” followed by a tribute to her husband.

McNair then sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Blowin’ in the Wind” before the BHSN choirs performed their final piece, “The Awakening.”

Freshman voice major Sarah Wells, Matthew Wells’ sister, said she wasn’t playing family favorites that night.

“My favorite has to be, by far, Sylvia McNair,” Sarah Wells said. “She is such a phenomenal performer. She’s everything I want to be as a performer.”

While the majority of attendees were not students, they are central to Middle Way’s success.

“I encourage students’ getting involved in general,” McRobbie said, adding that she believes it is important for students to be engaged in the larger community beyond campus.

Strout said that students are very important in keeping Middle Way going.
“The whole agency is run on volunteer power,” she said.

And of the roughly 86 percent of volunteers who are University-based, almost all are students.

“We wouldn’t be managing 24/7 without them,” Strout said.