The Mad River Chorale

Cafe Noir was founded in 2007 with the goal of bringing professional theatre to the Mad River Valley, and combining professional talent with local talent to provide an educational experience. In our first year we presented a large variety of productions. From "Miss Saigon in Concert" to the experimental "Guerilla Theatre", in which we wrote, rehearsed and performed two brand new plays in 24 hours, and finished 2007 by taking over the classic Forbidden Xmas series. In early 2008 we kicked off our first full season with our cabaret series: three smaller shows featuring our core group of professional performers. In June 2008 we premiered our very first Side by Side Workshop. It gave local teens and adults the opportunity to work hand in hand with professional actors and directors. At the end of the week the "students" performed a cabaret side by side with the pros. In July 2008 our very first full scale production, "Godspell", was a smashing success, selling out 7 of 8 performances. The cast was made of of local amateurs and professionals. To close the year we performed the "Thanks for Giving" cabaret; a farewell cabaret to the Bundy Center for the Arts and a celebration of the start of MRC & Company.


We are now presenting "Songs for a New World" by Jason Robert Brown (July 22-24 and July 29-31 *see event listing on the right hand side of the page) This show includes a cast of professionals (including visiting NYC artist John Hager) as well as two alternate/interchangeable casts that are a an expansion of our Side by Side theatre education program.


Our SIDE BY SIDE Musical Theatre Workshop will return this summer for its third year, August 2-6. During this week we will work with students on their own song, concentrating on Musical Technique, Song Interpretation, Acting and Physical Presence. At the end of the week, the students will participate in a public performance at the Gate House Lodge, Sugarbush Resort at 7pm.