About RLOC
The rich history of the Richland Light Opera Company began in 1948, when newspaper reporter Jack Quinn met with Mina & Blake Miller and Jeanne Bowen to suggest staffing The Mikado, a Gilbert and Sullivan musical in which he had sung the leading role of Nanki-Poo 325 times with the San Francisco Light Opera. After two performances in March 1949, RLOC and the audience were hooked on each other.
Successive years saw many improvements for the Company. In 1960's a full orchestra was added, and shows ran two week-ends. In 1972, Battelle Northwest Laboratories donated matching funds to build a warehouse in West Richland for set-building and storage. Since 1952 when members dug into their own pockets to produce the first royalty show, The Red Mill, production costs have grown from a few hundred dollars to average in excess of $25,000.
In the more than fifty years since that first performance the Richland Light Opera Company has produced over ninety operas and musicals. Each show averages approximately 25-40 performers, 15-20 musicians, 20 production staffers, and a minimum of another 20 personnel to man the box office, sell memberships, usher, and put on the after-show party. The only reward sought by these volunteers is the applause and appreciation of generations of theater-goers.