About Starlight
San Diego Civic Light Opera Association is one of the oldest continuously producing musical theatre companies in the United States. Starlight was founded in 1945 by Charlie Cannon, William Dean, Julius Leib and Robert J. Sullivan. Starlight Musical Theatre, presented its first season in 1946 with Gilbert & Sullivan's Mikado, presented in the San Diego Zoo's Wegeforth Bowl. It was followed by productions of The Chocolate Soldier, H.M.S. Pinafore, Naughty Marietta, The Barber of Seville, and Hansel and Gretel.
Since its inception, Starlight has presented 54 seasons of musical theatre productions for the entertainment of more than four million San Diegans and visitors. These seasons have encompassed nearly 1000 productions of 120 different musicals, ranging from the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan and Jacques Offenbach, the Rodgers & Hammerstein classics Carousel and South Pacific, favorites of the 50's and 60's such as West Side Story, Guys & Dolls, and Peter Pan, and the contemporary Broadway blockbusters A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls , Follies, and Phantom of the Opera.
Throughout its illustrious history, SDCLOA has been motivated by three goals:
1) to produce musical theatre works of the highest artistic quality
2) to provide professional opportunities for talented individuals in the field of musical theatre.
3) to create new audiences for musical theatre
