This past weekend, West Valley Light Opera Musical Theatre Company (WVLO) announced that their 60th Diamond Celebration, produced last November, would be their final production, bringing an extraordinary 60-year legacy to a close.

For 60 years, WVLO and SBMT have produced hundreds of performances side by side at the Saratoga Civic Theater, enriching and connecting the community through the shared experience of storytelling.

Though each of our companies operated independently, we have a long history of cooperation, collaboration, and a bit of healthy rivalry. Together, we have served as stewards of the Saratoga Civic Theater for the vast majority of its 60-year existence. We have shared performers, musicians, designers, costumes, sets, equipment, rehearsal space, and more. 

For the last few days, there has been an enormous outpouring of gratitude and sharing of memories from the community directed towards WVLO and the individuals who shaped its legacy: Nancy, Marge, and Ed Hand, Judy Pincus, and so many more. They have been tireless champions of the arts, thoughtful community builders, and genuinely kind and generous people. 

During the 60th Diamond Celebration, when Hank & Marcia Lawson and Robin & Mary Melnick, real-life couples who met doing WVLO shows, sang “Almost Like Being in Love,” the history, the friendships, and the heart of WVLO felt beautifully crystallized in that moment.

WVLO’s legacy will now live on in all of us who have had the pleasure of being a part of their productions either on or off the stage. We are now the custodians of that spirit of warmth and heart that defined their approach to producing community theatre. It is a responsibility we carry with gratitude, humility, and deep respect for all who came before us.

In the months and years ahead, we hope to welcome many from the WVLO family into SBMT productions, whether in the audience, onstage, in the orchestra, backstage, or among our volunteers and supporters. The friendships, artistry, and dedication that defined WVLO remain a vital part of our community’s creative fabric. Our doors and our hearts are open as we continue building the next chapter of musical theatre at the Saratoga Civic Theater together.