Enjoy Renaissance holiday fun at the 31st annual Madrigal Dinner

Bill Rickert will preside at the head table as “Lord of the Manor,” a role he has played for the last 28 years.

Wright State University’s Student Union Apollo Room will once again be transformed into an English manor of the Renaissance era for the 31st annual Madrigal Dinner from Thursday, Dec. 12, through Sunday, Dec. 15.

The Madrigal Dinner invites attendees to step back into a holiday celebration as it would have happened in the Middle Ages.

The evening begins with a reception featuring eggnog and wassail, a traditional hot holiday drink.

After the reception, guests will be summoned to the table by a fanfare and view the procession of the lords and ladies accompanied by the Wright State Chamber Singers.

Dinner will follow the procession of the boar’s head, an ancient yuletide custom. Guests will enjoy a medieval feast of stuffed turkey breast, beef and leek pie, plum pudding and many other delicious dishes.

Entertainment will be provided by lords and ladies, roving musicians, marionettes, singers, dancers and a court jester—all in full Renaissance attire.

Once again, Bill Rickert will preside at the head table as “Lord of the Manor.”

As regulars have come to expect, Jim McCutcheon pleased the crowd with his talented play of both the guitar and lute.

“I haven’t missed a night in the last 29 years,” said Rickert, a recently retired associate provost and professor emeritus of communication. “It seems each one is better than the last.”

Music will be directed by Amanda Hughes, assistant professor of music, and performed by the Wright State University Chamber Singers. Dancers and bearers are members of the Tudor Rose Dance Company, a group dedicated to recreating the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The early music ensemble Wind in the Woods will also perform.

The Madrigal Dinner, a Wright State tradition since 1983, is presented by the Student Union and Department of Music.

Tickets are $50, $40 and $35 and can be purchased at the Wright State Student Union Box Office or at (937) 775-5544.

“For me, the Madrigal Dinner is both the start and the highlight of the Christmas season,” said Rickert.

Visit http://www.wright.edu/events/madrigal for more details.