Enjoy Renaissance holiday fun at the 32nd annual Madrigal Dinner

Photo of members at the head table raising their glasses in a toast.

A toast from the 29th Madrigal Dinner and of course a joyous and robust holiday spirit.

Wright State University’s Student Union Apollo Room will once again be transformed into an English manor of the Renaissance era for the 32nd annual Madrigal Dinner from Thursday, Dec. 11, through Sunday, Dec. 14.

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.

Photo of Jim McCutcheon playing the Lute.

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

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

“I haven’t missed a night in the last 30 years,” said Rickert, 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 the School of Music.

Photo of two women dressed in Renaissance garb.

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

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 wright.edu/events/madrigal for more details.

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