The Story
“He could sell salvation to the devil and make him say amen.”
Set in the American heartland of the 1920s, Elmer Gantry tells the story of a disarmingly charming con man who joins a traveling ministry and rises to fame as a charismatic evangelist. The opera follows Gantry’s entanglement with the ambitious evangelist Sharon Falconer as they build a religious empire — with a gospel choir, a full orchestra, and arias you’ll hum on the way home.
The Setup
Anatomy of a Great Con
The Hustle
Gantry sells salvation like a product — and he’s so good at it, you almost want to buy. Watching him work a crowd is half the fun.
The Partner
Sharon Falconer is no mark — she’s building an empire of her own. When two operators join forces, sparks fly in every direction.
The Score
Gospel hymns, revival choruses, and full-throttle orchestral writing. The music is as seductive as Gantry’s pitch — and twice as thrilling.
The Reckoning
Every great con has a moment when the house of cards starts to shake. The question isn’t whether it falls — it’s who’s still standing.
The Best Show in the Tent
Sinclair Lewis wrote Elmer Gantry in 1927 and it became the best-selling novel of the year — not because readers wanted a lecture, but because they couldn’t put it down. Burt Lancaster won his only Oscar playing Gantry in 1960 for the same reason: the character is irresistible.
Now composers Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein have given Gantry a gospel choir, a full orchestra, and arias that will stick in your head for days. The two-time Grammy-winning opera is sharp, funny, and musically exhilarating — the kind of night at the theater you’ll be talking about at brunch the next morning.
Step right up. See Elmer Gantry.
Meet Elmer Gantry
Two Revivals Only
Friday, May 1, 2026 — 7:30 PM
Sunday, May 3, 2026 — 2:30 PM
Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara
lobero.org · 805.963.0761