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March 2010
Greenville dancer best in world
Drew Lovejoy of Greenville captured the World Irish Dance Championship in the 14-15 male age group Monday, March 29, at the Royal Opera House in Glasgow, Scotland .
A native of Boston, the 15-year-old son of Andee and Donald Goldberg, a ninth-grader at the online school Ohio Connections Academy, began the event as the reigning North American champion and sixth-place dancer in the world.,
All of the other top 10 dancers in his division at Glasgow were from Ireland or England .
Featured in the March edition of “Irish Culture and Dancing” magazine, he has studied Irish dance since age 7, beginning in Dayton , then in Minster and Cincinnati .
He is now a student at the McGing School of Irish dance in Cincinnati .
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TweetCedarville playwright takes honors
A drama about a fatal accident, grief and madness captured top honors Saturday, March 27, in “Short and Sweet,” a first-time 10-minute play festival hosted by the Hope Arts Center in Dayton.
Written and directed by Katherine M. Nelson of Cedarville, “con/tact” featured Christina Fern as the mother of a girl killed by a drunk driver, and Mike Embree as the driver, who ends up in prison, where he eventually commits suicide.
Runner-up honors in close balloting went to “Testing Val, au Naturale,” an interior monologue by Roger Collins of Cincinnati about a high school sophomore taking her midterm exam on human sexuality.Yunina Barbour-Payne played the student under Deondra Kamau Means’ direction.
Third-place finisher was “Blue,” three short variations on that color by Shane Anderson of Dayton. Staged by Andrew Mitakides, it featured Jon Berry with Donica Haffenden, Christopher Rowley with Corinne Derusha, and Kyle Bowers with Tina DeAlderete.
Three other short original plays were also performed in the two-night event in the South Park Historic District: “The Bridge,” by Erika Lunbra of Columbus; “Take Care,” by Katalina Remusat of Troy, and “We Shall Overcome,” by Brenda Koeger of Dayton.
Judges were: Carmen Anastasia of Wright State University and the University of Dayton, Linda Dunlevy of UD, Nelson Sheeley of Sinclair Community College, Russell Florence of the City Paper and Terry Morris of the Dayton Daily News.
Funding came from the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of West Milton, Hope Lutheran Church, Huber Carpet, Lowe’s Home Improvement and Requarth Lumber.
The festival was one of the first arts events at the center. It is located in the more than 125-year-old Hope Lutheran Church at 500 Hickory St. and includes artist studios and arts organization offices. For more information, call (937) 228-5191.
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TweetBlake Shelton coming to the Fraze
Country music star Blake Shelton, whose song, “Hillbilly Bone” is No. 3 on the Billboard Country chart, is coming to the Fraze Pavilion this August.
Shelton will perform, along with The Band Perry, on Thursday, Aug. 19 at 8 p.m.
Tickets go on sale Saturday, April 3 at 9 a.m. Tickets are $40, $38 and $25.
Shelton debuted in 2001 with No. 1 single, “Austin.” He’s gone on to have hits with “Home,” “Some Beach,” “The More I Drink” and “She Wouldn’t Be Gone.”
He’s nominated along with Trace Adkins for a 2010 Academy of Country Music Award for Vocal Event of the Year for “Hillbilly Bone.”
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TweetWOXY signs off
WOXY.com, the latest version of what began in Oxford, Ohio, in 1983 as the independent station WOXY FM, is no more.
The Austin, Texas-based internet-only station ceased operations at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 23, “due to current economic realities and the lack of ongoing funding,” according to an announcement at woxy.com.
The posting continued: “We’re continuing to explore options to keep The Future of Rock and Roll alive. For business inquiries, please contact Bryan Jay (bryan@woxy.com) or John at Future Sounds (john@futuresounds.com">y.com”>bryan@woxy.com) or John at Future Sounds (john@futuresounds.com).
Station staff member and blogger Joe Long wrote that “it hurt a lot more than I was expecting it to” when WOXY went silent.
“All of us at the station have poured ourselves into making this the best thing we could. We all loved our jobs and wanted nothing more than to continue doing it for our listeners.”
He held out “a glimmer of hope” based on the station’s history of coming back from the brink of extinction before. “Nobody is holding their breath that WOXY will be back, but none of us can close the door completely just yet either.”
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TweetBlondie and Cheap Trick to perform at Fraze Pavilion’s Summerfest 12
Power pop and punk rock take center stage 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28 when ‘80s idols Blondie and Cheap Trick perform at Summerfest 12 at Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Boulevard, Kettering.
Blondie, featuring lead singer Debbie Harry, was a pioneer in the new wave and punk rock scenes of the mid’70s and ‘80s. Blondie is noted for its eclectic mix of musical styles incorporating elements of disco, pop, rap, and reggae.
Cheap Trick created a substantial fan base through its brand of power pop music with a hard-edged but melodic pop sound. Their biggest hits were “Surrender,” “I Want You to Want Me,” “Dream Police”and “The Flame.”
Tickets for the show go on sale Saturday, March 27 at 9 a.m. Tickets are $65 for the Plaza, $60 for Orchestra and $35 lawn/terrace. Tickets can be purchased at Fraze Pavilion Ticket Office, 695 Lincoln Park Boulevard, Kettering (937) 296-3300
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TweetFest picks 6 short plays
Six scripts have been chosen for presentation during “Short and Sweet,” a festival of 10-minute plays Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27, at the Hope Arts Center, 500 Hickory St., in the South Park Historic District.
The plays are: “Blue,” by Shane Anderson; “Con\tact,” by Katherine Nelson; “Testing Val, Au Natural,” by Roger Collins; “The Bridge,” by Erica A. Lumbra, and “We Shall Overcome,” by Brenda Koger.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and are open to the public. Admission is $3 at the door. The top three plays will win cash awards.
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TweetMore films get tax credits
The early bird gets the … moviemaking tax credit.
The Ohio Department of Development committed $10 million to tax credits for films made in Ohio during 2010. More than 80 percent of it had been awarded by the end of February.
Department director Lisa Patt-McDaniel said almost $1.4 million in credits were made available in February to two independent productions being produced in Cincinnati and Akron, respectively - “Life After,” a suspense film about a landscape architect who takes a job as a caretaker at a neglected cemetery, and “25 Hill,” a film about the Soap Box Derby by actor and Ohio native Corbin Bernsen.
Almost $7 million in credits were approved for four other films in January.
Patt-McDaniel said the credits provide “incentive to build on our economic recovery by creating job opportunities and economic activity.”
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TweetSwordsman to deliver kiss
Guido Crescendo will do his best to make a Cincinnati woman happy on Tuesday, March 23.
Known as David Woolley of Chicago when he isn’t portraying Guido as one of the “men in tights” at the Ohio Renaissance Festival, he has been enlisted by the Never Too Late organization to kiss the hand of Beatrice Grace Riggers, 84, on Tuesday, March 23, at the Triple Creek Retirement Community in Cincinnati, where she lives.
Similar to Make a Wish Foundation for young people, Never Too Late is for the elderly and terminally ill.
Ms. Riggers has seen The Swordsmen many times at the Renaissance Festival, where they have appeared for almost two decades. Guido is her favorite. Her daughter asked the organization to arrange the visit.
The 2010 Ohio Renaissance Festival will open Sept. 4 and run for seven weekends at Harveysvburg in Warren County. More information is available at www.renfestival.com.
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TweetFilm students on board
More than 20 Centerville High School students studying filmmaking in a new nine-week course offered by the Muse Machine will take a class with storyboard artist J. Todd Anderson on Friday, March 26.
The course opened with with filmmakers/instructors Marisha Mukerjee and Rocky Smith. Sessions will cover writing a script, working with the camera, software for editing, test audiences, preparing a “show reel,” submitting to festivals internship opportunities, and film as a career.
Students will submit their finished films for the second annual FilmDayton Festival May 14-16. Anderson, an Oakwood resident, has served as storyboard artist for many films by the Oscar-winning Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan.
For more information, contact the Muse Machine, (937) 228-6873.
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TweetArea comedian not ‘Next Big Comic’
Local comedian Ryan Singer is not CMT’s Next Big Comic.
A comedian named Pete Lee beat out West Carrollton’s Singer and two other finalists in a national, online competition.
You’ll still be able to see Singer locally and online. He performs at Wiley’s and the Funny Bone, and even Canal Street. He also tours across the country.
He released a comedy CD, “How to Get High Without Drugs,” in 2009 which received good online reviews. He has a Web site with sketches at RyanSingerComedy.com.
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TweetHuman Race sets 2010-11 lineup
Dayton’s Human Race Theatre Company has announced its 2010-11 season, the Eichelberger Loft Series.
Previously announced, the opener will be the local premiere of the prize-winning Tracy Letts play “August: Osage County.”
Other productions will be:
Sept. 23-Oct. 10: “The 39 Steps,” the local premiere of the comedy based on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie.
Oct. 21-Nov. 7: “8-Track: The Sounds of the ‘70s,” a four-person musical revue.
Jan. 27-Feb. 13, 2011: “Twelfth Night,” by William Shakespeare.
April 14-May 1, 2011: “Permanent Collection,” a drama by Thomas Gibbons about artistic, historic and racial conflict set in a museum.
May 26-June 12: “right next to me,” a new musical by Gregg Coffin that was partially developed in Dayton.
“August: Osage County” will be presented in Wright State University’s Creative Arts Center. All other productions will be at The Loft, 126 N. Main St.
The season is sponsored by The Jack W. and Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation. Subscriptions are available in three-, four-, five- or six-show packages by calling Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or toll-free at (888) 228-3630; online at www.ticketcenterstage.com, or in person at the Schuster Center Box Office, Second and Main streets.
For more information about The Human Race, go to www.humanracetheatre.org.
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TweetAlice Cooper coming to the Fraze
Alice Cooper will perform at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering on Sunday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m.
The rock icon’s songs include ‘School’s Out’ and ‘I’m Eighteen.’ Cooper is known for creating a theatre-like rock concert and has had strong influences on heavy metal.
He has released 25 albums.
Tickets are $59.50, $49.50 and $27.50 and go on sale Saturday, March 20 at 9 a.m. Call (937) 296-3300 or go to Fraze.com.
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TweetWin tickets to Crow concert
There’s a chance to win tickets to the Sheryl Crow concert this year at the Fraze Pavilion.
The Kettering Moraine Oakwood Chamber of Commerce will give away two tickets to the Tuesday, June 15 concert.
To enter the drawing, go to www.kmo-coc.org and click the “Sign up for our Monthly Drawing” link at the bottom of the page. The winner will be drawn on April1.
For more information, go to www.kmo-coc.org or call (937) 299-3852.
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TweetFest wants student films
Students in grades eight through 12 are invited to submit short films for the Sundog 7 Regional Film Festival and Competition.
Entries must be on DVD, be less than 10 minutes long and not have been previously entered in a contest or festival, except the Scholastic Art & Writing and Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibitions.
Categories include: experimental, narrative, documentary, self-portrait, music video, public service announcement, film animation, computer animation, photo essay and dogs.
Entry fee is $3 per film. Films must be sent or delivered by 5 p.m. April 26 to Yellow Springs High School, 420 E. Enon Road, 45387. Judging will begin at 9:15 a.m. April 28 at Kettering Fairmont High School, 3301 E. Shroyer Road.
More than $2,000 in cash and prizes will be given to the winners. A special award will be presented for the best dog-themed entry. Winners will be announced May 15, but those chosen to be shown will be notified earlier.
Selected films will be screened at 2 p.m. May 15 at the Little Art Theatre, 247 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs, and at 3 p.m. May 16 during the Film Dayton Festival at the Neon Movies, 130 E. Fifth St.
Guidelines and entry forms are available at www.sundogfilmfestival.org. Sponsors are needed. Contact festival director Melina Elum at: melum@ysschools.org for information.
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TweetKristofferson, Huey Lewis coming to Fraze
Kris Kristofferson and Huey Lewis are the latest artists to commit to performances at Fraze Pavilion this summer.
Kristofferson will perform on Thursday, June 10 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 and $25.
Kristofferson’s songs include ‘Me and Bobby McGee’, ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’ and ‘Help Me Make It Through the Night.’
Huey Lewis & The News are scheduled for a concert on Sunday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and $30.
Songs include, ‘I Want a New Drug,’ ‘The Power of Love’ and ‘If This Is It.’
Tickets for both concerts go on sale Saturday, March 20 at 9 a.m.
For more information, go to Fraze.com or call (937) 296-3300.
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Tweet‘Antioch Review’ up for major prize
“The Antioch Review” has been named a finalist in the 2010 National Magazine Award. It was nominated in the “fiction” category for “The Coat,” a story by Uwe Timm translated from German by Robert Conard, professor emeritus at the University of Dayton.
It was published in the summer 2009 issue. The other nominees are “The New Yorker,” “McSweeney’s” and the “Virginia Quarterly”.
Founded in Yellow Springs in 1941 and one of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States, the “Review” is the smallest publication in any awards category. Editor Robert S. Fogarty said the award will be announced in New York in April.
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Tweet‘Aluminum Show’ keeps ideas flowing
It was nice weather for ducts on Tuesday night, March 9, when “The Aluminum Show” opened a two-week stand at the Victoria Theatre.
Make that the Reynolds Wrap Theatre, which is what the foil and tubing-draped place looked like before the start of 75 imaginative, playful, otherworldly, eye-catching and odd minutes without intermission.
The inventive and original touring production from Israel showed its mettle quickly when two adult-sized tubes spawned a baby inchworm that crossed the stage like a Slinky with an attitude before taking a shine to a metallic puppet show with songs including “Staying Alive,” Led Zeppelin”s “Black Dog” and a slightly tweaked “Ghost Dusters,” with props to match.
A young spectator toward the front of the theater could be heard giggling gleefully at the sight of the little worm, which proved contagious.
The cast was made up of six agile and busy dancers — each one a silver metalist with a brassy personality — and a handful of assistant allies in alloy.
They manipulated or wore sections of the segmented flexible piping, sometimes humanizing it, sometimes transforming it into creatures from other worlds. There were dancing beings with wide leggings and a 20-foot-tall puppet that took a stroll up the aisle of the theater thanks to teamwork by several performers.
Members of the audience weren’t permitted to just sit back like lead weights . They were drawn into the act when long sections of ducting or giant inflated metallic pillows were extended or thrown into the crowd, at one point spanning the main floor.
As quickly as you can say Jiffy Pop, pieces of the shiny stuff were also blown into the air overhead, filtering down through the lights that were a key component of the production.
Most of the sights and antics were obvious, but small touches gleamed and glimmered if you looked closely — for example, the way one of the dancers tilted her head gently to the side without missing a stride when the big puppet’s hand touched it.
A couple of the bits began to tarnish with repetition or familiarity. For the most part, new ideas kept flowing down the pipeline.
All in all, “The Aluminum Show” was a lively and quick moving conduit that should leave people of many ages smiling. It will continue through March 21 at the Victoria, First and Main streets. Ticket information is available at (937) 228-3630 or www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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TweetHuman Race gets to third base
The last time The Human Race Theatre Company put on a baseball play, it included naked ballplayers taking showers.
That was Richard Greenberg’s “Take Me Out” in 2007.
“Rounding Third,” which opens Friday, March 12, at The Loft, after a final preview performance on Thursday, May 11, isn’t like that, although it does contain some salty language.
As one critic put it, “Rounding Third” “is ‘The Odd Couple’ with a baseball theme.”
The comedy by Richard Dresser has been around for a few years, but the production in the Eichelberger Loft Series marks the local premiere.
Actor-director Tim Lile, who’s an auctioneer for his day job, is staging the two-man play about two very different dads and youth baseball coaches.
One is from the win-at-all-costs school of coaching. The other believes everyone deserves a trophy for participating.
Just picture them trying to run the same team together.
Jake Lockwood plays head coach Don, whose collar is blue, chosen drink is beer and vehicle is a full-size van. His son is the team’s star.
Brian McKnight plays Michael, who’s Canadian, knows more about curling than about baseball, is nurturing, undemanding and the father of a nice kid whose athletic skill is either dormant or nonexistent. He wears a suit and likes latte.
Both men evolve as the season progresses, which is not to say that Michael ever figures out how to get all of the equipment back into the bag. How they change and how that changes the dynamics between them is half of the appeal.
At right: Brian McKnight (top) and Jake Lockwood as dads and coaches
“ ‘Rounding Third’ isn’t very well known, but the combination of the subject matter and the talents of these two performers should make this a special treat for Dayton audiences,” Lile said.
The primary challenge for him, as a director, “has to do with the fact that it is a two-person play and the need to vary the flow and energy.”
The play’s run will include a special “Saturday Baseball Matinee” at 2 p.m. March 27, featuring special incentives for baseball and softball coaches, umpires, players (13 and over) and fans who wear team jerseys or other gear.
how to go
What: The Human Race Theatre presents “Rounding Third”
When: March 12-28.
Where: The Loft, 126 N. Main St., Dayton
Tickets: $15.50-$36.
Call: (937) 228-3630, toll free at (888) 228-3630 or online at www.ticketcenterstage.com
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TweetNo regrets for ‘Last Truck’ at Oscars
The Dayton area’s representatives at the 2010 Academy Awards didn’t have an Oscar with them when they waited for their return flight from Los Angeles Monday afternoon, March 8.
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” lost out to “Music by Prudence” in the best documentary short category of the 82nd annual event, held Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre.
Paul “Popeye” Hurst, one of four former General Motors workers who donned evening wear to attend the event in hopes of celebrating a win for co-directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, said there were no regrets.
“It would have been a thrill to win. It’s been a lot of fun. But I’m ready to come home and get back to just being plain old Popeye,” he said.
The long-bearded Riverside resident was one of the people featured in the 40-minute documentary about how more than 2,400 workers lost their jobs when General Motors closed its Moraine truck assembly plant in December 2008.
“Steve and Julia put their hearts and souls into this project. It would have been great to see them win,” he said.
“There’s a part of me that believes if we had won, people would have to acknowledge that there’s a problem in the United States,” he said in reference to those left jobless and without benefits. “But we saw all of the other films and the one that took the award was very good. There is no shame in losing to that one.”
He had “a personal thrill” before the broadcast began when he got to talk with show business legend Mickey Rooney “for two to three minutes in the lobby. He was a very gracious man. He has always been a favorite of mine,” Hurst said.
The former GM workers doubled up in hotel rooms — Hurst with Kim Clay, Kathy Day with Kate Geiger.
“We stayed at the Peninsula Hotel, which was ultra fancy. When we got to our room, one pillowcase was embroidered with Kim’s name and one had mine on it. That was very cool,” Hurst said.
Bognar, Reichert and the others expected to arrive in Dayton about 11 p.m. on Monday.
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TweetNo Oscar for ‘Last Truck’
A Dayton-made documentary about the 2008 closing of General Motors’ truck assembly plant in Moraine fell short of winning an Oscar at the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday, March 7.
Produced and directed by Yellow Springs filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” was one of five films in its category — best documentary short subject.
Winner was “Music by Prudence,” the story of a disabled African singer.
“It would have been great to bring the statue home to Dayton, but it’s been an experience and honor to be part of this process and this incredibly big show,” Bognar said.
The 42-minute “Last Truck” had its premiere Aug. 19 at the Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton. It was broadcast nationally by HBO on Labor Day, Sept. 7.
Four of the workers featured in the film, Kim Clay, Paul “Popeye” Hurst, Kate Geiger and Kathy Day, accompanied the directors from Dayton to the ceremonies at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. They are among more than 2,400 who lost their jobs when the plant closed.
Although members of the Dayton entourage were disappointed, Clay said by phone during the awards ceremony, “We’re great. We didn’t win, but we lost to a lovely film about a marvelous singer. We got to hear her sing Saturday night at the HBO ball.”
Clay said the four workers “have also had the opportunity to tell our story about needing jobs in Dayton, where we have a solid and available work force.”
Besides CNN, TV 1 and others, a Chinese television station interviewed the workers.
“They’ve represented Dayton well. They did an eight-minute interview with CNN on the red carpet today. They talked about jobs, jobs, jobs,” Bognar said.
Bognar and Reichert won an Emmy Award for their previous project, “A Lion in the House,” a 2006 documentary about children fighting cancer.
It was the third Academy Award nomination for Reichert, a member of the motion pictures faculty at Wright State University. Bognar, a WSU graduate, was up for the first time.
“The Last Truck” entourage at the Oscars. L to R: Ben Garchar, Kathe Day, Julia Reichert, Steve Bognar, Kim Clay, Kate Geiger, Paul “Popeye” Hurst, Melissa Godoy. (photo by Sahar Milani)
“Last Truck” was among the frontrunners in its category. “Time” magazine had the ex-GM workers’ story as its top choice. The Los Angeles Times’ pundit doubted its chances because “it’s about trailer trash folks whom snooty Oscar voters usually scorn.”
Those in the Dayton area awaiting results included guests at Oscar parties thrown by FilmDayton, the Neon Movies and the Little Art Theater in Yellow Springs.
Six awards were announced and a posthumous tribute was offered to director John Hughes before Carey Mulligan and Zoe Saldana presented the documentary short prize at 9:33 p.m.
Other nominees in the category were: “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province,” about the 2008 earthquake in central China; “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner,” about a former Washington governor with Parkinson’s disease who was working to legalize assisted suicide, and “Rabbit a la Berlin.”
Clay said members of the “Last Truck” group watched all of the nominated documentaries at the Writer’s Guild in Los Angeles Saturday, March 7. “I thought we might win, but they are all wonderful films.”
Reached by phone during the awards, Bognar said the Dayton group “is nestled among our fellow documentary short filmmakers. It’s been a tense few days for all of us. I think we’re all feeling some relief from that pressure.”
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TweetHanks gives nod to “The Last Truck”
Film star Tom Hanks has described the Oscar-nominated documentary “The Last Truck: The Closing of a GM Plant” as a “backbreaking piece of work.”
Appearing on the Friday morning, March 5, MSNBC news show “Morning Joe,” Hanks asked host Tom Brokaw and other guests if they had seen the film, which was made by Yellow Springs directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert.
Hanks described how the filmmakers heard on the news that GM was “going to close these plants and there’s the plant just down the street… They just went down with their high-def cameras and got the stories of the people.”
Reichert, a previous two-time Academy Award nominee, is a member of the motion pictures faculty at Wright State University. Bognar is a 1986 graduate of the program. Most of the crew consisted of WSU alumni and faculty members, who performed jobs such as camera operation, grip and post-production.
For a clip of the interview with Hanks, go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/vp/35723940#35723940.
“The Last Truck” is about the closing of GM’s Moraine truck assembly plant in 2008. It’s in the running for the documentary short award at the Oscars, which will be broadcast at 7 p.m. Sunday, March 7, on ABC.
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TweetFilmDayton Festival doubles up
Year two of The FilmDayton Festival will have twice as many films and locations.
Set for May 14-16 with a theme of “Dayton and Beyond,” it will focus on films with local connections — some made locally; others made elsewhere by filmmakers with local ties.
The lineup has not been announced. Screening sites will be the Neon Movies and the nearby Gilly’s nightclub.
“We’ll be showing the work of young, emerging filmmakers who work in Dayton, trained here or used their hometown as their subject matter,” said Ron Rollins, FilmDayton board president. “At the same time, we’re scouring top national festivals, such as Sundance and True/False, to find movies that Dayton audiences deserve to see without traveling across the country. Many of these films will only be shown locally at the FilmDayton Festival.
Opening night will be part of the May 14 Urban Nights, a downtown-wide even highlighting arts, entertainment, dining, shopping and residential offerings.
FilmDayton director Eva Buttacavoli said there will be opportunities during the festival to meet filmmakers, pitch ideas, learn tricks of the industry trade and attend parties.
The first year’s fest included “45365,” which has gone on to win three film festival awards.
For more information, and to purchase advance tickets, visit www.FilmDayton.com.
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TweetLocal actor on ‘Whisperer’ tonight
Dayton native Joey Luthman, 13, will be seen at 8 p.m. today, March 5, on the 100th episode of the series “The Ghost Whisperer.”
Series star Jennifer Love Hewitt directed the program, which can be seen on WHIO TV, Channel 7, and was originally scheduled for Feb. 5. It was moved to accommodate the Winter Olympics.
Luthman, a former Oakwood resident, will also be seen on the upcoming season finale of ABC’s “The Forgotten.”
Joey Luthman and Jennifer Love Hewitt
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TweetKenny Loggins to Fraze; Crow tickets available soon
Kenny Loggins will perform at the Fraze Pavillion on Friday, June 18, according to the Fraze. Tickets are $40 and $25.
Also, the annual Blues Festival will feature include the Tommy Castro Band, Charlie Musselwhite and John Hammond on Saturday, June 19 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 and $25.
The king of musical parody, Weird Al Yankovic, will perform on Friday, July 2 at 8:45 p.m. Tickets are $32 and $22.
Tickets for those events are available starting on Saturday, March 13.
Tickets for Sheryl Crow/Colbie Caillat concert on Tuesday, June 15 go on sale Saturday, March 6 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $80 and $50. There is a four-ticket limit.
Starting March 8, ticket hours are extended to Mondays to Fridays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Sundays, 1-3 p.m.
For more information, call 296-330 or go to Fraze.com or to Ticketmaster.com
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TweetVictoria audiences to be foiled
How do you follow an act like “Wicked”?
The long-awaited musical that turned out to be well worth the wait closes March 7 after three booming box office weeks at the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
Much as a feast often leads to wrapping up the leftovers, the Victoria Theatre Association is breaking out the aluminum foil.
But “The Aluminum Show,” a quirky, shiny, strange, fascinating and funny exhibition of metallic machinations, is no leftover. Created in 2003 in Israel, it’s touring North America for the first time.
It opens Tuesday, March 9, at the Victoria Theatre as the next offering in the Miami Valley Hospital Good Samaritan Hospital Broadway Series.
The offbeat production is no musical, although music is part of it. It’s a combination of dance, design, optical illusion, visual gag, sculpture, puppeteering and pantomime.
The six cast members and four stage assistants manipulate or wear various-sized Slinky-like ducts, tubes and other metallic objects and shapes.
The show began to take shape in the mind of Israeli dancer Ilan Azriel during a visit to a hardware store. It’s considerably larger than the 10-minute puppet show he created and produced previously.
Consisting of 20 segments in about 80 minutes, “The Aluminum Show” was first presented in Jerusalem and has toured other countries for several years.
It has been compared to “Stomp” and “Blue Man Group.” The production’s Dayton visit will be used to promote recycling. Audience members will be invited to contributed used aluminum foil that will be fashioned into a ball. Proceeds from turning that in will be split between Habitat for Humanity and the Victoria Theatre Association’s Education and Outreach programs.
Adults and kids tend to like “The Aluminum Show.” A few excerpts from recent reviews follow.
Thumbs Up:
“In this fast-paced show, aluminum is inflated into pillows, shredded into streamers, shot out of cannons, stretched out into a mammoth blanket, floated in mid-air, turned into hand and stick puppets, and repeatedly transformed into the agile Israeli troupe’s costumes.” — Theatermania.com.
“There’s a fine line between zany and goofy, between uniquely inventive and just plain silly. ‘The Aluminum Show’ zigzags back and forth across that line.” — Schenectady Times Union.
“The show’s whimsical use of metal offers unalloyed pleasure.” — theindependent.co.uk.
“ ‘The Aluminum Show’ has lots of audience participation. Many people say it creates a party atmosphere.” — Kansas City Jewish Chronicle.
Thumb Down:
“It is a mediocre and repetitive display of performers meandering inside metal air conditioning ducts. Audiences should also beware that they will be subjected to very (VERY) loud music and more than once-is-enough ‘mosh pit’ interactions with inflated aluminum pillows, tubing and confetti of all sizes.” — Charlotte Creative Arts Examiner.
What: “The Aluminum Show.”
When: March 9-21.
Where: Victoria Theatre, First and Main streets.
Tickets: $38-$83.
More Info: Call (937) 228-3630 or go to www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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TweetWizard of “Wicked” has Kenley Players past
The original Wizard of Oz may not have been able to find his way back to Kansas, but the man who plays the Wizard in the musical “Wicked” has found himself back in Dayton.
Don Amendolia made it a point early in the run at the Schuster Performing Arts Center to drive past Memorial Hall on First Street and sit outside for a while “to get back in touch with my past.”
Now 65, he cut his performing teeth as an apprentice with the Kenley Players in the same building more than 40 years ago. “I built props, painted sets and did whatever needed to be done,” he said.
Director John Kenley said they “would have to find a way to get me on stage. They did. I came through Dayton for several years.”
The Wizard in “Wicked” is a dictator of sorts, presiding over the dissolution of animal rights in Oz.
Amendolia doesn’t believe his character is really “a bad guy. He’s a guy who ended up in circumstances that caused him to behave a certain way,” he said.
“The people of Oz believed he was a messiah. He became seduced by being adulated in that way. He did his best to make them happy.”
Anyone in the any cast of “Wicked” can probably relate.
“I’ve been in hit shows. This is a phenomenon. It seems to resonate with virtually everyone,” Amendolia said.
“When people leap to their feet for you every single night, it’s like landing in a world where everyone thinks you are terrific.”
The Wizard sings an Act 1 solo called “A Sentimental Man” “that describes who he truly is,” Amendolia said.
“He’s a traveling snake oil salesman who always wanted to be a father and have a family.”
When he finds out at the end of the play that he’s actually Elphaba’s father, due to a one-night tryst, “it’s devastating for him. He has screwed up his life chasing a dream he already had.”
That revelation comes as he’s being deposed by Glinda as ruler of Oz.
What will become of him?
“I can’t think about that. I don’t imagine he will survive. I doubt he will find his way home. I would like to think he will fly into a rainbow somewhere.”
Amendolia, who grew up in southern New Jersey, has been able to go home again. After living in Los Angeles for many years while working in television and film, he moved back into the house he built with his father.
Dayton was only his fourth stop since joining the “Wicked” tour. It felt like home a little.
“Wicked”, which opened Feb. 17 in Dayton, will be presented again through Sunday, March 7, at the Schuster Performing Arts Center, Second and Main streets. More information is available at (937) 228-3630 or www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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TweetDocumentary features Kettering hospital
Kettering Health Network is included in a 60-minute documentary that will have its premiere locally on Saturday and Sunday, March 6 and 7.
“The Adventists — Call to Heal” will be broadcast nationally during April on PBS television.
The film by Martin Doblemeier explores the history and modern health ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. KHN is affiliated with the church.
Doblemeier will introduce this weekend’s free screenings and answer questions afterward. Times and locations will be: during the regular 9:30 and 11:45 a.m. services Saturday at the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church, corner of Southern Boulevard and Stroop Road; and at 9:30 and 11 a.m. Sunday at Cinema DeLux at The Greene, 4489 Glengarry Drive, Beavercreek.
WCET-TV Channel 48 in Cincinnati (http://www.cetconnect.org) will broadcast “The Adventists” at 11 p.m. on April 11.
Think TV Channel 16 in Dayton (www.thinktv.org) will air it at 11 p.m. April 25.
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TweetWSU freshman wins Schwartz scholarship
Charity Farrell, a Wright State University freshman from Centerville, won The Human Race Theatre Company’s third annual Stephen Schwartz Musical Theatre Scholarship Monday, March 1, at the Mathile Theatre in the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
Andrew Koslow, a University of Oklahoma junior from Springboro, was chosen runner-up by a panel including Broadway and film composer Schwartz, who wrote the music and lyrics for the musical “Wicked.”
Farrell, who sang “A New Life” from the musical “Jekyll and Hyde” and “Stranger to the Rain” from Schwartz’s “Children of Eden,” won a $3,500 scholarship.
Koslow, who received $1,500, sang “Building a Wall” from the movie “Shrek” and “Dancing Through Life’ from “Wicked.” Five other finalists each received $150.
Daniel Torres, a cast member of “Wicked,” which is now playing at the Schuster Performing Arts Center, served as master of ceremonies. Others from that show performed between the contestants.
Front row, L to R: Stephen Schwartz, Charity Farrell and Kevin Moore, Human Race Theatre executive director
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TweetAre your ‘Wicked’ tickets legit?
Scalpers, or secondary market ticket sellers, have been an issue for some audience members during the run of the hit musical “Wicked” (through March 7) at the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
Lisa Wagner, the Victoria Theatre Association’s vice president for ticketing and hospitality, and Lisa Japs, director of the VTA’s box office, Ticket Center Stage, have learned to dread hearing the words, “I bought tickets and haven’t received them yet.”
They have encountered several agitated patrons who expect them to alter or complete a transaction that wasn’t made at the official box office.
If the seats weren’t purchased from Ticket Center Stage, which is the only authorized seller, they may not be valid. There will be no record of the transaction in the box office system, no refund is possible, and the tickets can’t be reissued or reprinted.
If seats were purchased from a secondary seller such as Stub Hub or Jumbo Tickets, the customer needs to contact that particular seller.
“A lot of times tickets from the secondary market are valid, but it is still a risk. The lesser of the two evils is that patrons are paying way too much,” Wagner said. For example, a $50 ticket may go for $150 because a scalper’s sole motivation is to make as much as the market allows. Because “Wicked’ is phenomenally popular, some audience members have been willing to pay higher amounts to see it.
“Wicked” tickets are priced at $46-$125 at Ticket Center Stage. The handling fee is another $5. Handling fees may also be higher for secondary transactions.
Wagner and Japs said some secondary markets “have been impersonating Ticket Center Stage. Some of them have told potential buyers it is Ticket Center Stage’s policy to sell tickets to secondary dealers. That is false. Our policy is to sell them only to our patrons.”
The Top 7 Ways to Know if you have purchased from a secondary market:
You didn’t buy from Ticket Center Stage
You paid more than $100 for a seat in the upper balcony of the Schuster Center.
While purchasing your ticket, you spoke with a person outside the state of Ohio.
Your ticket was postmarked or mailed from somewhere other than Dayton, Ohio.
You paid more than $5 in fees.
The seat you purchased does not match the seating chart of the venue.
You bought tickets on ebay or craigslist.
Contact Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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