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February 2010
Sheryl Crow to return to Fraze
Sheryl Crow is returning to the Fraze Pavilion for a June 15 concert.
It is the third time Crow has scheduled shows in Kettering. Crow performed in 2003 and reported she loved it here so much that she came back in 2007 for two nights of performances. She had her 2003 performance filmed and it was used on her ‘C’mon America’ DVD.
This time she will perform a June 15, 8 p.m. concert. Colbie Caillat will open for Crow.
Tickets will go on sale on Saturday, March 6 at 9 a.m. Tickets are $80 and $50. There will be a 4-ticket limit per person on the first day of sales.
Also announced on Friday, Feb. 26 was that Bachman & Turner perform on Friday, June 25 at 8 p.m. Tickets for that show also go on sale Saturday, March 6. Tickets are $55 and $35.
For more information, go to Fraze.com or call (937) 296-3300.
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Tweet‘Wicked’ performers instruct local students
Two cast members from the musical “Wicked” were having a terrible influence on 20 impressionable area students Thursday morning, Feb. 25.
Through movement and expression, they were coaching them to project extreme dislike of Elphaba, the new green girl in school. The scene was from an Act 1 in the show.
Erin Wilson and Lindsay Wood led the “master class” organized by Broadway University, a program sponsored by the Victoria Theatre Association that connects performers in touring shows with theater students from the community.
“I’m here because I love ‘Wicked’ and have danced for a long time,” said University of Dayton student Christie Back.
The only male, John Griffin, a junior at Alter High School, said he thought the class “would be good for me to see how professionals work. I am a ballroom dancer and actor. I saw the show just last night.”
Wilson is a singer who grew up in southern California. Wood, who is one of only two female flying monkeys in the “Wicked” national tour that plays Dayton through March 7, is primarily a dancer.
Both agreed that the crucial aspect of the show is acting. “Telling the story is of primary importance,” Wilson said. “In this scene, we want to pulverize that green girl.”
Wilson said she marked her one-year anniversary with the “Wicked” tour this week. Her roles in the show include Galinda’s best friend in college and understudy for the featured role of Madame Morrible. She will be playing that part several times the week of March 1.
Wood is a “swing.” She needs to be ready with little notice to jump into any of eight female parts.
Being a monkey that flies came almost naturally to her.
“I must be fearless, because I shouted, ‘Yea!’ the first time I went up. When I was little, I dreamed of being Tinkerbell.”
While in Dayton for three weeks, cast members stay sharp by working out at area gyms and taking classes at the Dayton Ballet, among other studios.
David Brush, Victoria outreach and education manager, said audience members can attend two post-performance talkbacks with the performers. One will be in the Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Performing Arts Center following the Saturday, Feb. 27, matinee performance. The other will be in the Schuster Center donors lounge after the Thursday, March 4, evening show. Ticket information about “Wicked” is available at (937) 228-3630 or www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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TweetKettering artist wins design honor
Beadwork Magazine, the national “bible” of beadwork for designers, crafters and artists, has named Carole Ohl of Kettering one of its 2010 “Designers of the Year.”
Ohl is featured in the February/March 2010 issue of the magazine with her custom design for a “Kaleidoscope Quilt Cuff.” She will also be featured in five more issues this year with her patterns for beaded jewelry.
A freelance graphic designer for 30 year, she also teaches jewelry design at The Beadcage in Kettering. Her beadwork work can be purchased at Gallery 510 in the Oregon District.
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TweetFormer local teen on “Zeke and Luther”
Austin Wells had a few minutes to talk by phone on Tuesday, Feb. 23, before an exam on his previous week’s assignments.
Home-schooled because he’s an actor, the former Centerville High School student, 17, said conventional schools “don’t understand” when you have to leave before noon to go audition or do some filming.
Latest proof of why he needs a flexible schedule will come at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 15, on the Disney XD channel.
He will be seen as Monty in the season-opening episode of “Zeke and Luther.” The sitcom stars Hutch Dano as Zeke Thatcher and Adam Hicks as Luther Waffles, two friends negotiating teen-age life in Southern California while trying to become professional skateboarders.
![Austinsmile[1].JPG](http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/shared-blogs/dayton/artsandentertainment/upload/2010/02/former_local_teen_on_zeke_and/Austinsmile%5B1%5D.JPG)
Wells’ character, Monty, is the “replacement brother” for Zeke’s little sister, Ginger. On the episode, Zeke is about to attempt a skating stunt no one has ever tried, “and he may not live. So Ginger, being Ginger, is taking the opportunity to trade up on brothers,” Wells said. “It’s really funny.”
Wells, who lives in Ontario, Calif., with his parents, Gary and Salli Wells, said Monty is “very over the edge. He wants to please everybody and will do what it takes to make them like him.”
He said aspects of his personality mesh with Monty’s. “I can remember acting that way a bit.”
Wells, who hopes to study writing and film directing at California State University at Fullerton starting next year, said he’s only slated to appear on one episode.
But he welcomes a write-in campaign to convince the show’s producers to make Monty a recurring role.
“Let’s see. I need about 25,000 people to post comments on the show’s website. Say something like how that Monty guy needs to come back,” he said.
His TV debut came in 2009 on Nickelodeon’s “iCarly.” He played a math geek on one episode.
“I’m not sure what’s next. Last night, I finished a workshop with a casting director that went very well,” said Wells, who is also a cartoonist and writer. “One of my dreams is to write and direct a movie.”
For more information about “Zeke and Luther,” go to http://disney.go.com/disneyxd/#/disneyxd/shows/zekeandluther/.
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TweetFormer ‘2’ anchor Kerr back for Playhouse bash
A television news staffer working the night shift can forget about doing theater. Evening rehearsals are out of the question.
That was former WDTN TV2 anchor and reporter Barbara Kerr’s situation until 1982, when the station offered her the noon news alongside co-anchor Art Brown.
Nights free, she headed off to audition for a Dayton Playhouse production of the musical “Lady in the Dark,” a show she loved.
“To break the ice,” she prepared an introduction. “Good evening,” she announced from the stage. “If I do well tonight, I’m Barbara Kerr. If not, I’m Lorrie Roberts (a competitor at WHIO TV (Channel 7).”
The strategy broke the ice, earned a laugh and calmed her nerves. She also got the part.
Kerr, who now lives in Portland, went on to do lots of theater —including more shows at the Dayton Playhouse and in the glory days of Kettering’s Theatre Under the Stars. “Lady in the Dark” remains her “fondest stage memory.”
She will relive it and others on Saturday, March 6, when the Dayton Playhouse celebrates its 50th anniversary with a party and performances at the Dayton Marriott,
Kerr, who is married to another former Dayton TV personality, Joe Smith, is executive director of communications for Clark College in Vancouver, Wash.
Smith, whose duties at Channel 22 in the ‘80s included hosting the Clubhouse 22 kids’ show with Duffy the Dog, is a featured reporter with KGW-TV, Portland’s NBC affiliate.
Menu, decor and entertainment theme for the playhouse celebration will Broadway in the 1950s. There will be a cash bar.
“The night is for everyone, but we especially want to celebrate those who have been here as actors, technicians, volunteers and audience members,” organizer Dodie Lockwood said.
Other past performers who are coming back to take the stage include Arthur Jackson, Sue Jackson and Roger Watson. Plenty of current and recent performers will be part of the show.
For those traveling from out of town, the Marriott is offering a special overnight package including room, two tickets to the celebration and a Sunday brunch for two.
What: “Stage Struck: The Dayton Playhouse at 50.”
Where: Dayton Marriott, 1414 S. Patterson Blvd.
When: 7 p.m. March 6.
How Much: $40 per person, $75 per couple.
Call: (937) 424-8477 or www.daytonplayhouse.org.
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Tweet6 student plays in ‘Changed’ fest
Six plays by students at Dayton area high schools have been chosen from 25 entries to be produced in the “Changed for Good 10-Minute Playwriting Festival” March 5-7.
The project is part of the Victoria Theatre Association’s Broadway University, in association with the Miami Valley & Good Samaritan Hospitals Broadway Series presentation of the musical “Wicked.”
Winning plays are: “The Big, the Bad, and the Ugly,” by Philip Kellogg of Yellow Springs High School.
“The Tortoise and the Hare: A Prequel,” by Jasmine Crowder, Courtney Gordon, Janicqua Jordan and Eleesha Moore of Dayton Early College Academy.
“Here, Kitty-Kitty,” by Ben Cloud, Prentiss Haney, Taylor Kingston and Anne Scott of Stivers High School for the Arts.
“A Charming Deceit,” by John Dewar, Phillip Mercurio, Bryson Smith and Sydney Stacy of Stivers.
“Hooked on Therapy,” by Stefany Lewis and Shirlisa Scott of Yellow Springs High School.
“The Fairest of Them All,” by Elise Duncan, Sherry Jiao, Nandini Srinivasan and Grace Wannemacher of Beavercreek High School.
The plays will be produced by the theater department of Sinclair Community College at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday in the Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Performing Arts Center. Admission is free and open to the public.
Students attended a series of workshops to select their source, develop their ideas and construct their scripts.
“These are not just modern retellings. The students are imagining the story from a different point of view, or with different character reactions and responses,” said David Brush, manager of education and outreach for the VTA. The inspiration for the project was “Wicked,” which gives a new twist to the story of the witches in “The Wizard of Oz.” One of the songs in that show is the climactic “Changed for Good.”
For more information, go to www.victoriatheatre.com or email Brush at david.brush@victoriatheatre.com.
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TweetDayton man finalist in national comedy competition
A Dayton man is a finalist in the national, online search for ‘America’s Next Big Comic.’
Ryan Singer, of Dayton, is among four comedians who will compete on Tuesday, Feb. 23 in Minneapolis to determine a winner.
The four comedians will perform live at the Acme Comedy Club in Minnesota. Material from that performance will be used to determine a winner.
The site Comic.CMT.com is where you can view performances and vote for the next three weeks.
There is a specific link to a Ryan Singer performance on the site, called ‘Fat Test Dummies.’ The link is: http://www.cmt.com/shows/nextbigcomic/index.jhtml#12
The winner of the contest will be revealed on March 15 and will perform at the 2010 Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival in June. Rooftop Comedy has searched the country for comedic talent it says are on the verge of breaking out.
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Tweet‘Forbidden Dances’ on Variety Series
The Victoria Theatre Association’s 2010-11 Universal 1 Variety Series will include a show that satirizes both “Dancing With the Stars” and Broadway musicals.
The spoof of those broad targets, called “Forbidden Broadway Dances with the Stars,” will be part of the three-show lineup at the Victoria Theatre, First and Main streets.
The laugh-provoking season is meant to attract both theatergoers and those who rarely, if ever, attend live theater.
The package will open in October with “The Second City,” a production from Chicago’s legendary comedy theater and comedian training ground. “Forbidden Broadway Dances” will take the stage for a single performance in February 2011, followed in May by a night with comedian Larry Miller, who has appeared in more than 50 films.
Season tickets are now on sale at Ticket Center Stage, (937) 228-3630 or www.ticketcenterstage.com. Subscribers save 13 percent on the price of single tickets.
2010-11 Universal 1 Variety Series
“The Second City”: Octl. 23, 2010.
“Forbidden Broadway Dances With the Stars”: Feb. 19, 2011.
“Cocktails With Larry Miller: Little League, Adultery and Other Bad Ideas”: May 7, 2010.
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TweetWant a ‘Wicked’ ticket? Would you pay $550 for it?
How well is “Wicked” doing at the box office in Dayton?
Would you pay between $364 and $550 for a ticket?
That was the price range quoted Feb. 22 by online secondary ticket-seller www.ticketliquidator.com to see the hit musical at the Schuster Performing Arts Center, where it runs through March 7.
That compared with $151 to $233 to see it in New York, where it has been running for seven years; between $39 and $601 in San Francisco, where the show is having an extended run, and between $77 and $306 in Miami, where it opens in early March.
Official prices at the Schuster are $46-$125. Ticket Center Stage is the only authorized ticket seller of “Wicked” tickets, said Victoria Theatre Association spokesperson Diane Schoeffler-Warren.
The national ticket industry website www.ticketnews.com ranked “Wicked” as the number one event in its top 20.
People who want to see it in Dayton, where tickets are so hot they glow (judging by online sellers’ prices) might do better to buy a seat for the upcoming run in Toledo.
“Wicked” will play the Stranahan Theatre there March 31-April 18. Ticketliquidator.com had a good range of seats there for $93-$214. Based on experience here, those prices will go up during the run.
The Victoria Theatre Association, which is presenting “Wicked” in its Broadway series at the Schuster Performing Arts Center, has reported no sellouts. It says only that ticket sales here are going “very well.”
Bargains remain available. A pre-show lottery begins 150 minutes before each performance. Twenty seats go to the lucky winners for just $25 each. Call (937) 228-3630 or go to www.ticketcenterstage.com for more information.
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TweetDave Koz coming to Fraze
The Fraze Pavillion will host an evening of jazz in July, featuring Dave Koz and Jonathan Butler.
Jazz performers Koz and Butler with special guest Sheila E.and RnR featuring Rick Braun and Richard Elliot will take the Fraze stage on Saturday, July 31.
Tickets go on sale Saturday, Feb. 27 at 9 a.m.
The ticket office is currently only open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information, go to Fraze.com or call (937) 296-3300.
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Tweet“Wicked” finally casts spell at Schuster
“Wicked,” a little musical about sisterhood and doing good, has officially cast its spell at the the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
The Thursday night, Feb. 18, performance for the third of what will be many more virtually full houses in a long-awaited, satisfying local premiere through March 7, answered the questions that matter.
Is the uplifting and entertaining musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holtzman really that good? Is it still that good seven years after opening on Broadway?
Yes and yes.
Do you need to know the complex and quirky novel by Gregory Maguire to make sense of a story that explains what happened in Oz before (but also a bit after) Dorothy “melts” the Wicked Witch?
No.
Is it worth the ticket price?
Yes. In fact, if you have your ticket, be happy.
There are good and great songs in a two-act production that runs about 2:45, including intermission. A couple of them — “Defying Gravity,” which closes Act 1, and “No Good Deed,” more than midway through Act 2, are passionate expressions.
The other, the iconic and emblematic duet for the two leading ladies, “For Good,” is emotionally satisfying. The two witches who share it underplayed it a bit on opening night, which proved effective for a song that has made so many people cry.
As Elphaba, Broadway veteran Marcie Dodd was a powerhouse as the misunderstood green witch and animal activist we get to know and learn to love. She was the gutsy heart of this production.
Helene Yorke as Glinda gave us a pretty, stuck-up blonde who was truly changed for good, shifting to causes much bigger than her self-centered introduction. It was a nicely developed portrayal, but her opening solo, “No One Mourns the Wicked,” fell a bit flat.
Marilyn Caskey as headmistress Morrible, Kristine Reese as Elphaba’s non-green sister Nessarose, Don Amedolia as the purposely not very wonderful Wizard and Colin Donnell as the romantic male lead Fiyero were other individuals framed and supported by a versatile ensemble, scenic dazzle, evocative costuming and clear story sprinkled with humor (especially for Glinda).
The male characters tend to be two-dimensional and not all that positive in a show as dominated by women as “The Color Purple.” Even Fiyero ends up stuffed with straw, although two women love him and he wins one of them.
“Wicked” forges many connections with the 1939 classic “Wizard of Oz” film and neatly ties up several resulting loose ends. It both plays off and pays homage to the mother lode that inspired Maguire and the musical’s makers.
It has taken its green and blonde time getting here, which turns out not to matter at all.
Tickets for the the Victoria Theatre Association presentation are $46-$125 at (937) 228-3630, toll free at (888) 228-3630 or online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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TweetStudents to sing for Schwartz, ‘Wicked’ cast
The Human Race Theatre Company’s third annual Stephen Schwartz Musical Theatre Scholarship Competition March 1 will boast tie-ins with the musical “Wicked,” which is now playing at the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
Schwartz, the show’s composer and lyricist, will serve as one of the judges for the contest, in which seven area university theater majors will vie for scholarship money. The audience will also get to vote.
Stephen Schwartz
Daniel Torres of the “Wicked” cast will serve as emcee. Others with roles in the show will perform on the program, which takes place on their day off.
The students either have hometowns in the Dayton area or attend college here. They include: Rachel Jones of Hamilton, a student at Baldwin-Wallace College; Andrew Koslow of Springboro and the University of Oklahoma; and five musical theater majors at Wright State University — Charity Farrell, Hilary Fingerman, Kelsey Hopkins, Charlie Mann and Alexandra Sunderhaus.
Farrell, a freshman at WSU who grew up singing and acting on Dayton stages, said the chance to meet Schwartz, “Wicked” performers and experience the personal first of singing in the Schuster “will be a thrill.” Going up against the other finalist “will be daunting.”
Jones, a sophomore in musical theater at B-W, was chosen as an alternate for the first competition as a high school senior. “As a finalist, I hope to use what I’m learning at school to bring his song to life and do it justice. I hope to make Mr. Schwartz proud.”
Each student will sing two songs, one of them by Schwartz.
A reception with Schwartz, the students and other performers will follow the competition, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Performing Arts Center. Use the entrance at Second and Ludlow streets.
Tickets are $20 for the show, $50 for show and reception. Call (937) 228-3630 or  make reservations at www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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TweetMusica! to perform at Midwest conference
The members of Musica! would be wise to rest their vocal chords this week, because the professional vocal ensemble has a busy schedule ahead.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21, 19 Musica! singers will lift their voices in a concert at David’s United Church of Christ, 170 David Rd. in Kettering. The local performance is a prelude to the group’s major showcase at the 2010 American Choral Directors Association Midwest Conference at Cincinnati’s Hilton Netherlands Hotel at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25.
Musica! is one of more than twenty choirs chosen to sing at the four-day conference.
“The David Church concert is free to the public,” said Robert Jones, artistic director of Musica!. “If people wanted to go to this conference, there’s a huge guest fee; which is why we wanted people to know if they would like to come to hear us before that, this is obviously the way to do it.”
Musica! faced stiff competition from more than fifty vocal ensembles statewide. After an extensive elimination process, Musica! got the nod.
“Basically I put together a portfolio that had information on the group,” Jones explained. “I put together a CD of three different selections. From that we were chosen.”
Musica! is the only adult vocal ensemble on the program.
“The rest are high school and collegiate (choirs),” Jones said. “The group is really proud and I think they should be.”
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TweetDCDC concert to spotlight men
The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will present its winter concert at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Centerville Schools Performing Arts Center, 500 E. Franklin St.
“Connections” will feature: the premiere of “The Pride,” by former company member Daniel Marshall; a revival of “We Ain’t Goin’ Home But We Finna To Get the Hell Up Outta Here,” a work by nationally known hip-hop choreographer Reggie Wilson inspired by the paintings of Jacob Lawrence; “the beauty of smAll things” and “On the Wings of Angels,” by Warren Spears.
Artistic director Debbie Blunden-Diggs said the choice of four works by male choreographers was intentional.
“DCDC has always been about powerful women, starting with my mother (company founder Jeraldyne Blunden). We have had powerful women dancers who helped shape the company,” she said. “While men have always played a vital role, the history of DCDC’s male artists is a story not so well known. The emphasis on these particular men has to do with how their lives and art were influenced by Jeraldyne when they once worked with her.”
Tickets are $12-$45 at www.dcdc.org or (937) 228-3232.
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TweetWilberforce University Choir to perform at Michael’s Restaurant
They’ve performed with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Kennedy Center and, most recently, Schuster Center for Dayton Opera’s Star Gala. On Sunday, Feb. 21 the renowned Wilberforce University Choir will be special guest at Michael’s Restaurant, Kettering Tower, Second and Main Streets for a Sunday Brunch from 11 a.m. To 4 p.m. The Sunday Brunch is sponsored by United Health Solutions and open to the public. Wilberforce University Choir, led by director Jeremy Winston, is a versatile ensemble of heavenly voices comfortable in a variety of genres. Founded in 1878, WUC’s programs include spirituals and gospel standards, light opera, jazz, pop and selections from the great American sound book. Cost of brunch is $18.95. $10 for children. Call (937) 331-9188
Khalid Moss, Staff Writer
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TweetStagehands big fans of “Wicked”
It took 13 semi-trailer trucks to haul the musical “Wicked” from Greenville, S.C., to Dayton this week. When the loads started arriving at the Schuster Performing Arts Center on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 15 and 16, members of the 111-year-old Local 66 of the stagehands union were waiting with open arms.
“We’ve lost $70,000 in wages due to weather cancellations the past two weeks,” Local 66 business manager Ken Rice said. “We lost Blues Fest at the Nutter Center, the Rascal Flatts concert at the Nutter and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly at Hara Arena. We are really glad to see ‘Wicked’ come to town.”
Rice had a crew of more than 70 working to install the sets, flooring, lighting and special effects equipment on Tuesday. A dozen theater management and technology students from Wright State University were among the workers.
“We were working from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday. We’ll work from 8 to 11 p.m. today and 8 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday,” Rice said. “This is a great job for us.”
The crew will be back to dismantle the show when “Wicked” closes here March 7 and load it up for the next tour stop, March 10, in Richmond, Va. Another tour of the same musical opens March 3 in Miami.
“Wicked” opens today, Feb. 17, at the Schuster, Second and Main streets. Tickets are $46-$125 at (937) 228-3630 or www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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TweetSandi Patty to give free concert in Kettering
Christian singer Sandi Patty will give a free concert on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kettering Adventist Church.
Patty is the most honored female vocalist in Contemporary Christian Music. She has won 39 Dove Awards and five Grammy Awards. She’s a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and was named an Indiana Living Legend.
Patty has also recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and is an author.
The church is located at 3939 Stonebridge Road. For more information, call (937) 298-2167 or go to Ketsda.org. Patty’s website is SandiPatty.com.
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Tweet‘Wicked’ takes over the Schuster
» Photos: Stage set for ‘Wicked’
The Wizard would have said to pay no attention to the 78 men and women behind the curtain of the Schuster Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, Feb. 16. And he would have been telling the truth.
The people on stage were stagehands, not performers, making way for the smash musical “Wicked,” which begins a three-week run at the Schuster on Wednesday night, Feb. 17.
There was little drama involved, according to representatives of the country’s number-one touring production.
“Things are going really well. This is a great new venue for us,” company manager Erica Norgaard said, standing beneath the huge dragon that had already been installed over the stage. It’s a dominant feature of the set for a show that includes witches, flying monkeys and a special floor with tracks, fog and smoke elements built right in.
The move-in is a three-day process. Trucks started rolling in Monday, Feb. 15, and the unloading will continue until Wednesday afternoon.
Ken Rice, business manager for the Dayton stagehands union, said he has expanded his crew with a dozen student apprentices from Wright State University.
Most veteran backstage workers said as musicals go, “Phantom of the Opera” is bigger, but “Wicked” is big. “It’s a 9 on a scale of 10,” said Pat Keough, who is production and technical director for the Schuster and the Victoria Theatre.
One reason things are going so smoothly is that planning started more than three months ago. Keough said technicians from the show visited the Schuster to study logistics.
“Wicked” will be presented through March 7 at the Schuster, Second and Main streets. Tickets are $46-$125. There is also a lottery for 20 tickets, each priced at $25, starting two and one-half hours before each performance.
For more information, call (937) 228-3630 or check online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.
» Photos: Stage set for ‘Wicked’
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TweetFound film fest finds way to Neon
Why let Hollywood moguls with big marketing budgets decide what you see?
Why not turn that decision over to a couple of garage sale denizens with no health insurance?
The fifth annual Found Footage Festival, a local premiere, will be the unconventional attraction at 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19, at the Neon Movies.
It will feature castoff, forgotten and discarded VHS cassettes and films two guys have found in dumpsters and thrift stores.
Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher will introduce their odd and often unintentionally hilarious finds and do some comic bits in between.
The two were students when they started their collection in 1991, when they would show their finds for friends in their parents’ living rooms or college dorm rooms.
Showings have moved to movie houses with bigger audiences, but the routine remains the same on a nine-month, 100-screening tour of North America.
“We had no idea there would be such a demand for accidental material,” Prueher said. “We were in Paris two years ago showing our collection and it really hit us. Why are all of these people who barely speak English enjoying this?”
They have theories as to why. “It’s almost like there’s an appeal to looking at stuff that wasn’t meant to be shown in public. It’s a bit subversive, not that we are. We’re just trying to make people laugh.”
Their ever-evolving collection features pieces like a 1987 video-dating reel, a home movie donated to Goodwill, an industrial training video, a collection of bad Saturday morning cartoons and a demo of “facial aerobics.”
“You have to wonder: Why was this deemed important enough to commit to video?” Prueher said.
For information, or samples of what to expect, check out their website, www.foundfootagefest.com/videos.
how to go
What: “Found Footage Festival.”
When: 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19.
Where: Neon Movies, 130 E. Fifth St.
Tickets: $10.
Call: (937) 222-7469.
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TweetJimmy Buffet schedules area concert
Jimmy Buffet & The Coral Reefer Band are coming back to the area for a May 17 concert at Riverbend Music Center.
Tickets go on sale on Monday, Feb 22 at 10 a.m.
Ticket prices are $36 for general admission lawn tickets and $136 for reserved pavilion seating. For more information, go to Riverbend.org or call (513) 232-6220.
Tickets are also available at Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or at TicketMaster.com
Riverbend is located at 6295 Kellogg Ave. in Cincinnati.
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TweetRascal Flatts cancels Nutter Center show
The Rascal Flatts concert at the Ervin J. Nutter Center has been canceled.
Last week, the band postponed its Saturday, Feb. 6 concert, citing safety concerns after a Friday snowstorm. On Friday, Feb. 12 the group’s publicist announced the cancellation.
“The date did not play due to severe inclement weather and for the safety of the fans,” according to statement by Jessie Schmidt, a publicist for Rascal Flatts.
Then the statement said that those who purchased tickets can take the tickets back to the point of purchase for a refund.
Those who bought tickets at the Nutter Center can start turning tickets in for refund on Monday, Feb. 15 starting at 10 a.m., said Misty Cox, Nutter Center spokesperson.
Since there are no fees, those ticket purchasers will get a full refund.
Online purchasers from TicketMaster will see a section on the site to make the return. Fees are non-refundable.
Cox said she doesn’t know why Rascal Flatts chose not to reschedule a date.
“We didn’t really get a reason,” Cox said.
Last week a spokesperson said the concert would be rescheduled and the group was ‘working immediately to get a date’ for a performance.
In 2008, Rascal Flatts had to postpone a February concert to May due to illness.
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Tweet‘Lion King’ coming to Dayton
By Terry Morris Staff Writer
“The Lion King” is coming.
The Victoria Theatre Association has announced a 2010-2011 Broadway Series that includes the Disney stage juggernaut.
The lineup also includes the first national tour of the musical ‘9 to 5.’
“Lion King,” by Elton John and Tim Rice, will be presented June 14 through July 10, 2011, at the Schuster Center.
Performance dates for “9 to 5,” the 2009 musical written by Dolly Parton, are Feb. 1 through Feb. 6, 2011.
Other attractions include: A brand new show from “Blue Man Group,” a return visit of the comedy “The Wonder Bread Years” and the musicals “The Drowsy Chaperone” and “All Shook Up.”
Only season subscriptions are on sale now. Single tickets will go on sale at a future date.
The Dayton market has waited a long time for “Lion King,” which is based on the 1994 Disney animation film of the same name. It opened on Broadway in 1997, won the ‘98 Tony and is still running in New York and London. At almost 5,100 performances, it is the ninth longest-running show in Broadway history.
In contrast, Dayton will be only the second stop for the new “Blue Man Group” show and will be among the first cities to get “9 to 5.”
“We want to have something in the series that draws new people to the theater,” said Ken Neufeld, president and CEO of the Victoria Theatre Association and Arts Center Foundation. “We’re seeing that with ‘Wicked,’ ” which opens Feb. 17 for the first time in Dayton. “We’re going to see that with ‘Lion King’ as well. It’s going to be fabulous at the Schuster Center.”
“Drowsy Chaperone,” a musical comedy that attracted a loyal following on Broadway, will be produced by The Human Race Theatre Company. “‘All Shook Up” is built around the songs of Elvis Presley.
The series sponsor will be Miami Valley and Good Samaritan hospitals. For season tickets or more information, call (937) 228-3630, toll free at (888) 228-3630 or go to www.ticketcenterstage.com.
The 2010-11 Broadway Series
“Blue Man Group”: Sept. 28-Oct. 3. Schuster Center.
“The Wonder Bread Years”: Dec. 7-19. Victoria Theatre.
“9 to 5: The Musical”: Schuster Center.
“The Drowsy Chaperone”: Victoria Theatre.
“All Shook Up”: Victoria Theatre.
“The Lion King”: June 14-July 10. Schuster Center.
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TweetFeb. 13 Hara concert cancelled
A Feb. 13 concert at Hara Arena featuring R&B group Frankie Beverly & Maze, along with Keith Sweat and Bobby Brown, has been cancelled.
Arena officials said the promoter cited ongoing inclement weather and low ticket sales for the decision.
Those with tickets can go back to the place of purchase for a refund. Call the Hara Arena Box Office at (937) 278-4776 for more information.
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TweetUD names dance director
Damion Smith has succeeded Mark Cummings as artistic director of the University of Dayton Dance Ensemble.
A dancer, choreographer and former member of the Quagmire Dance Company, Smith will be assisted by Ashley Gayonski.
Cummings, who is also associate director of the Gary Geis Dance Company and its school in Springfield, directed the UD troupe for more than 20 years.
The ensemble, which consists of students from various majors throughout the university, will present its winter concert at 8 p.m. Feb. 19 and 20 at Boll Theatre in UD’s John F. Kennedy Memorial Union. Tickets are $6-$10. Call (937) 229-2545.
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TweetHara announces cancellation
Hara Arena has postponed presentation of the stage play “Weight for a Man” until May 7.
Scheduled for a single performance on Feb. 28, the comedy about a woman who hires a personal trainer to get in shape for a reunion with her high school sweetheart, was scheduled for a single performance on Feb. 28.
For more information, call the box office at (937) 278-4776. For details about the show, go to www.weightforaman.com or www.haracomplex.com.
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Tweet‘Colony’ sets local casting call
The Discovery Channel series “The Colony” will have an open casting call for its upcoming second season from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in the Mall at Fairfield Commons, 2727 Fairfield Commons, Beavercreek.
Casting director Michael Yates, who grew up in Centerville, said up to a half dozen people will be chosen to inhabit a “mock apocalypse situation” for several weeks in a location that is “still secret.”
Tryouts are also being done in Denver and Houston. He said a large turnout is expected. “If 1,200 people show up, we will see them all,” he said.
Yates described “The Colony” as “a social experiment more than typical reality TV.” Unlike ‘“Survivor” or “Big Brother,” “there are no eliminations and no prizes. You are there for the duration. Once the cameras stop rolling, no one comes in and helps. If you get to the location and can’t fix the power generator, you’ll be sitting in the dark,” said the 1998 graduate of Wright State University’s motion pictures program.
“Backstabbing and manipulation to beat someone else is counterproductive. Collaborative skills are important.”
Yates said contestants at Fairfield Commons will need to register and undergo brief interviews, in groups of six to 10.
“Handymen, engineers and scientists are the kinds of people we’re looking for. If you’re an accountant and have those skills, that’s great, too,” Yates said.
Hopefuls need to be “assertive. Don’t hold back. If you have something to brag about, tell us. If you’ve built something from scratch, or survived for six months in the mountains, let us know.”
For more information about the show and clips from season one, go to http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/colony/colony.html
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Tweet‘Sideshow’ entries, acts sought
Wide open: Those are the possibilities for “Sideshow 2010.”
The next edition of the anything-everything art exhibit/performance/happening organized by the Dayton Circus Creative Collective will be May 14 and 15 at a downtown Dayton venue to be named.
Submissions of all art forms are being taken through March 30. Even those who have never shown their art or performed publicly are invited to offer work for consideration.
Here’s how: Send an application letter, preferably by email, to sideshow2010@gmail.com with two to five samples of your work attached. MP3s are preferred for audio, YouTube for video and JPGs for photos. Most digital formats are acceptable, however.
For help in organizing a submission, contact Kidtee Hello at kidteehello@gmail.com or call (219) 707-1643. For more information about the event, contact David Kenworthy at (937) 430-4172 or kenworthy.5@wright.edu. Also, see http://www.facebook.com/l/dce41;www.daytoncircus.org/
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Tweet88 percent of ‘Wicked’ seats sold
More than 10 percent of tickets to the local premiere run of musical “Wicked” were still available as of Monday, Feb. 8.
“To date, more than 49,000 of the 54,144 tickets have been sold,” said Lisa Wagner, vice president of ticketing and hospitality for the Victoria Theatre Association and Arts Center Foundation.
That’s 88 percent of all available seats, which compares with a 97-percent sale for “Phantom of the Opera” in 2003, the record holder at the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
Will “Phantom” hold onto the record? “Talk to me at the end of the run,” Wagner said. “Wicked” will be presented Feb. 17-March 7.
Best selection of remaining seats is for the 2 p.m. Feb. 18 show. Weeknights generally have a better selection than weekends, when the upper balcony is your best bet.
Wagner said Ticket Center Stage is selling many more seats than usual to patrons from outside the region. “We’re making sales to visitors from Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, but also as far away as New England.”
Wagner said the economic impact on downtown Dayton will be “significant. With more than 50,000 people visiting the area over three weeks, many of them are looking for places to stay, places to eat and where to park.”
For tickets, call (937) 228-3630 or go to www.ticketcenterstage.com. For special offers, go to the Downtown Dayton Partnership’s “Wicked Deals” page at www.downtowndayton.org.
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TweetYiddish troupe bringing revue
A contingent of actors in their 20s and 30s from the longest-running Yiddish theater company in the United States will pay a visit to Dayton for a single performance March 21.
The Traveling Troupe of the New York-based National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will present the musical revue “Mama’s Loshn Kugel” at 2 p.m. at the Engineers Club of Dayton, 110 E. Monument Ave.
The production in Yiddish includes classic songs and sketches by Sholom Aleichem, Abraham Goldfaden and Molly Picon. It will be presented with English and Russian supertitles.
Tickets are $8-$10 and include a reception afterwards. Call (937) 853-0372. For more about the the country’s last remaining Yiddish theater, which was established in 1915, go to www.folksbiene.org.
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TweetRascal Flatts show at Nutter Center to be rescheduled
The Saturday, Feb. 6, Rascal Flatts concert at Wright State University’s Ervin J. Nutter Center has been postponed due to the weather for concert-goers’ safety.
Group spokesperson Ben Farrell said the event will be rescheduled and that “all tickets will be honored. (We are) working immediately to get a date which will be forthcoming as soon as the university and Rascal (Flatts) can work to meet each other’s schedules.”
Darius Rucker was scheduled to go on at 6:30 p.m., followed by the main attraction at 8.
This is the second time Rascal Flatts has had to reschedule a local appearance. In 2008, the band’s sold-out concert for Feb. 17 was postponed until May 10 due to illness.
For more information and developments, go to www.nuttercenter.com.
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TweetBlues festival postponed
The Dayton Blues Festival scheduled to take place Friday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. at Nutter Center has been postponed until Saturday, April 3 due to transportation issues. The festival was to feature Bobby “Blue” Bland, Floyd Taylor, Clarence Carter, Lenny Williams and others. Ticket holders are encouraged to hold onto their tickets. They will be honored at the April, 3 concert. For more information call (937) 775-3333 or visit www.nuttercenter.com
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TweetDoo-Wop legends coming to Fraze
Dion, The Drifters, Shirley Alston-Reeves, The Flamingos and The Soul Stirrers will perform a Hall of Fame Spectacular at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering on June 13.
Classic hits like “Runaround Sue,” “Save the Last Dance,” “Soldier Boy,” “I Only Have Eyes for You” and “Chain Gang” are among the classics expected to be performed.
Tickets go on sale Sat. Feb. 13 at 9 a.m.
Also, the Fraze has announced that tickets for the June 4 Vince Gill concert will go on sale Sat. Feb. 6 at 9 a.m.
The Fraze Pavilion Ticket Office will be open every Saturday from 9a.m. to 2 p.m. through spring.
Tickets also are available for Fraze shows at Ticketmaster by Charge-By-Phone at 1-800-745-3000, or online at www.ticketmaster.com
For more information, go to www.fraze.com.
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TweetTexas ‘lady’ wants you to visit
Fleeta Mae Bryte says you have just three chances to see her and don’t blow it.
Fleeta is really Greg Smith, a man playing a woman in the Ted Karber play “Precious Heart,” which runs for one weekend only at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 5-7, at the Dayton Theatre Guild, 430 Wayne Ave.
Blake Senseman is director.
Fleeta (as played by Smith at right) is a Texas woman in her mid-60s who invites the audience into her home for coffee,humor and notions about life from her perspective.
Tickets are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for students. Make reservations online at www.daytontheatreguild.org, or call (937) 278-5993.
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TweetBallet troupe plans Springboro move
The Gem City Ballet and Pontecorvo Ballet School, which have been located at 534 E. First St. (across from Fifth Third Field) are exploring a move from downtown Dayton to Springboro.
“We would like to go,” said school and company founder-director Barbara Pontecorvo, who said her organization has made a bid on a building in Springboro that has the potential “for three studios, two of which could be joined for performances with room for up to 150 seats.”
That offer is contingent on the current Dayton location being sold. “We have had an offer on our building. That is contingent on the buyer selling his current location.”
Gem City Ballet, a pre-professional company that has won regional honors, produces an annual performance at the Victoria Theatre and has sent several dancers on to professional companies, is performing Saturday, Feb. 6, at Bellbrook High School, 3737 Upper Bellbrook Road.
The “Three’s Company” program will also include two visiting troupes — Michigan Classic Ballet from Detroit and DanceWest Ballet Company of Chicago, which is co-directed by former Dayton Ballet member Ricardo Moyano.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for children under 12. For more information, call (937) 222-6880. Tickets will also be sold at the door.
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TweetInterview (brief) with 2 vampires
Dayton Ballet dancers Justin Koertgen and Grant Dettling will alternate in the title role when the company presents Stuart Sebastian’s two-act ballet “Dracula” Feb. 11-14 at the Victoria Theatre.
Once the run is over, will they be disappointed to return to the status of mere mortals? Would they want to be vampires in real life?
Koertgen, a Michigan native in his ninth year with Dayton Ballet, said:
“Yes and no. Living forever comes with some great possibilities, but also horrible realities. It would be difficult to maintain a sense of morality (humanity). Conventional rules would no longer apply. Without humanity, the ability to disobey the rules of society would be dangerously tempting. If you could find some vestige of humanity to hang onto, being a vampire wouldn’t be so bad. Being a creature of the night has a lot of power, passion and energy. However, I prefer to get my power and energy from the sun.”
Dettling, who grew up in Spokane, Wash., and is in his fourth year here, said:
“The quick answer is the obvious one: yes, because of the authority that a vampire evokes. However, what comes to mind is the realization that Dracula has accepted a very dark side. That consumes every inch of his being. There are detrimental consequences which ultimately lead to his demise.”
At right, Justin Koertgen (in background) as Dayton Ballet’s ‘Dracula.’
how to go
What: The Dayton Ballet in “Dracula.”
Where: Victoria Theatre, First and Main streets.
When: 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11-14.
Tickets: $24-$70.
Call: (937) 228-3630 or www.ticketcenterstage.com.
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