A new musical by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell that has become a viral TikTok sensation! It’s the hilarious and outlandish story of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir whose lives are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other — the chance to return to life. A funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived! (Ride the Cyclone contains adult and “teen age” humor, including references to sex, drugs, and violence.) $18 adults/$15 students & seniors. TUESDAY STUDENT MADNESS — ONLY $10 FOR STUDENTS http://www.sinclair.edu/tickets
Arts & Entertainment
If you’re heading to ‘HADESTOWN’….’Wait For Me!’
For those of us who went through mythology classes, we know the story. We know the beginning, the middle, and yes, the END! THAT ENDING! Like most of the Dayton audience, I felt the need to change it up…to make it different….to stop the inevitable….but ‘It’s a sad song, and we’re gonna sing it anyway!’ From the jump, ‘Hadestown‘ dives right into the story. Our focus falls to Orpheus (J Antonio Rodriguez…with a falsetto like no other) and his love for Eurydice (Amaya Braganza, with her smooth, solid voice). The tale is rough and wrought with issues…hunger, poverty and longing. It grinds…until the frenetic Persephone makes her entrance. The character, one for the mythological ages, is played with an almost gymnastic quality by Lana Gordon. (She will wow you in the second act!) If you recall, Persephone lives half of the year with her hubs Hades (Matthew Patrick Quinn…who adds an emotional quality to his character, which I’ve not seen in previous performances). Their troubled relationship ebbs and flows throughout, delivered with voice and VOICES!
The story moves on the ‘track’, taking us from Eurydice‘s strife of freezing and needing sustenance; through Orpheus‘ idealism and hope to bring Spring along; Persephone‘s time ‘down below’ casting the world into cold and dark; and Hades strict control of his underworld, where lyrics on building walls, and silencing uprisings seem timely, today!
As the train continues forward…barreling into hell, we wish we could stop things…the decisions Eurydice‘s makes for her future; the anger Hades feels for the world he cannot control; the choice of Orpheus to take the ‘test!’ (DON’T DO IT!!). And throughout, there is this emotional current pulling at our heartstrings as we go. (There were tears from many in the audience as fate deals us that ‘blow.’) All the while, we relate. We relate to the themes whispering in our ears….doubt, worry, survival. Those voices brought to life through strong vocals from the Fates ( Marla Louissaint, Hannah Schreer & Lizzie Markson.)
Throughout our show, the onstage musicians take us on a musical ride that truly is dynamic. They are, each and every one, masters of their craft. You almost want a concert featuring…well…just them! And along with them is Hermes (played by the endearing Will Mann). He connects so well, reminding us that this not gonna be easy!
No doubt, the story could drag, but the visuals (the lighting, the special effects), the set (with its nod to New Orleans) and the sounds (especially during the beloved ‘Why we Build The Wall’) keep us enthralled and engaged. It is hard to let your attention wander.
Look, this isn’t your run of the mill Broadway show. It’s obscure, and handles political issues seamlessly. It has songs that are beyond our everyday Broadway experience (‘Doubt Comes In‘, ‘Our Lady of the Underground‘, ‘Hey, Little Songbird‘) It tackles a classic tale with hope for a resolution, and then takes us where we knew were going all along. It’s eerie and odd, beautiful yet broken.
There’s a reason ‘Hadestown‘ can at times be polarizing. Strong feelings on both sides of the aisle. In the words of a friend in attendance ‘I hate unhappy endings.’ To that I say, ‘It’s a sad song, and we’re gonna sing it anyway!’
For further information on times and tickets, click below!
https://www.daytonlive.org/events/hadestown/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwncWvBhD_ARIsAEb2HW8ljCZApo1EYrwidJ44OSIL-nmV5nvo_HqgQhqj3WBzQlcyRhcqsN8aAmS4EALw_wcB
Free Museum Addmission on Art for All Day
On Thursday, March 21, 2024, the Dayton Art Institute (DAI) will welcome all in the community to the museum, free of charge, for a special Art For All day.
On Art for All Days, the museum will offer free general admission to its collection galleries, as well as the Special and Focus Exhibitions The Artistic Life of Aka Pereyma, James Pate, Techno-Cubism: The Art of Line Painting, Telling Stories: World Literature in Art.
The museum will be open from noon to 8 pm on March 21. Throughout 2024, DAI will offer two additional Art for All days. On Sunday, June 30, and Friday, November 15, guests will receive free admission.
For more information about planning a visit, including current museum hours and updates, go to www.daytonartinstitute.org/visitor call 937-223-4ART (4278).
Hadestown March 12 – 17 at The Schuster
Welcome to HADESTOWN, where a song can change your fate. Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards® including Best Musical and the 2020 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Theater Album, this acclaimed new show from celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and innovative director Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) is a love story for today… and always.
HADESTOWN intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, HADESTOWN is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.
Yellow Springs Mini-Film-Fest
Eric Mahoney, the filmmaker behind the Yellow Springs Film Festival has just announced he’ll be hosting a one day “MINI-FEST” on Saturday April 6th at the Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs!
He shared that this is halfway between last years festival and the Oct 4-6 2024 festival, “so it just seemed to think the mini-fest was a great way to keep the film festival in peoples minds. This will be the first time for folks to see these films and we’re excited to share them with film fans.”
Featuring films fresh off their premieres at Sundance / SXSW / Venice and see live conversations with visiting Directors. Tickets to all films and events on sale now for all 4 event/screening for $15-20. The Little Art seats just around 100, so buy your tickets online before they sell out.
The Little Art Theatre
Yellow Springs, OH 45387
THANK YOU VERY MUCH (2024) Directed by Alex Braverman
Documentary about performance artist and “song and dance man” Andy Kaufman
The Fourth Annual Dayton Battle of the Bands Finale
The fourth annual Dayton Battle of the Bands finale takes place on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at The Brightside Music (905 E 3rd St, Dayton, OH 45402), and features six winning bands from each of the playoff rounds.
The finalists from all six weeks include The Bruins (pop/rock), Sheller (alt/punk/metal), Austin Wolfe (Americana/folk), The Shady Pine (country/bluegrass), Melinamarie (hip-hop/R&B), and Freakquency (funk/jam/progressive).
While the finalists were determined in their categories via a combination of audience and judges’ votes, the final round will be 100% determined by the audience.
“We do ranked-choice voting so that alleviates the popularity contest issue,” said Libby Ballengee, music booker and promoter at The Brightside. “People can come and vote for their fave band, but sometimes everyone loves one band and they get everyone’s 2nd place vote, and that puts them over the top.”
By eliminating the element of bias, relying entirely on the audience feels like an objective method of choosing a winner.
“I don’t know that any panel of judges I could put together would be fair considering we all have genres we like more than others,” said Ballengee.
Previous weeks’ performances were on The Brightside’s smaller Vod-Vil Bar stage, while final competing bands will make their musical cases and perform once more on the Ballroom stage.
Vying for the Grand Prize, the winner gets a free EP recording session with Dayton Sound Studios and the opportunity to perform at Levitt Pavilion Dayton, among other rewards from Little Monster Printing and Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory.
Dayton Battle of the Bands 2023 winner, crabswithoutlegs, a jazzy nine-piece, has quickly become one of Dayton’s darlings, playing the Levitt and becoming a staple act at The Brightside. There’s a good case to be made for the potential of this year’s winner.
Tickets to Dayton Battle of the Bands are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Doors open at 6 p.m. The show starts at 7 p.m. Each ticketholder will be granted one vote.
The Brightside Music & Event Venue is located at 905 E 3rd St, Dayton, OH 45402.
Ticket link: https://www.venuepilot.co/events/94654/orders/new
Artist of the Week: Kate Huser Santucci Part 2
Artist of the Week: Kate Huser Santucci
McCoy on Movies: Drive-Away Dolls
Ethan Coen’s latest cinematic escapade one not worth the drive
“Maybe there’s a better movie hiding in this trunk?” Jamie (Margaret Qually) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) take in an unexpected discovery in a scene from co-writer/director Ethan Coen’s DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Jojo Whilden © 2023 Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, C.J. Wilson, Joey Slotnick, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp, with Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon
DIRECTOR: Ethan Coen
THE BACK STORY: The scene: Philadelphia 1999, right on the verge of Y2K. Jamie (Margaret Qually) is a free-spirited individual who likes to have sex with any woman she sees fit, much to the chagrin of her police officer girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein). Marian is a very uptight woman stuck in an office job who can’t seem to move on from her last girlfriend years ago … Which is why she decides to plan a trip to Tallahassee, Fla., to go visit her Aunt Ellis (Connie Jackson).
Seeing how Sukie has had enough of her cheating, Jamie invites herself along for the ride, determined to get her best friend some romantic action. Problem is, the duo don’t have a way of getting there. That’s when Jamie comes up with the idea to find one via a car delivery service owned by the understated Curlie (Bill Camp). Curlie just so happens to have a Dodge that needs to get to Tallahassee the next day, so the girls take the charge and are off.
Shipwrecked! An Entertainment: The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont
Join the theatrical quest of deep seas and high comedy! The adventurous Louis de Rougemont invites you to hear his amazing story of bravery, survival and celebrity that left 19th-century England spellbound. Dare to be whisked away in a story of the high seas and all corners of the globe, populated by flying wombats, giant sea turtles and a monstrous man-eating octopus. Shipwrecked examines how far we’re willing to blur the line between fact and fiction to leave our mark on the world.
Recommended if you liked Around the World in 80 Days, The 39 Steps, Peter & the Starcatcher
The show runs Feb 22- March 10th in the Loft Theater. Tickets range from $10-$53 and can be purchased online at Daytonlive.org. Show runtime is 100 minutes.
Special Performances
Inside Track: February 22, 7:15 pm. Join Engagement and Learning Coordinator Tiffany Countryman for a preshow discussion with members of the creative team.
While We’re On the Subject (Post show Talkback): March 3, 2pm with the cast of Shipwrecked! An Entertainment.
Parent’s Day Out Performance: March 9, 2pm Drop off is at 1:30pm; allow a few minutes to fill out authorization forms. Purchase your tickets through Dayton Live, and register your children during the checkout process.
Story Slam Dayton “Takes The Leap”
Stories start at 7:00 PM.
Bring a story and bring a friend. The best story of the night wins $50, 4 free tix for a future slam and a guaranteed spot at the next month’s show.
The Artistic Life of Aka Pereyma Exhibit Opens Feb 17th
The Dayton Art Institute (DAI) kicks off its 2024 Special Exhibition season by showcasing the work of Aka Pereyma, an American artist of Ukrainian heritage who lived most of her life in Troy, Ohio. The Artistic Life ofAka Pereyma is on view from February 17–May 12, 2024.
“We are thrilled to present the works of an artist who has such a strong connection to the local community,” said DAI Director & President Michael R. Roediger. “Though Pereyma had a larger following internationally, she is truly a cherished name in the region, making this an exciting show for all. Whether you are familiar with her work or discovering it for the first time, this exhibition will be one you are glad you attended.”
Aka Pereyma’s unconventional and visionary art demonstrates a highly personal means of expression, conveying strong ties to her Ukrainian heritage. Pereyma would say, “I think it is my duty to introduce the world to my Ukrainian culture.” Pereyma’s art does precisely that, weaving folk-art traditions with Modern artistic styles.
Recurring themes include Ukrainian folk songs, depictions of birds to represent her love of nature and Adam and Eve (along with leaves and eggs) to symbolize men and women. The works tell stories, often through surreal, densely filled ornamentation.
Pereyma graduated from the School of the Dayton Art Institute with a degree in sculpture and attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Not tied to a single medium, she made paintings, drawings, wood and metal sculptures, needlework, woodblock prints, ceramics and exquisitely intricate designs on pysanky, the traditional Ukrainian eggs. The exhibition brings together works from throughout her career, from the early 1960s to the 21st century.
Celebrating a local artistic legend, this exhibition will highlight Pereyma’s love of color and bold design. “More is more” was a favorite saying of the artist. Guests can expect to find a wide selection of the artist’s work, each with an incredible amount of detail and symbolism, giving a look into the artist’s inspirations and passions
“Aka Pereyma was someone who was always creating,” said DAI Head Curator & Curatorial Affairs Director Jerry N. Smith. “She was known to have multiple workstations in her home, so she could simultaneously work on a painting at one station, and ceramics, welding or woodcarving at another. In this exhibition, you really get the chance to see what interested and fascinated her. Hers was a full and rich life, filled with family, love of heritage and art. It is why the exhibition is titled The Artistic Life of Aka Pereyma.”
Several related programs and educational resources will be offered in conjunction with The Artistic Life of Aka Pereyma exhibition. These include:
- Community Guided Tour: Select Saturdays, March 9, April 20 and May 4, from 1:30–2:30 p.m. and Select Thursdays, February 29, March 28 and April 25, from 6–7 p.m.
- Curatorial Conversation: March 30, from 1:30–2:30 p.m.
- Exhibition Speaker Series: Iryna Voloshyna: Saturday, March 16, from 2–3 p.m. and Saturday, January 6, from 1:30–3 p.m.
- Exhibition Speaker Series: Christina Pereyma O’Neal: Saturday, April 13, from 2–3 p.m.
- Experience the Exhibition: Ukrainian Egg Painting: Saturday, March 23, from 1:30–3 p.m. Cost: $35 for members and $45 for non-members.
- Experience the Exhibition: Family Story Telling: Saturday, April 27, from 1:30–3 p.m. Cost: $35 for members and $45 for non-members.
Admission to The Artistic Life of Aka Pereyma exhibition is included in the museum’s general admission, which includes access to all Special and Focus Exhibitions currently on view, as well as the museum collection galleries. General admission is $15 adults; $10 seniors (60+), active military and groups (10 or more); $5 students (18+ w/ID) and youth (ages 7–17); and free for children (ages 6 & younger). Admission is free for museum members. Membership information can be found online at www.daytonartinstitute.org/membership.
Other current and upcoming Special and Focus Exhibitions at the museum include Telling Stories: World Literature in Art (on view through May 26, 2024), James Pate, Techno-Cubism: The Art of Line Painting (on view from February 3–April 28, 2024), Hand-Colored Photographs(on view from March 23–September 22, 2024) and Captivating Clay: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Horvitz Collection (on view from April 13–September 29, 2024).
For more information about planning a visit, including current museum hours and updates, go to www.daytonartinstitute.org/visit or call 937-223-4ART (4278). Connect with the Dayton Art Institute on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest for additional information, behind-the-scenes photos and videos and exclusive offers.
ABOUT DAYTON ART INSTITUTE
MISSION: Through art, we create transformative and diverse experiences, strengthen community connections and inspire imagination.
VISION: Through art, we are dedicated to collection stewardship, creative engagement and inspirational experiences. With intentional momentum, we nurture inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility.
Swan Lake
The Dayton Ballet company takes the stage with grace and athleticism for a performance not to be missed!
Set to Tchaikovsky’s romantic score (performed live by the Philharmonic), Septime Webre’s Swan Lake is a perennial favorite, featuring gorgeous sets, beautiful costumes, and dramatic choreography that includes one of the most famous scenes in ballet. Swan Lake tells the doomed love story of Prince Siegfried and Princess Odette, a captivating tale of magic, deception, and heartbreak.
Organ Recital by Dr. David Crean
On Sunday, February 11, 2024 all roads will lead to First Baptist Church in downtown Dayton, Ohio to hear organist Dr. David Crean at 4:00 p.m. perform works by Bach, Sweelinck, Distler, R. Vaughan Williams, and an arrangement by Alec Wyton on a work of Billy Strayhorn called Lotus Blossom. Dr. Crean will also play an arrangement of We Shall Overcome by Carl Heyward.
The organ at First Baptist Church of Dayton is one of the unique hybrid installations in the country as it is a combination Casavant and Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ, and Rodgers electronic organ. Dr. Crean will perform works that will highlight and showcase the many unique capabilities of this fantastic instrument.
The concert is free to the public with free parking next to the church on Monument Avenue. An all-welcome reception will follow in the fellowship hall of the church immediately after the performance. The concert is brought to you FBC members Timothy and Connie Holmen.
Dr. Crean can be heard daily as an announcer of WDPR-88.1 FM Dayton Public Radio. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Wright State University and organist at St. George’s Episcopal Church on Far Hills Avenue in Centerville. He is the newly appointed conductor of the Bach Society of Dayton.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ in Concert
EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC OF THE FILM WITH A LIVE ORCHESTRA
Relive the film that started it all. Watch the wand choose the wizard, a troll run amok and magic mirrors in high-definition while a live orchestra performs John Williams’ iconic score. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime event as Harry, Ron, Hermione and all your favorite characters return to the screen and enchant the world all over again.
The Cher Show
The Tony Award®-winning musical! Her life. Her story. Her legend. Superstars come and go. Cher is forever. For six straight decades, only one unstoppable force has flat-out dominated popular culture – breaking down barriers, pushing boundaries, and letting nothing and no one stand in her way. THE CHER SHOW is the Tony Award®-winning musical of her story, and it’s packed with so much Cher that it takes three women to play her: the kid starting out, the glam pop star, and the icon. THE CHER SHOW is 35 smash hits, six decades of stardom, two rock-star husbands, a Grammy®, an Oscar®, an Emmy® and enough Tony Award®-winning Bob Mackie gowns to cause a sequin shortage in New York City, all in one unabashedly fabulous new musical that will have you dancing in the aisles!
THE CHER SHOW is a new Broadway musical production created to celebrate the story of Cher’s life featuring fabulous Bob Mackie costumes, energetic performances, and 35 of her greatest hits. The role of Cher is woven together by three performers who depict Cher throughout distinct periods in the superstar’s life. Cher does not appear in the show.
Showtimes