Archive for November, 2008

November 26th, 2008 | No Comments »

Continuing a beloved Dayton holiday tradition, the Schuster Center will again transform into a wintergarden wonderland this holiday season.

Victoria Theatre Association is pleased to welcome Kettering Health Network as the title sponsor of the Kettering Health Network Wintergarden Wonderland, which runs November 26 – December 23 at the Schuster Center.

“We are grateful for the support of the many individuals and companies that helped bring this holiday tradition back to the corner of Second and Main Streets,” said Michael Roediger, Victoria Theatre Association’s Vice President of Development. “Kettering Health Network’s support helps ensure these holiday traditions will live on for many years to come.”

A host of holiday activities for the entire family are planned at the Schuster Center during November and December. The fun includes the Rike’s Christmas Windows, The Tike’s Shop, Holiday Hunt, Holiday Spirit, Some Fun at the Schuster Center, and the Wonderland Festival Weekend. Information on all of these events is detailed below and may also be found online at www.victoriatheatre.com/wonderland.

• Grande Illumination and Children’s Parade
Free and Open to the Public
Friday, November 28

The marvelous tree lighting ceremony has quickly become recognized as one of the most popular events in downtown Dayton in the Christmas season.  The lighting takes place at 7:55 p.m., and the Children’s Parade, through the familiar route of years past, begins at 8:05 p.m. 

• Rike’s Christmas Windows
Free and Open to the Public
November 26 through December 23
9 a.m. – 7 p.m. daily*
* The Rike’s Christmas Windows may be closed during special events at the Schuster Center – for more information, call 937-228-7591.

For many years, the holidays weren’t complete without a trip downtown to Rike’s to see the animated holiday window displays. Now the famous Rike’s Christmas Windows have been reborn for a whole new generation to enjoy in the Wintergarden! This holiday season, all the favorites return to enchant young and old!

• The Tike’s Shop
November 28 – December 23
Located in the Berry Reception Room at the Schuster Center

The Tike’s Shop has been a Dayton tradition for more than 40 years! Children are able to do their own holiday shopping with help from “elves” who assist the little shoppers in selecting gifts that stay within their budgets. During selected hours, Santa Claus will also be on hand to visit with the little ones. The Tike’s Shop is located in the Berry Reception Room at the Schuster Center, near the Ludlow Street entrance – look for the giant candy cane outside the Schuster Center!

The Tike’s Shop Hours:
Fri., Nov. 28 3 p.m.  – 9 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 29 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 30 noon – 6 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 6 10 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 7 noon – 6:00 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 13 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 14 noon – 6 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 15 CLOSED
Tues., Dec. 16 CLOSED
Wed., Dec. 17 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Thurs., Dec. 18 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 19 10a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 20 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 21 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 22 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 23 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Santa will be at The Tike’s Shop during these special hours:
Grande Illumination night, Nov. 28, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Nov. 29 & 30, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Dec. 6 & 7, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Dec. 13 & 14, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Dec. 20 – 23, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

•  Holiday Hunt
Free and open to the public
Friday November 28, 2008
4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

At the annual Junior League Holiday Hunt, small gifts will be passed out in the Schuster Center Wintergarden. Our location on the Holiday Hunt map is the Schuster Center – enter through the Second Street Doors.

• Holiday Spirit
Free and Open to the Public
November 30 & December 6, 7, 14 & 21
Get into the “holiday spirit” with free holiday entertainment, live on The Dayton Power & Light Co. Foundation Stage in the Schuster Center Wintergarden. Local choirs, orchestras and musicians will perform cherished holiday tunes on the following dates.

Sunday, November 30
noon – 1:00 p.m., The Brothers & Co. Entertainers Music & Variety Show
1:15 p.m. – 2 p.m., University of Dayton New Horizons Concert Band
2:15 p.m. – 3 p.m., Centerville Community Chorus
3:15 p.m. – 4 p.m., Classy Ladies

Saturday, December 6
noon – 1 p.m., Ukulelians
1:15 p.m. – 2 p.m., Michael and Sandy Bashaw
2:15 p.m. – 3 p.m., Bellbrook High School Flute Choir
3:15 p.m. – 4 p.m., Lauren Brenner

Sunday, December 7
noon – 1:00 p.m., Chinese Youth Orchestra
1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., Rayette’s Dance Company
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., Miami Valley Music Men
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Dayton Liederkranz Chorus

Sunday, December 14
noon – 1:00 p.m., Broadway Broads
1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., Kettering Senior Show Choir
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., Schuster Center Broadway Children’s Choir
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Schuster Center Celebration Choir

Sunday, December 21
noon – 1:00p.m., Bellbrook High School Jazz Band
1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., Oakwood Accordion Band
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., Opus 4
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Miami Rivers Ensemble

• Some Fun at the Schuster Center
Free and Open to the Public
November 30 and December 6, 7, 14 & 21
Noon – 4 p.m. each day

It’s hands-on holiday fun! Our partner in visual art, K12 Gallery for Young People, will be on hand to help children create their own holiday art project. Some Fun at the Schuster Center will be located in the Wintergarden, except on December 6, when it will be located in the Mathile Theatre.

• Wonderland Festival Weekend
December 6 & 7

In addition to the all of the above fun activities, the Wonderland Festival Weekend will feature the Chase Young at Heart Family Series presentation of Riders In The Sky: Christmas The Cowboy Way at the Victoria Theatre. Performances are at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day. Tickets are $19 for adults and $17 for children, and are available through Ticket Center Stage. Tickets may be purchased at the Schuster Center box office or by phone, at (937) 228-3630 or toll free (888) 228-3630. Ticket Center Stage hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday, noon – 4 p.m., and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

The Kettering Health Network Wintergarden Wonderland is presented with support from Kettering Health Network, The Kettering Fund, Marilyn & Bill Crotty and Linc Mechanical, LLC.

For more information  about the Kettering Health Network Wintergarden Wonderland, visit www.victoriatheatre.com/wonderland. The Kettering Health Network Wintergarden Wonderland is part of the 2008 Dayton Holiday Festival. For information about the many other holiday events happening throughout downtown Dayton, visit www.downtowndayton.org.

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November 19th, 2008 | No Comments »

Boyz II Men, hailed as the most commercially successful R&B group of all time, bring their soulful vocal harmonizing to the Schuster Center on Saturday, November 29.

“American Idol’s” Randy Jackson, who produced their most recent album, says: “All of the greats have a natural talent that continually bubbles up no matter what’s going on. Boyz II Men are like that – just naturally gifted, and the most talented vocal group of our era.”

Boyz II Men’s clean-cut “retro nouveau” image, synchronized dance routines, and polished stage act fueled their rapid rise to stardom in the 1990s. Their debut album,  Cooleyhighharmony is considered a classic of ’90s “new jack swing” and spun off three major crossover hits: “Motownphilly,”, “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” and “Uhh Ahh.” Cooleyhighharmony hung on the Billboard Top 200 for an astound ing 133 weeks and sold more than nine million copies in the United States alone.

Their second album, simply titled II, was a massive, chart-topping hit that won the Grammy for Best R&B Album, and sold more than 12 million copies, thanks to its two Number One pop singles, “I’ll Make Love to You” and “On Bended Knee.” When “On Bended Knee” replaced “I’ll Make Love to You” at the top of the Hot 100, Boyz II Men became only the third act in chart history, after Elvis and The Beatles, to replace themselves at Number One.

In a spectacular 17-year career, Boyz II Men have scored fi ve Number One pop hits and 12 Top Ten R&B singles, sold over 60 million records worldwide, and earned a host of awards, including four Grammy Awards.

The three members of Boyz II Men (Michael McCary left the group in 2003) are currently touring in support of their most recent album, Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA, which finds them recording many of the famous Motown anthems that originally inspired them. Teaming with producer Randy Jackson, the Boyz bring their special brand of musical magic to 12 Motown classics, including “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology),” “The Tracks of My Tears,” “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” “War,” “I Was Made to Love Her” and “Ribbon In the Sky.”

“Our approach was not to taint or take away from the integrity of the original records,” explains Shawn Stockman, “but to add a little thing, here or there, and put our Boyz II Men flavor on it …We wanted to pay tribute to an era that had such a major infl uence on our sound.”

Wanya Morris adds: “The fact that we were able to do these songs live, the way they made the original records, gives a whole ‘nother twist to what this album is really about.”

“We took everything from before and brought it up to now, just to let everyone know that we haven’t forgotten it,” says Nate Morris.

For video clips of their greatest hits and newest recordings, click here to visit our Boyz II Men Playlist on YouTube. For more about about all things Boyz II Men, visit their website at www.boyziimen.com.

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November 19th, 2008 | No Comments »

The New York Times features an article today about how the banking and credit crisis is hitting Broadway, in terms of its ability to secure financing for new projects:

Tragedy Tomorrow, Economic Woes Tonight
By Patricia Cohen
Like most longtime Broadway producers, James Freydberg is used to getting loans. But recently he found that despite what he said was his perfect credit rating, his bank was not so accommodating. “Banks are unwilling or unable to loan money,” he said.
[ Read the full article ]

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November 18th, 2008 | No Comments »

Dione KennedyBy now you’ve probably read or heard that I’ll be leaving my position with Victoria Theatre Association at the end of this month, for another opportunity as President and CEO of Performing Arts Fort Worth and the Bass Performance Hall in Texas.

When I was first contacted by the search firm for this position, my immediate thought was no, the timing isn’t right; there are things here I want to see through, things I still want to accomplish. After all, under my direction, we had recently implemented staff reductions in order to reduce costs and balance the budget.

A few months ago we implemented a new ticketing system for Ticket Center Stage, which will continue to be a major project for our company throughout this fiscal year as we work to adapt reporting capabilities to the needs of all the clients we serve. The uncertainty created by the financial crisis in our country continues to have effects on subscription bases and overall sales goals. As a non-profit, fundraising is a critical piece of our business and how might the current economy affect those efforts? But then I also thought about all the incredible things that are happening here.

We are in the midst of finalizing our deal to bring Wicked to Dayton, along with a return engagement of The Phantom of the Opera, and other yet-to-be-named productions that will ensure another dynamite season in 2009-2010. That same new ticketing system that is creating reporting challenges now will ultimately provide an incredible opportunity for us to more easily address marketing and customer service needs for our organization. Our partnerships in the community continue to expand as we reach out to other organizations to help round out projects such as the African-American Arts Festival. We have a dedicated and talented staff here that I would hold up to any in the country. So how could I contemplate a transition with so much happening? Then I realized that I was placing too much importance on my role in all of this. Ultimately I realized that in my 18 years at Victoria Theatre Association, it has always been this way … there are always challenges and diffcult situations to address and there are always wonderful, exciting new experiences on the horizon for our company. The reality is that it will always be this way. This company transcends any individual. It is one that is rooted in the great history of this community with a Board of Trustees committed to a mission of service to our community through the performing arts. This organization is ever-evolving. This is another phase of that evolution.

My decision to take a new position with Performing Arts Fort Worth was one about career growth for me and personal opportunity for my family. I will be forever indebted to Victoria Theatre Association and to Dayton for the gifts they have provided me: a wonderful career, many great friends, my incredible husband, Daniel, and our cherished daughter, Caro. I will miss all of you and know that you will continue to support this outstanding organization and those who lead it into the future.

- Dione Kennedy, President & CEO

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November 12th, 2008 | No Comments »

Just in time for the holidays, we are offering a special, limited-time Family Gift Pack for the Chase Broadway Series presentation of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, January 20 – 25 at the Schuster Center.

During the month of November, special children’s pricing will be available for all performances – $25 off the regular adult ticket prices. Buy 2 adult tickets and 2 children’s tickets for as little as $229. That’s a savings of $50!

This is a very limited offer, so act fast: This pricing is only available through November 30! This offer is only available by phone or in person – call 937-228-3630 or stop by the Schuster Center box office during regular business hours and mention the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Family Gift Pack.

Watch: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Video

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November 11th, 2008 | No Comments »

In addition the previously announced 7 p.m. performance, a 3 p.m. matinee has been added on November 30 for The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller by Chip Davis at the Schuster Center.

Tickets for both performances are on sale now through Ticket Center Stage and are priced at $76, $61, $51 and $31, with discounts available for groups. Tickets may be purchased at the Schuster Center box office in downtown Dayton or by phone, at (937) 228-3630 or toll free (888) 228-3630. Ticket Center Stage hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday, noon – 4 p.m., and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

For more information about the band’s national tour, or to sample Mannheim Steamroller albums, visit www.mannheimsteamroller.com.

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November 7th, 2008 | No Comments »

Boyz II MenTune in to A&E’s “Private Sessions” this Sunday morning at 9 a.m., to catch Boyz II Men, as they perform some of their greatest hits and tracks from their latest album, as well as discuss their spectacular career.

Then be sure to catch them LIVE at the Schuster Center on November 29 – tickets are on sale now through Ticket Center Stage.

Click Here to check out videos of hits like “I’ll Make Love to You” and “On Bended Knee.”

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