"What's the buzz, tell me what's a-happening?" What's happening is the two-week run of the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" opens Friday night at the Barrow-Civic Theatre. The show is a mix of local stage veterans as well as a fair number of new talent for the Franklin theatre. Ryan Dawley will play the title character of as Jesus as he makes his debut at the Barrow. Other making their first appearance at the Barrow will be Flynn Kirvan as Mary and Kevin Vinson. They are joined on stage by Jeff Brown, who will reprise the role of Judas Iscariot. Barrow favorites Ian Best and Joe Thompson will return to the stage as King Herod and Pontius Pilate respectfully. Frequent orchestra members Steve Luxbacher and Mike Krzmarzick will be in the spotlight this go around as Caiaphas, and Annas and Apostle Matthew. Other cast members will include Keegan Hoover, Kevin Fox, David McVay, Luke Keebler, James McGinnis, Steven Schwab, Jack Cipriani, Bill Hennessy, Amanda Greene, Brooke Lawrie, Chelsea Armstrong, Maeve Wakefield, Charlotte (Lottie) Winger, Deanna Wolfgong, Libby Best, Sam Breene, Jim Nash and Jenny Jack. "Jesus Christ Superstar" is Andrew Lloyd Weber's timeless work set against the backdrop of an extraordinary and universally known series of events. The show follows the last week of Jesus Christ’s life and through song explores the personal relationships and struggles between Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, the Apostles, Jesus' followers and the Roman Empire. It is loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The performance, presented by the Franklin Civic Operetta Association, will be held at 7:30 p.m. on April 26 and 27 and May 3 and 4, and at 2 p.m. on April 28 and May 5. Tickets can be ordered by calling the box office at 814-437-3440 or online. |
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The little hole-in-ground gallery that has housed some of Oil City's finest art shows over the last decade or more is no more. The basement space, known as the Graffiti Gallery, parted ways with the National Transit building last fall when the rent was increased and found new digs a stone's throw away down Seneca Street. The new space gives the Graffiti Gallery committee and the Oil City Arts Council a street-level walk-in level year-round space to serve the Oil City Arts scene. This weekend they kick off their 2024 art show season with its annual photography show. This year the committee is trying to up their art street-cred by holding juried art shows again. This year Kris Risto, an Erie-based artist who is well-versed in sculpture, photography and painting was tasked with picking out award winners for the show opening at 6 p.m. tonight (March 8). The show will run for roughly a month with two big events planned. A St. Patrick's Day party in the gallery with some Celtic music on March 17 from noon to 4 p.m. and a guest lecturer, Patti Larson of the Photographic Arts Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania, will discuss the photography experience and how artificial intelligence has been and will effect photography. The Gallery is located at 228 Seneca Street. The hours the show will be available for viewing are Friday, March 8 (opening reception) from 6-9 p.m.
The gallery space is also available to rent for parties, meetings etc. Connect with the Oil City Arts Council for more information.
In 2011, the group moved its workshops to a local bookstore, and in 2014 started publishing the "Bridge Literary Arts Journal" about every other year. The journal is dedicated to highlighting regional authors and artists in western Pennsylvania, especially those in Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango and Warren counties. A call for submission is accepted to happen later this year. To help with this effort, the group previously partnered with Bridge Builders Foundation to accept donations.
Moving forward, the group expects in-person open mics to be scheduled mainly at 2 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month and the workshops to be at 11 a.m. on the fourth Saturday. "The purpose of the workshops is to foster writing in Venango County and (the) surrounding region," Terman explained. "We hope to integrate the literary arts with the already-thriving arts here in theater and music. Participants can hope to gain a community of other writers, who love to share their work and grow in their writing, as well as help enhance the cultural life of our region."
To keep up with all the details on the Bridge's gatherings and receive a link to virtual programs, email the group at bridgeliteraryartscenter@gmail.com. Information is also available at bridgeliteraryartscenter.org. What could possibly go awry if you visit the Barrow-Civic Theatre this week for the opening of The Play that Goes Wrong, a spoof on a acting troupe that just can't seem to get it right?
If ABBA music takes you back to you wilder days, or if you want to support young people in the arts in a beautiful historic theater, then Titusville High School is the place to this Thursday, Friday and/or Saturday. The cast of Mama Mia is ready to light up the Colestock Auditorium stage starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 15 and running Friday and Saturday nights at the same time. Tickets for the event are $7. Below are photos from Wednesday night's dress rehearsal. See even more photos by clicking here sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p3602688.
And Saturday also at 7:30 p.m.
There are over 25 artists participating and they are expected to be available to answer questions.
Visitors can also watch special effects makeup artist Kaleb Lewis, who appeared on the reality show Face Off, and his students put the finishing touches on the characters they have been creating during his recent classes. A red carpet style presentation of the work will be done at 4:30 p.m. in the Great Room of the National Transit building. Artists Sunday will kick off with Oil City’s mayor Bill Moon reading a proclamation at 11 a.m., also at the National Transit building. Maps and directories will be available on the Arts Oil City Facebook page and at different participating locations that day. Pierce said there is still room if additional artists are interested in participating. Visitors should enjoy the range of items from note cards to large-scale original art, according to Pierce. “Everything from stocking stuffers to (high quality) original paintings,” she said, emphasizing the event promotes hand-made original works while providing a truly unique shopping experience. Artist Sunday runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. November 26 in locations throughout Oil City’s north and south side business districts. There is no fee to attend. A group of performing art lovers in northwest Pennsylvania is hoping to raise the curtain once again on an old Vaudevillian theater and usher in new prosperity for a once booming downtown. Oil City was once the place to take in a show. In the downtown alone, there were at least a half dozen possibilities. For those who didn’t like one venue’s vibe, it was just a short walk next door or down the block to another. Among those options was the Lyric Theater on Seneca Street.
In 2001, Community Playhouse, Inc. purchased the building. The little theater troupe had been adrift. Over the years they used spaces at the high school, the local college, and the Moose Lodge. The group has a dream of creating a permanent home for itself by salvaging a piece of history. To make it a reality, they partnered with the Colonel Drake Cultural Alliance, Inc. in 2006, which assumed management and development of the theater. Since then the project has made some progress in getting ready for the final renovations. And they are close.
“This one is doable,” Dittman said of the now gutted theater that is basically ready for renovation. He remains hopeful that the final bit of money can be found. He says, this is not just a restoration of the past, but a plan for the future. “There is such a group of young people who are so talented and I’m afraid of them moving away because they can’t make a living here performing,” Dittman said. “There (are) musicians, actors, tech people that are great at it but they can only fit it in, in their spare time and they have to sling hash or something else. It takes away from their real passion.” Dittman said that another theater in the region can only increase the potential for the area’s performing artists, and hopefully open the door to more possible stage incomes. “My hope is the theaters can work together, share resources and people.” The goal of a revamped Lyric Theater is to be more than just a home for the Community Playhouse, Inc. They want to show movies, host parties, concerts and event weekends. All of which, they hope adds to the revitalization of downtown Oil City and other nearby communities. “It will help all of our downtowns as people come in for a show, maybe shop, maybe eat,” Dittman said. “I think it opens the door for a lot of progress and to bring life back downtown. People on the street at other times than when they are just driving through.” How to help One of the group’s most regular fundraising activities has been the Karma concert series which has raised over $30,000 for the project. The series features bands playing at Billy’s in Oil City with a $5 cover that benefits the Lyric Theater restoration project.
The next show is November 16 and will feature the Brandon Rae Band. Jesse James Weston will perform on November 30. Donations can also be made online at https://bbcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=2255. This story, by Richard Sayer and Eight & 322, was made possible through a grant from Arts Oil City and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
He purchased a wide brimmed hat, a portable easel and cartable boxes of paint. He ventured out into the fields like Cezanne and Pissarro with some small blank canvases only to come back later with a document of his experience.
He would then work in the studio on larger canvases and his work became multi-faceted explanations of the witnessed connections to place and, in a sense, time. “My studio work feels different to me…(the pieces) extend beyond the studies, expanding my sense of time into a visually active, yet meditative presence. My thought process has a stronger influence on these outcomes, fostering a collaboration of sorts between the painting and me.” Old school art. The Plein Air painter movement seeks to hold the traditions of witnessing and connecting with the world visibly seen and the act of making a picture through the old form of art using paints on a surface. There does still exist those who quietly craft from blank canvases to finished pictures (art products) based on the observation of the world in front of them. Warner is frequenter of many Plein Air gatherings along the eastern seaboard. At the Hoyt, there are 42 of Warner’s pieces on display. The show also features works of Pittsburgh ceramic artist Nancy McNary Smith. She uses ceramics to document the implosion of American political discourse, the threats of the plague and the attack of old age over the last few years in two recent series, Punctured Pots and Osteoporosis, on display in the Hoyt’s Sculpture Walkway. The show runs through December 21. The Hoyt is located at 124 E. Leasure Ave, New Castle. Admission is free. |
Click painting or here to view his website www.dpwarner.com
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March 2024
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