Arts season overflows with possibilities
Here are 10 shows you should keep an eye out for this autumn.
Welcome to a new arts season! Dayton’s 2018-19 roster provides something for everyone with a slate ranging from landmarks of the opera and classical worlds to exciting dance premieres and new musicals.
Thanks to an abundance of options it can be tough choosing what to see, but here are 10 shows to keep in mind as you plan your arts schedule.
DPAA Season Opening Spectacular
Sept. 15-16, Schuster Center The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance celebrates the enduring legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven. Dayton Philharmonic musicians, Dayton Opera vocalists and Dayton Ballet dancers join forces for a grand program particularly showcasing the composer’s majestic “Symphony No. 9 in D minor” (which includes the rapturous “Ode to Joy” finale) and “Hallelujah Chorus” from “Christ on the Mount of Olives.”
The Bench: Journey Into Love
Oct. 6-7, Victoria Theatre Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s 50th anniversary season launches with this world premiere by Point Park University Associate Professor Keisha Lalama (“HeartShakes”) pinpointing love beginning with a meeting on a park bench. The work specifically meshes dance with theater and an original score.
Muse: Mickalene Thomas Photographs and tète-a-tète
Oct. 20, 2018-Jan. 13, 2019, Dayton Art Institute
Spotlighting the work of contemporary African-American photographer Mickalene Thomas, this special exhibit contains influential images addressing new definitions of beauty and inspiration. Over the years, her artistic canon has illuminated compelling examinations of femininity, race, gender and sexuality.
The Man Who Killed the Cure
Nov. 16-25, Dayton Theatre Guild Luke Yankee’s “The Last Lifeboat” was a hit for the Guild in 2016. He’s back with another drama based on the life of Dr. Max Gerson, one of the fathers of natural healing. When Gerson discovers an all-natural cure for cancer in the late 1940s, a rival doctor, a large pharmaceutical company, and the medical establishment seek to stop him at all costs. A special talkback with Yankee, the son of Academy Award winner Eileen Heckart (“Butterflies Are Free”), will be held immediately following the Saturday, Nov. 17 8 p.m. performance.
Mamma Mia!
Jan. 10-13, 2019, Victoria Theatre If you haven’t had your fill of ABBA this summer thanks to a certain film continuing to dominate the multiplexes, the Muse Machine invites you to be a super trouper and check out what could be one of the biggest hits in the history of the arts education organization. Typically, this show
contains a moderately sized cast but expect Muse to go big. The possibility of seeing more than 70 teenagers singing and dancing to “Money, Money, Money,” “Voulez-Vous,” “Waterloo,” and more will be a hoot.
On Your Feet!
March 5-10, 2019, Schuster Center
The engaging, culturally relevant and tuneful story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan’s rise to pop stardom and pursuit of the American Dream is the lifeblood of this feel-good 2015 musical courtesy of the Victoria Theatre Association’s Premier Health Broadway Series. Trust me when I say you’ll be humming “Conga,” the entertaining Act 1 finale, throughout intermission.
Best of John Williams II
March 15-16, 2019, Schuster Center
Any salute to the genius of composer John Williams is well worth your time. The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra returns to his iconic repertoire, a lifetime of music etched into the fabric of American pop culture, with selections from “Munich,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “Memoirs of a Geisha” to name a few.
A Little Night Music
March 21-April 7, 2019, Wright State University
Stephen Sondheim isn’t as embraceable as John Williams, but he’s just as prolific and significant. Wright State tackles his most beautifully sophisticated and elegant score (featuring “Send in the Clowns”) heightening a fascinating account of family, motherhood, marriage, infidelity, angst, disillusionment and forgiveness.
The Library
April 25-28, 2019, University of Dayton and Playground Theatre at UD
In a pleasantly surprising partnership, the University of Dayton and Playground Theatre offer a collaborative local premiere of Scott Z. Burns’ topical, powerful 2014 drama concerning a 16-year-old girl who survived a deadly shooting at her high school. As she begins to tell her story to her parents and friends amid a media firestorm, facts become twisted and the blame game spins out of control.
Lizzie
June 13-30, 2019, Loft Theatre
Human Race Theatre Company provides the regional premiere of Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt and Tim Maner’s rock musical about the infamous Lizzie Borden, who killed her father and stepmother in the New England summer of 1892. Four actresses tell this story, which views Lizzie as a media sensation as her trial takes its toll on her closest relationships.