MANSFIELD, OHIO. Mansfield, Ohio’s premiere venue for live entertainment, the Renaissance Theatre, is pleased to announce its 2018-19 season, Just Imagine. The organization formally announced the lineup at their Season Preview Party on Tuesday evening to a crowd of more than 900.
The evening began with the lovely sounds of the Mansfield Symphony Youth Orchestra. The Renaissance CEO Michael Miller and Chairman of the Board Rand Smith then came on stage and discussed the past year celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the Renaissance Theatre and the vision for the future with the Imagination District. Members of the Renaissance Board joined Mike and Rand on stage to be recognized for their exemplary dedication in leading the Renaissance Theatre.
Kristi Lord from Mechanics Bank stepped up on stage next to introduce the Mechanics Bank Education Series. MY Theatre will once again offer sensory-friendly concerts for individuals with special needs and their families during the performances of Disney’s Aladdin, Jr. and Once On This Island. The hugely popular Teddy Bear Concert Series will return with Aesop’s Fables, The Emperor’s New Clothes, and The Science of Sound, a collaboration production with Little Buckeye Children’s Museum. The Mansfield Youth Orchestra and Youth Strings, which showcase nearly 150 outstanding musicians from over twelve counties in Central Ohio, will perform their annual Fall and Spring concerts. The Renaissance Youth Opera Theatre will round out the Education Series with performances in January of Hot Mikado and an original work by Michael Thomas called Marco Polo Jones; The Road to Shanghai, and in May RYOT will present Thespis paired with Michael Thomas’ piece, Hercules!
Movies will be back at the Renaissance Theatre featuring not one, but two series! The Stephen King Film Festival, sponsored by Charles P. Hahn, Cleveland Financial, and the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library will continue over the summer and through the fall. The newly added Family Film Series, sponsored by Spherion Staffing, will showcase four recent classics on the Renaissance big screen.
Comedy is also returning to Renaissance with not one, but two hilarious shows! On October 17th (and you will have to see it to believe it) is The Naked Magicians. And, on February 16th Cleveland’s own Tammy Pescatelli will leave you in stitches with comedians Rocky Laporte and Josh Sneed.
Janene Yeater from OhioHealth then came on stage to introduce the OhioHealth Symphony Series. Under the baton of Maestro Octavio Más-Arocas, the symphony had an outstanding 2017-18 season that showed a 20% increase in attendance. Returning again to the podium, Más-Arocas will lead the symphony in an exciting kick-off concert on September 22nd titled “Spanish Fiesta”, a passionate collection of Spanish-inspired compositions. Sing Out! will take place on October 21st and feature the Mansfield Symphony Chorus with a number of local high school choruses. One week later will feature the symphony performing a Halloween “spooktacular”, costumes and all, and ringing in the Holidays will be the ever-popular Holiday Concert on December 15th. The season continues on February 9th with “Russian Spectacular” featuring Russian Masters such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, and Borodin. March 23rd will see a collaboration with Jeans n’ Classics to feature the timeless music of Elton John. Ending the season on May 11th, the symphony will be joined by the chorus to perform some of the best-loved music of the French Masters and will feature the Renaissance’s Mighty Wurlitzer in Saint-Saens’ Third Symphony.
Introducing the Richland Bank Broadway Series were Chris Hiner and Kristie Massa of Richland Bank. Highlights from this season led by Michael Thomas, artistic director, will be Newsies: The Broadway Musical in July and August, Annie in November, Mamma Mia in March, Avenue Q in April, and The Last Act, a Renaissance original production in May. Mike Miller continued by announcing renovation of the condemned building at 166 Park Avenue West we be completed soon and will feature the brand new Black Box Series. The space, now called Theatre 166, will host a collective of actors, artists, musicians, and art advocates, who will explore their artistic visions while cultivating and promoting original works, new interpretations of overlooked masterpieces, and re-examining seldom-seen classics. The anticipated season will include The Light in the Piazza, and Sunday in the Park with George. Mike Miller concluded this series presentation with the announcement that Neos Dance Theatre will return for the Holidays on December 9th with the incredible production of 1940s Nutcracker.
Completing the evening was the announcement of the Avita Health System Concert Series by Dr. Errol Williams of Avita Health Systems. Beatle-mania will be coming to the Renaissance on September 29th with BritBeat: A Multimedia Concert Journey Through Beatles Music History. Country legend, Aaron Tippin, will celebrate his silver anniversary as a recording artist on our stage on October 12th, and on February 2nd the timeless music of Fleetwood Mac will enthrall fans with Tusk: Tribute to Fleetwood Mac. Rounding out the series will be a Broadway legend, voice of two Disney princesses, and a Tony award-winning actress, Lea Salonga on April 29th.