Select Series day at the Niswonger

One of the biggest holidays at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center is coming this week!  This Thursday, July 7, is the beginning of the Select Series sales.

Over the past several years, this day has become a much-anticipated one for many patrons of the Niswonger.  Doors to the Grand Lobby and sales of Select Series will begin at noon on Thursday.  Those attending in person will be given a number and served in the order of their appearance.

We enjoy seeing so many of our friends on this day.  We open up extra stations, as many as our server will allow, serving each patron as quickly and efficiently as possible. We will be showing a promotional video in the First Federal Lecture Hall, where people can sit, relax, view the video, and ask questions. I always enjoy watching patrons talk with each other about what choices they intend to make. By the way, refreshments are always available while you wait.

This year, there are 25 events to choose from. The gala concert featuring Bernadette Peters with the Boston Pops Orchestra on April 1 will become available to the open public beginning January 4. There are ways to purchase gala tickets earlier by buying a membership or Grand Series. Feel free to ask the box office about this.

The 2016-17 Niswonger season is filled with such variety of options once again. Some of the big name concerts will likely be very popular during Select Series time, but allow me to say a word about a select few events that might not be as well known. Vocalosity on October 22 will be an exciting show of young a cappella voices put together by Deke Sharon, the creative mind who produced “The Sing-Off” and “Pitch Perfect” for TV. He personally auditioned and selected over a dozen male and female voices for this touring show, which took off last year primarily on college campuses throughout the country. I understand they even do a little barbershop music and have been written up in national barbershop publications.

Another show that could fly under your radar screen may be Artrageous. This is a very unique and highly entertaining show of music and visual art. We are proud to be working alongside Wassenberg Art Center to bring this to you. Live musicians will perform music the likes of Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, Ray Charles, and others while artists will be on stage painting portraits of the musician whose music they are performing.  It looked so cool I just had to bring it to Van Wert for you to experience.

One last show I will mention is “Broadway & Beyond”, which can be purchased as part of the Community Concert Series (a great bargain) or independently. This is a show I have helped create with two performing artist friends of mine. J. Mark McVey, who appeared with Signature Sound on our stage back in 2014 with the “Inspiration of Broadway”, will now join forces with the Heartland Singers of Fort Wayne to perform a newly created show: “Broadway & Beyond”.

We have had discussion of the content and I believe it will be a tremendously enjoyable evening of beautiful music on March 18. J. Mark McVey is a seasoned Broadway veteran, having performed the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables 3,268 times. Included in those performances were London’s West End — the first American singer to sing that role in London — and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic to a sold-out Hollywood Bowl performance.  He was also featured in the 25th anniversary tour of Les Mis.

He will join his voice with the Heartland Singers and instrumentalists under the direction of Maestro Robert Nance to create a memorable night at the Niswonger. We are hopeful this will launch the show nationally, with the premier, of course, at the Niswonger.

A couple updates on other coming Niswonger attractions that made news recently: Mutts Gone Nuts, which will be here on April 30, was recently on ABC’s “The View”. I also heard that REO Speedwagon, which will appear the day before on April 29, just sang the “National Anthem” on July 4 for the Chicago White Sox-New York Yankees game. Just thought you would like to know!

This Friday night, a combined concert with the Van Wert Area Community Concert Band and the St. Marys Area Community Band will be featured in Fountain Park. I hope you can attend this first-ever event as these two bands will entertain individually, as well as combined with exciting band music selected especially for you.

Directors Richard Sherrick and Dane Newlove hope to welcome a big crowd to Fountain Park this Friday night at 7 p.m.  And bring your appetites, as food will be available in the Rotary concession booth.

FINÉ.