Weathervane to thank public with Rooster Booster party heading into reopening – Akron Beacon Journal

At Weathervane Playhouse in Akron, it's high time for a Rooster Booster Thank You Fest.

What's that, you may ask? It's a party the theater's board of trustees will throw Aug. 13 to celebrate Weathervane's upcoming reopening and thank all of Weathervane's donors, volunteer and friends for their support during the long pandemic shutdown.

Why a rooster? Because that's the theater's longtime logo: the colorful chanticleer rooster.

The free event, which will be open to the public, will include music byMurphy's Law, food and drink on the Weathervane lawn. The event will be a welcome back for all as Weathervane looks forward to opening its 87th season.

The six-show season, shorter than the theater's typical eight or nine shows, will feature a more spread-out lineup with longer runs. The fun will start again with the long-anticipated musical "Kinky Boots," which Weathervane was just weeks from opening when the pandemic shut down theaters in March2020.

Most of the original cast is coming back to finally mount the show, an Ohio community theater premiere that will run Sept. 30 to Oct. 24. Child actors playing Young Charlie and Young Lola actuallyaged out of theroles they hadmore than a year ago, so thoseparts are among those beingrecast.

In a rarity, the cast will rehearse from day oneon the stage, where the air exchange is the best in the building.

The musical about drag entertainer Lola and shoe factory heir Charlie carries the message that "You change the world when you change your mind."The musical features music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein.

"The message of the show is the reason that we're reopening with it," said Chief Executive Artistic DirectorMelanie Pepe. "It's a message of acceptance, of being proud about who you are, aboutlearning about things you don't understand. And by learning, you will understand why people choose the things they choose, and it's easier to accept when you take the time to learn about people."

The show will feature an audience talkback with local drag queens about what drag performance is as an art form, Pepe said.

Furloughed Weathervane staff members returned to work in early June, most on a part-time basis, and willmoveback to full time in a staggered fashion with the help of a second Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)loan.

The theater box office will open part time starting Monday, the same day that single tickets go on sale for "Kinky Boots."Hours will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays.

Single tickets will go on sale Aug. 2 for all other productions in the new season. Normal box office hours will resume Sept. 7. Call 330-836-2626.

Returning subscribers will receive season package informationin the mail in early August and new subscribers can buy packages starting in mid-August. See http://www.weathervaneplayhouse.com for more information.

The full season includes stories that celebrate diversity and uniqueness, Pepe said.All shows will be mainstage productions, rather than having a separate Emerging Artists Series this year.

Next in the lineup is the return of the popular "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which will likely have fewer children's choirs from area schools onstage this year. The show which will open before Thanksgiving this season, running Nov. 16 to Dec. 19.

Next, Weathervane will move ahead with its 11th 8x10 TheatreFest of 10-minute plays Jan. 13 to 23, 2022. For the first time, the event will run for two weekends.

Next, Weathervane will offer a musical it's worked to get the rights for for four years "The Color Purple." It will run four weeks, from Feb. 17 to March 13, 2022.

The show, a musical adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, follows downtrodden young Celie as she goes through a personal awakening over the course of 40 years. Weathervanealso will hosta show talkback about empowerment and representation.

"It's a story we've been wanting to tell for a very, very long time," Pepe said. "One of the reasons it's in our season is because it's a story of empowerment."

Next, the comedic whodunit "Clue" will run April 7 to May 1, based on the Paramount film that's based on the Hasbro board game. The show, full of murder and mayhem, made its world premiereat Cleveland Playhouse in February 2020.

"We need to breathe and have a little fun" with this show after the weighty and powerful "The Color Purple," Pepe said.

Weathervane will close its new season with the long-awaited "Newsies," which had been slated for summer 2020. With music by Alan Menken and book by Fierstein, the musicalfollows charismatic New York newsboy Jack Kelly and his band of teen newsies, who strike against unfair work conditions. The show will run for five weeks, June 2 to July 3, 2022.

In other Weathervane updates, theatergoers who will return for the first time in nearly 18 months will see fresh paint and a renovated snack barin the lobby, thanks to donors Tom and Shelley Koutnik;an updated and newly named "Donald M. and Mary E. Jenkins" box office; and a new stage floor, donated by Maureen and Jim Kovach. The exterior also will be freshly painted for the first time in nearly 15 years.

After beinglargely empty for more than a year, Weathervane needed some sprucing up. Students from Archbishop Hoban High School spent three days in late June refreshing the building, organizing and cleaning.

"What they're doing is bringing the theater back to life and they've been extremely hardworking," Pepe said.

Support from grant funders, the city of Akron and donors have been a lifeline, shesaid: "This could have been the end of 86 years of incredible history in Akron and it wasn't, because people chose to give."

Downtown at Dusk kicked off last week at the Akron Art Museum while I was on vacation, featuring trumpeter Curtis Taylor with his jazz quartet. The 37th annual event, back live this summer after going digital last year, continues from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursdays with free concerts through the end of the month in the Bud and Susie Rogers Garden. In case of bad weather, concerts will move inside, with a limited capacity.

The concerts also are streamed live on the museum's Facebook page. Alineup of fan favorites who've performed previously at the event will be featured.

On Thursday, the sextet Sammy DeLeon y su Orquestra will play Latin jazz, led bydrummer DeLeon. July 22 will highlight Timi FUNK, an Akron songstress who blends old-school funk and classic rock with neo-soul. The final show July 29 will feature the blues, jazz and rock of 15 60 75 Numbers Band, which will be playing at Downtown at Dusk for its37th year.

The Akron Symphonic Winds, a 30-piece professional wind band,will play from 4:45 to 6 p.m. July 24 at the Akron Arts Expo at Hardesty Park, 1615 W. Market St. The expo is returning for its 42nd year after last year's hiatus. More than 100 artists will take part in the juried fine arts and craft show from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 24 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 25.

Other entertainment July 24 will be East of Seattle 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. and the Jimiller Band 1 to 2 p.m. Performers July 25will beMichael Eric Schirch 11 a.m. to noon, ETC Heids School of Musical Arts Show Choirs 1 to 2 p.m. and Jeri Sapronetti and Graham Murphy 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

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Weathervane to thank public with Rooster Booster party heading into reopening - Akron Beacon Journal