If you want to have an evening full of fun, good food, delightful company and fabulous entertainment give a party at Wright State Creative Arts Center. Let those remarkable students have the time of their lives entertaining your hundreds of guests. Let those guests wander from venue to venue with innovative food stations scattered about for their pleasure.
I’ve just described the seventh annual Wright State Arts Gala, held at the Creative Arts Center on April 1st. This festive event has grown into the premier black tie happening in the city.
As a showcase for the multi-talented WSU liberal arts students, the Gala gives its enthusiastic patrons a real shot-in-the-arm. The Wright State programs literally teem with talent. My readers will recall the rave reviews of the plays and musicals at the Festival Playhouse.
The Gala releases a missile shot of youthful enthusiasm. The musical theater department produced a Broadway style revue. Given twice during the evening in the Festival Playhouse, it delighted the audience. The show is an impressive potpourri of songs. This capsule musical proved, again, why the WSU program has been described as one of the best in the country.
The magic of the evening is heightened by the pull of so many delights. Each time you pass through the main foyer, you are enticed by lavish hors d’oeuvres and bars full of libations. Soon, these goodies prove to be distractions as you head for the various performances.
There are student performances everywhere. Choral singing, excerpts from Mama Mia, hot Jazz, charming 60’s songs and dances a la Dick Clark, artists painting, student films running and musical performers in mini-concerts.
Yes, it is exhausting. No matter how well you think that you are organized, you miss something and are reminded of that as you pass friends in the hall admonishing you to see such and such.
The proceeds of the evening are dedicated to scholarships made available to these gifted young persons. That is the extra spice of this fun evening.
The WSU Arts Gala is already scheduled for next year, March 31. It would be an interesting experiment to reserve your tickets now. I may just try that!
Dayton Jewish International Film Festival
The sixth Annual Dayton Jewish International Film Festival had its grand opening on March 30. There are nine films, showing at the Neon Movies through April 10.
This selection of films was carefully chosen by a large committee headed by the energetic Jason Liff. The festival is a banquet. There are comedies, dramas and documentary retellings of poignant tales.
The opening film, Live and Be Well, is a stunning story of Ethiopian Jews escaping their war-torn country for asylum and a new life in Israel. It handles so many human tragedies and foibles with such artistry that there are tears of joy and sorrow well mixed with awe. At the opening, the star of the film, an Ethiopian who recalls the death march from his country and the airlift into a new world, makes his part in the film electrically personal. We’ve seen three films so far, all of them memorable.
When you read this, you can still attend films on April 5, 6, 9 and 10. Just go to the Neon Movies and tell them that Burt sent you.
Emergence-See
Two very different theater experiences opened in Dayton last week. Danny Beaty is a Miami Valley School graduate who went on to Yale, The San Francisco Opera and The American Conservatory Theater. His one man show Emergence-See is a complete theatrical triumph. Danny wrote the play and created more than 40 roles with unimaginable power and clarity. His home town appearance was a nearly full house at the Art Institute. Next for Danny is a tour and a future Broadway stint. After that – the world!
Movin’Out
Theater of a vastly different genre moved into the Schuster. Movin’ Out has “moved in” through April 9.
This dance extravaganza is a wedding of the choreography of Twyla Tharp and the music of Billy Joel. Tharp is a gifted and exciting creator of dance. Her crossover choreography includes major works for ballet companies, Broadway and television.
Billy Joel’s music, although completely unfamiliar to me, is very much a major contribution to his era. The combination, along with a poignant story slowly emerging from the non-stop dancing, makes an evening of real excitement.
The dancers cavorted under a full orchestra suspended on a cross walk. The musicians had almost as athletic a stint as the dancers. I found that the relentless rhythms of the music made it difficult for me to tell one song from another. The amplified sound was loud but better balanced than the Broadway shows visiting the Schuster in recent memory.
The company was handsome and very talented. Two dancers stood out. Laura Feig and Rasta Thomas had emotional roles which they portrayed marvelously. Feig, a delicate wisp, did much of her dancing on pointe in contrast to the Broadway style of the company. Thomas displayed athleticism and energy; the audience was mesmerized.
I enjoyed the experience. Just don’t ask me to hum any of the tunes.
Don’t’ forget to mark out some time on Saturday April 8 to stroll the 2300 block of Far Hills Avenue where The Oakwood Florist, La De Da Salon and Central Perk have joined together to host an Art Show. The works of eight artists are represented – works in sterling silver jewelry, yard art, watercolors, oils and pastels. And you’ll enjoy complementary hors d’oeurves, too!
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