Entertainment writer Ed Balint suggests fun things to do in the local arts and culture scene.
1. Canton Ballet 60th anniversary performance and gala
Canton Ballet will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a special performance April 24 and benefit gala April 25.
“The Greatest of All Time (GOAT)” show is described as “a specially curated performance and celebration weekend honoring six decades of artistic excellence, leadership and community support.”
The 60th anniversary benefit gala includes a VIP reception, performance and post-show celebration.
The April 24 performance is 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The April 25 gala reception is 5 to 6 p.m., followed by a performance of “The Greatest of All Time.”
Tickets for both events are available at https://cantonballet.com/.
“Thoughtfully curated by Executive Artistic Director Jennifer Catazaro Hayward, the performance invites audiences to celebrate the legacy built by artists, families, patrons, donors, volunteers, and supporters over sixty years,” a news release said.
2. Canton Symphony celebrates America
Canton Symphony Orchestra will close out its MasterWorks season with a performance April 25 of “We the People − An American Celebration.”
The concert will be 7:30 p.m. in Umstattd Hall at the Zimmermann Symphony Center, led by guest conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong and featuring violinist Zhan Shu.
“As the nation marks 250 years since its founding, this program reflects the evolving American story through music,” including the work of Amy Beach, Samuel Barber, Jessie Montgomery and Aaron Copland, a news release said.
“American composers sometimes get overlooked, but we are proud to present a concert of entirely American music as part of the America 250 celebration,” said Rachel Hagemeier, president and CEO of the Canton Symphony Orchestra. “This program walks our audience through the American experience, offering a glimpse of how our history is reflected in our music.”
A pre-concert lecture is 6:30 p.m. in Foundation Hall.
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to cantonsymphony.org/. Tickets range from $15 to $55, including fees. Zimmermann Symphony Center is at McKinley High School, 2331 17th St. NW in Canton.
3. Sneaker Mania 2 in Canton
“Sneaker Mania 2” will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 25 at the Executive Event Center, 5211 Tuscarawas St. W in Canton.
Eighty tables of merchandise will include sneakers, hats, jerseys, sports cards, sports memorabilia and more.
Special guests will be YouTube personality and sneaker expert JumpMan Kris and Romeo Travis, who played on the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball team with NBA superstar LeBron James. Travis also played basketball professionally in Europe for 14 years.
Tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite. Tickets for students from grade school through college cost $5. Parents are admitted free, and tickets also will be sold at the door.
Attendees also can bring shoes to trade or sell. Food will be available. Prizes also will be given out.
4. ‘Nunsense’ at Roxy Theatre in Minerva
“Nunsense: The Musical” will be performed at 7 p.m. April 24-25 at Roxy Theatre in downtown Minerva.
“’Nunsense’ is a hilarious spoof about the misadventures of five nuns trying to manage a fundraiser,” according to a news release.
The Minerva Community Charitable Fund will present the musical as a fundraiser.
The cast includes Theresa Linder, Rachel Galarneau, Genevieve Galarneau, Savanna Bartley, and Kim Franz, and is directed by Lise Uhl, with Tommy Edds as musical director.
Uhl, who served as director of Visual and Performing Arts at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, has directed more than 50 operas, operettas and musicals.
Tickets cost $25 and are available at the Minerva Area Chamber of Commerce, 203 N. Market St. Tickets also will be sold at the door.
5. HBCU Experience Party at EN-RICH-MENT
The EN-RICH-MENT Fine Arts Academy plans the HBCU Experience Party at 5:30 p.m. April 24.
The event kicks off the HBCU Experience Weekend and will be in the parking lot of the EN-RICH-MENT Arts Education Center, 901 Market Ave. N near downtown Canton.
Sisters of Soul will lead line dancing, and the HBCU Alumni will perform. Other entertainment also will be provided, as well as a DJ, drumming and dancing.
Food will be available. If weather is not conducive for outdoor activities, the event will be moved to the Bulldog Activity Center, 521 Tuscarawas St. W in downtown Canton.
6. Journey tribute in Sugarcreek
A Journey tribute band will perform two shows April 24 at Ohio Star Theater on the Dutch Valley campus in Sugarcreek.
The tribute band Voyager will perform at 1 and 7 p.m., playing Journey’s hits including “Faithfully,” “Open Arms” and “Don’t Stop Believin.'”
Tickets can be purchased at dhgroup.com/theaters/the-ohio-star-theater/ or by calling the box office at 855-344-7547.
7. ‘The Sweet Delilah Swim Club’ in Alliance
Carnation City Players will present the final weekend of performances of “The Sweet Delilah Swim Club.”
Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. April 25 and 2:30 p.m. April 26 at Firehouse Theater, 450 E Market St. in Alliance.
“The story tracks five former college swim teammates who return to the same cottage year after year, peeling back the layers of their lives, their mid-life hurdles, and the deep-seated humor that keeps them afloat when the tide gets high,” a theater news release said.
Tickets, $15.15 to $17.25, can be purchased at carnationcityplayers.org/ or by calling the box office at 330-821-8712.
8. NEOPro Wrestling in Canton
NEOPro Wrestling will entertain fans with an event April 25 at The Kingdom Center, 2631 Harvard Ave. NW.
Wilbur Whitlock will be wrestling his final match at “NEOPro Wrestling IV: Wilbur’s Last Call.” Whitlock’s career spans decades in the Northeast Ohio independent wrestling scene, a news release said.
The event is 4 to 9 p.m. Tickets, starting at $22.07 for general admission, can be purchased at events.ticketleap.com/events/neopro.
9. Geena Davis at Mount Union
A limited number of complimentary tickets remain for actor Geena Davis’ appearance at the University of Mount Union at 7 p.m. April 28 as part of the campus lecture series.
Davis earned her first Academy Award in 1989 for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Muriel Pritchett in “The Accidental Tourist.” Davis is also known for her roles in “Thelma and Louise,” “Tootsie,” “A League of Their Own” and “Beetlejuice.”
Limited tickets are available free of charge at mountunion.edu/arts-and-culture/lecture-series.
10. New Berlin Symphonic Winds at Malone University
New Berlin Symphonic Winds will present its spring concert at 7 p.m. April 29 at Malone University’s Johnson Center, 2600 Cleveland Ave. NW in Canton.
The concert is free and open to the public. Willow DiGiacomo will be conducting her final concert with the band.
Selections include concert band favorites such as “American Overture for Band” by Joseph Willcox Jenkins, Percy Grainger’s “Irish Tune from County Derry,” and Richard Roger’s Victory at Sea, a news release said.
11. ‘Madame Bovary’ at Kent State University
Stark County native and Kent State University theater student Randolph McFarren will stage his original musical, “Madame Bovary” on April 24 and 25.
The shows will be at 7 p.m. in Oscar Ritchie Hall at 225 Terrace Drive on Kent State University’s main campus. Tickets cost $10 for students and $12 for adults. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
McFarren, a Tuslaw High School graduate, is a senior at Kent State completing his capstone project by creating a musical adaptation of “Madame Bovary,” a novel written by Gustave Flaubert and published in 1857, telling the story of Emma Bovary, a woman who has grown unhappy with her marriage and life. She seeks the excitement found in the romance novels she reads as a form of escape.
The student created the music, lyrics and costumes for the new production. McFarren, who is also directing “Madame Bovary,” wrote his first musical, “Mansfield Park” at age 17.
Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com. Follow on Instagram at ed_balint and TikTok @edwardbalint.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Things to do. Canton Ballet, sneaker expo, Geena Davis, symphony show
Reporting by Ed Balint, Canton Repository / The Repository
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