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Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Julie S. Henahan has been elected to the board of directors of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.
She is one of five new members appointed for three-year terms beginning in 2010. The NASAA is the national service organization for state arts councils.
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Joey Luthman, 12, who got his start in Dayton area theater and has racked up roles in more than two dozen independent films, will appear in the Thursday, Nov. 19, episode of the television series “Private Practice” (10 p.m. ABC).
He plays Evan Dawson, the same character he played in a previous episode, which earned him a 2009 Young Artist Award.
“Evan is a diabetic and formerly homeless boy who was kidnapped by his dad from an abusive boyfriend of his mother,” said Joey. He’s a sixth-grader at a school in Studio City, Calif., “which is really cool because it’s for actors and athletes who need to be dismissed early for rehearsals and auditions. The school day is from 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” he said.
He said it was “great” to get the chance to do another episode on “Private Practice,” adding that a recurring role may be a possibility. “It’s a lot of fun working with everyone on the set.”
The son of Tess and Rick Luthman will also be seen as Dave in the Nickelodeon movie “I Quit iCarly” at 8 p.m. Dec. 5.
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New Lebanon native Todd Gearhart, who made his Broadway in October as a cast member of the revival of the musical “Bye Bye Birdie,” played the show’s leading male role during performances on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 17 and 18.
He went on for John Stamos, who was in Hollywood for dedication of his star on the Walk of Fame.
Gearhart, a graduate of Dixie High School and the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, made his professional stage debut with Dayton’s Human Race Theatre Company.
He is a member of the off-Broadway Actors Theatre Company and has done considerable work on television, from the soaps “All My Children” and “As the World Turns” to “Law and Order,” and “Lipstick Jungle.”
He plays several ensemble roles in “Bye Bye Birdie.” Stamos’s part is Albert Peterson, the manager of Conrad Birdie, an Elvis-like rock ‘n’ roll heartthrob.
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The 1980s Dayton soul/’funk band Zapp and Roger will be featured at 8 p.m. Nov. 22 in the biographical series “Unsung” on the cable/satellite television network TV One (TMC channel 217).
The series about musicians, singers and groups that fell just short of greatness due to circumstance recently featured Cincinnati’s Bootsy Collins.
Roger Troutman, the leader and singer of Zapp, died in 1999 when he was shot in Dayton by his brother and fellow band member, Larry Troutman, who then turned the gun on himself.
Narrated by Gary Anthony Williams, the hour-long program includes interviews with family members Loretta Troutman, Lester Troutman and Terry Troutman and footage shot in Dayton.
Credited as inspiration for West Coast hip hop and G funk, Zapp was known for popularizing the “talk box” and for hits including “More Bounce to the Ounce,” “Dance Floor,” “I Wanna Be Your Man,” “So Ruff So Tuff” and “Computer Love.”
The Troutmans operated a recording studio in West Dayton for many years and financed the construction of homes for low-income residents in the city.
For more information about “Unsung,” go to www.tvoneonline.com.
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Two male-female duos from the Dayton area have been chosen winners of Ohio’s 2010 Governor’s Awards for the Arts.
Human Race Theatre Company leaders Kevin Moore and Marsha Hanna of Dayton were named in the arts administrator category. Jim and Enid Goubeaux of Greenville were chosen as arts patrons.
The honors will be presented April, 21, 2010, in Columbus.
Hanna, who is artistic director of The Human Race, said the award “came as a total surprise” for her and Moore, the company’s executive director. “Kevin has been nominated several times before, so I think we just figured someone else would win. It’s an even bigger honor for me personally to be named with Kevin.”
The Goubeauxs are longtime supporters and contributors to Dayton arts organizations, primarily The Human Race and WDPR-FM.
“They are sweet and wonderful people with no agenda other than supporting the arts,” Hanna said.
Moore, who has a national reputation for developing new musicals, has gotten out from behind his desk to star as Don Quixote in The Human Race’s current production of the musical “Man of La Mancha” at The Loft Theatre.
Ohio Arts Council board member and awards panelist Sharon Howard of Dayton said it’s the second year in a row the Miami Valley has captured multiple arts awards.
Other 2010 winners, chosen from among 79 nominees across the state, are: Sylvia Easley of Cleveland Heights for arts education, American Electric Power for business support of the arts, Donna Sue Groves of Manchester for community development and participation, and Columbus poet Andrew Hudgins as individual artist.
There were 20 other nominees from the region.
Dayton: Mike Elsass , arts patron; Michael Ervin, community development and participation; Freund, Freeze and Arnold, business support; Michael K. Lippert, arts education; Ohio Art Education Association, arts education; Rhythm in Shoes co-directors Sharon Leahy and Rick Good, individual artists; Benjamin Schuster, arts patron; Stivers School for the Arts, arts education, and the University of Dayton, community development and participation.
Fairborn: Morris Home Furnishings, business support.
Greenville: Nancy Fourman, arts education.
Kettering: Michael Bashaw, individual artist.
Piqua: Piqua Arts Council, arts education.
Springfield: Eric A. Bess, arts education; Clark State Performing Arts Center, community development and participation, and D. Scot Davidge, arts education.
Hamilton: City of Hamilton, “Ohio City of Sculpture,” community development and participation; and Harry T. Wilks, arts patron.
Oxford: James D. McWilliams, arts education.
More information is available at www.oac.state.oh,us/events/govawards.
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“Hair” with nude hippies is one thing. Jesus and the disciples as homosexuals is another.
That’s the next attraction at the Dayton Playhouse, where the Terrence McNally play “Corpus Christi” opens Friday, Nov. 13.
The drama depicts Jesus (named Joshua) and the apostles as gay men in 1950s Corpus Christi, Texas, McNally’s hometown. Translated from Latin, the words Corpus Christi mean the body of Christ.
The play has stirred controversy since its 1998 premiere in New York. McNally, who is openly gay, received death threats. The 2000 premiere in England attracted a death fatwa for the playwright.
Dayton Playhouse officials said they anticipate no protests.
“We are fortunate to reside in such an artistic and accepting community,” executive director Wade Hamilton said. “Patrons often praise our smaller and more thought-provoking plays. This is exactly that. Although it puts a highly controversial spin on an old and familiar story, the message is still clear. It’s a story of love, acceptance and forgiveness.”
Dayton Playhouse board chairman Brian Sharp said patrons are being encouraged “to come with an open mind and prepare to leave challenged and changed.”
“Corpus Christi” mixes the mid-20th century (television) with the historic (Roman occupation). One plot twist has Judas betraying Jesus because of jealousy. It has been praised for exploring gay themes in Christianity and condemned as blasphemy or sacrilege.
Dayton actor Michael Boyd, who is directing, provided this synopsis. “It traces the birth, early life, ministry and death of a prophet who is born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. He brings a message of love and acceptance — that all people are equal under God. His teachings fall on deaf ears and lead to his persecution and murder.”
Sean Frost will play Joshua. Apostles will be portrayed by: Chuck Larkowski, James Roselli, Max Monnig, Ian Manuel, Franklin Johnson, Matt Turner, Matthew Smith, Greg Nichols, Robb Willoughby, Daniel Bayes, Mike Stockstill and Mark Diffenderfer.
“Corpus Christi” is intended for mature audiences, Boyd said. It includes strong language and “unvarnished situations.”
“Corpus Christi” will be presented at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 13-22, at the Dayton Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave. Tickets are $10-$15 at (937) 424-8477 or www.daytonplayhouse.org.
Shane Wright was a concession stand clerk the last time a midnight showing sold out at Showcase Huber Heights.
“It was Star Wars II” (2002), Wright said.
Now the theater’s manager, he reported on Tuesday, Nov. 11, that the 12:01 a.m. Nov. 19 premiere of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” was already sold out.
“Our second showing is still 82 percent available, but I think that may go, too. We will keep adding showings until we run out of prints,” he said. “Start times will each be five minutes later than the previous one.”
Based on a best-selling novel in Stephenie Meyer’s series, “New Moon” is the sequel to “Twilight,” which raked in almost $384 million worldwide in 2008.
Online merchant movietickets.com told CNN on Wednesday, Nov. 11, that 74 percent of its sales this week had been for “New Moon.” The sequel had sold more than four times as many seats as “Twilight” had at this point. Nationally, more than 1,300 showings were sold out.
Dayton area ticket buyers have also been ravenous at Regal Hollywood 20 in Fairfield Commons, where the premiere was posted as sold out on line as of Tuesday, Nov. 10. Seats were still available for future screenings.
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