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Fitch Drama Club presents ‘Phantom’
Austintown Fitch High School Drama Club will stage the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “The Phantom of the Opera” for three performances.
It is the longest-running musical in Broadway history, closing in 2023 after nearly 14,000 performances.
It’s only available to high school and youth groups to perform.
Show times are 6 p.m. March 27, 28 and 29 in the auditorium, 4560 Falcon Drive. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and free for U.S. military veterans.
There also is a dinner theater option at 4 p.m. before the March 29 performance with tickets for $27 for adults, $22 for students and $12 for veterans. Tickets are available online at www.austintownschools.org.
Motorcycle group plans chili cook off
The Warren Harley Owners Group 3906 will have a Chili Cook Off noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Warren Harley-Davidson 2102 Elm Road NE, Bazetta.
Competing chili makers are asked to arrive by 11:30 a.m. Prizes will be awarded for best traditional, spicy and white chili along with a people’s choice award.
The cost is $5 to sample the varieties available, and proceeds will benefit Trumbull Mobile Meals, which delivers meals to keep senior citizens safe and living independently.
Symphony Orchestra seeking musicians
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra will hold auditions for open positions in May.
Auditions for 2nd oboe / English Horn are scheduled
on May 6, and auditions for assistant concertmaster and section violin will take place on May 7.
Qualified applicants must register at youngstownsymphony.com before the April 15 deadline. Details on pay and other information can be found on the website. Questions can be emailed to auditions@youngstown
symphony.com.
Hopewell announces ‘Middletown’ auditions
Auditions will be March 29 to 31 for Hopewell Theatre’s production of “Middletown.”
Will Eno’s play has been described as a modern-day version of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” as it explores small town life through the friendship between longtime resident John Dodge and new arrival Mary Swanson.
Many of the performers cast will play multiple roles.
Those interested in auditioning are asked to schedule an audition time.
A link is available on Hopewell’s website, hopewelltheatre.org. “Middletown,” directed by Jeanine Rees, will open June 13 and run for two weekends.
Symphonic rock orchestra to perform
Tickets go on sale Friday for the Baldassarre Orchestra on May 17 at the Robins Theatre.
Led by guitarist and composer Carl Baldassarre, the group presents symphonic rock arrangements of classic rock hits. For its “Classic Rock Rewind” show, the first set will feature the music of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Moody Blues and others, while the second set will focus on Led Zeppelin.
Tickets are $25.
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Benders reunite for benefit show June 6 at Robins
The Benders will reunite to play a benefit show for the Ross Griffin Memorial Foundation on June 6 at the Robins Theatre.
The band featuring Jeff Draime, Dante Cerni, Dave LeMasters and Bill Griffin played out extensively from 2000 to 2004 and opened for such acts as Michael Stanley, Cheap Trick Dennis DeYoung, Gin Blossoms, Bad Company and ZZTop. Bill Griffin died in 2019, but the three remaining members will be joined by Lake Baum (Brass Metropolis) on bass and vocals and Alex Draime, guitar.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday and range from $18 to $25 with proceeds benefiting the foundation started in memory of Griffin’s late son.
YSU hosts automotive educator, influencer
Automotive expert, educator, journalist and influencer Chaya Milchstein will do two programs at Youngstown State University on Monday as part of its Women’s History Month celebration.
Milchstein, founder of Mechanic Shop Femme, will do a workshop on “Are All Mechanics Scammers?” from 3 to 4:15 p.m. Monday in the Presidents’ Suites of Kilcawley Center. It will be followed by a 6 p.m. lecture on “Queering the Industry” at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, 151 W. Wood St., Youngstown.
Admission to both events is free.
Lecture looks at local foods with national reach
Local author, artist and historian Tom Welsh will speak on food companies with Mahoning Valley roots for the next William Holmes McGuffey Historical Society’s Memories of a Lifetime program.
Welsh, who’s written books on such topics as classic area restaurants and William M. Cafaro, will focus on Isaly’s, whose ice cream, dairy products and deli meats were available regionally; the Good Humor ice cream, a national favorite created in Youngstown; and Arby’s, an international fast food chain that started in Boardman.
The program starts at 10 a.m. March 22 at Denny’s meeting room, 4020 Belmont Ave., Liberty. Admission is $10 for McGuffey members and $15 for non-members. Reservations are suggested and can be made by calling 330-726-8277.
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Eastwood Field hosts Easter Egg Hunt; tickets go on sale Friday
Tickets go on sale Friday for an Easter Egg Hunt on April 15 at Eastwood Field in Niles.
Gates will open at 5 p.m. with the first egg hunt to start at 6 p.m. The Egg Hunt will feature three groups — ages 1 to 4, 5 to 8 and 9 to 12. There will be a variety of activities for children including photos with the Easter Bunny and Scrappy, face painting, balloon twisting and more.
Tickets must be purchased in advance, and everyone will need a ticket. Tickets are $5 for children and $1 for adults and go on sale at 10 a.m. at the Mahoning Valley Scrappers front office and online at mvscrappers.com. Also available is an “Egg-Stra” package for an additional $20 that includes baseball-themed goodies, candy and a 2025 general admission ticket voucher to a Scrappers game.
‘Founding Mothers’ program looks at history-making local women
A program on “Founding Mothers: Great Women in Mahoning Valley History” is scheduled at 5 p.m. Monday at the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library Liberty Branch, 415 Churchill-Hubbard Road.
Presented by the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, the program will focus on such women as Catherine Dougherty Hillman, Margaret Van Horn Dwight, Dora Schwebel and Mary Ann Campana, whose lives are woven into the history of the Mahoning Valley.
Admission is free, but registration is required by Friday by calling 330-759-2589 or visiting the library.
Loboy, Rome return in ‘Odd Couple’ at the Robins Theatre on May 2-4
Len Rome and Jim Loboy, hosts of “WYTV DayBreak,” will reprise their roles as Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison in a production of the Neil Simon comedy “The Odd Couple,” presented in association with Youngstown Playhouse.
The pair first did the show in 2012 at the Victorian Players (now called Hopewell Theatre) and then did the show in 2020 at the Robins Theatre.
It returns to the Robins for performances at 7 p.m. May 2 and 3 and 2 p.m. May 4. Tickets range from $18 to $25 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Etix.
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Jamey Johnson coming back to Packard in June
Jamey Johnson returns to Packard Music Hall on June 12.
Called “one of the greatest country singers of our time” by the Washington Post, Johnson is an 11-time Grammy nominee and a two-time winner of song of the year from both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association for “Give It Away” and “In Color.” His latest album is “Midnight Gasoline.”
Johnson played Packard Music Hall in 2019 and was scheduled to return in 2020, but that date was postponed until the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tickets range from $49.50 to $125 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Ticketmaster. An online-only presale runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday with the password: PACKARD.
Pure Prairie League, Orleans return to Warren
The “Two Lane Highway” will lead Pure Prairie League back to the Robins Theatre on April 30.
Pure Prairie League, best known for the songs “Amie” and “Let Me Love You Tonight,” and Orleans, who will open the show, played the downtown Warren theater as part of its reopening weekend in January 2020.
Tickets for the 8 p.m. show range from $35 to $55 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
Staff reports