The Ohio Theatre has hosted shows at its Stage Door Canteen, but it is preparing to host a new Christmas show starting Dec. 9.
File Photo | The Lima News
LIMA — The Ohio Theatre celebrated its 95th anniversary a week ago, but soon it will have something else to celebrate.
The dinner theatre will hold its first show since reopening under new management with the premiere of “Seasoned Greetings,” an original story, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9.
“For dinner theater experience, it will be the first original production at the theatre, except we’re doing it in the Stage Door Canteen of the theater,” said Ohio Theatre owner Michael Bouson, who wrote the musical-comedy with co-owner and co-director Joe Correll, both of whom will also star in the show. “We’re not doing it in the main auditorium, which will limit the seating to 50 audience numbers per performance. So everybody has a full view of the stage and there are no obstructed views. And it just creates a more intimate, cabaret-style presentation for the show, which I think is actually appropriate for a holiday show. That way, it’s a lot easier to develop the warm fuzzies between the audience and the cast.”
And that is certainly the promise of the two-act show, which follows a group of retired nightclub singers and a fourth-grade Christmas pageant.
“It’s got a very heart-warming and touching ending, which I think will leave the audience with a great, big smile on their face,” said Bouson.
The show will be the product of hard work going back to Bouson and Correll’s roots as performers in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Joe and I have been producing shows like this since the early 1980s when we were in residence at a number of theaters in Nashville, Tennessee,” said Bouson. “People used to say to us, ‘Wow, if Mel Brooks ever did musicals, they would be what you guys are doing.’ And then, funnily enough, Mel Brooks started doing Broadway musicals. Now, we tell people his shows are like ours because we were first.”
As rehearsals go, Bouson said that the show gets better, the more the performers grow comfortable with their roles.
“Well, the fun aspect about this show is that a large amount of the non-singing aspects of the show come out of improvisation during rehearsal,” he said. “The show is very, very funny. The situations that the characters find themselves in present all sorts of comedic opportunities. So that’s what we’re most excited about, is exploring what funny bits are going to come out of rehearsal, just by each of the actors rehearsing in character and responding as their character to situations as they arise.”
And even though the show had to be adjusted for the size of the cast, Bouson said that he thinks it will be up to their standards.
“We have a long-standing reputation of hiring only the best of the best,” he said. “And we didn’t get as large a response to our auditions as we had anticipated. And so rather than just casting everybody who showed up, we actually modified our show so that we needed fewer people, so we could only hire the best of the best.”
As work on the show goes on, the theatre is focusing on refining the musical and costuming aspects of the show, as well as the stage direction.
“There’s a lot of music for cast members to learn and memorize and a lot of harmonies to sing,” said Bouson. “That’s the biggest part, and then we got to move on to the physical aspect of choreography and comedic bits and all of that. It’s really a fun show and celebration of the holidays.”
And the theatre is still looking for help from the community.
“Just because we’re a professional theatre company, as opposed to a community theatre company, does not mean that we’re not still very much focused on the community,” said Bouson. “This is our first presentation at the Ohio Theatre and it’s still very important to us that we help build that community buy-in to the Ohio Theatre and its newly incarnated function here in downtown Lima. It’s a cultural gathering place. We don’t really think of ourselves as a food and beverage establishment. We think of ourselves as a place where the community comes together for shared experiences.”
If anyone would like to get involved with the theatre, they can view regular posts on its website, http://ohiotheatrelima.com and on the Ohio Theatre Facebook page. Tickets range between $45 and $50 and are on sale now on the website for shows on Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17. Rounding out the cast are Kristin K. Lee, Rosebelle Easthom and Zach Welly. Dee Fisher will direct music. Tickets include a holiday buffet.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
