The interior of the Ohio Theatre was decorated for the premiere in the main auditorium of “One Night in Fantasia.” It’s the first show in the renovated historic site.
LIMA — The Ohio Theatre reached yet another milestone Friday night before the premiere of the venue’s latest show, “One Night in Fantasia.”
Patrons showed up to observe the proceedings and take in opening night, and co-owner Michael Bouson could not have been prouder.
“Cutting that ribbon tonight was a moment that I never thought I was actually going to experience,” he said. “There have been many days especially recently where I just didn’t think that was ever going to happen with all the setbacks along the way. But every time, the community gathered around us, embraced us and lifted us up. So here we are, and we’re here because of hundreds of people whom I could never thank all individually.”
Jed Metzger, president and CEO of the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce, said he was happy to be on hand to support an endeavor that he has been behind since day one.
“I looked at the love that they put in, their sweat equity, as I call it, and the vision and goals that they had proves that they were willing to stick to it,” he said. “There have been a lot of challenges with this old building and they took them and made them into opportunities and have never given up. Finally, we get to the crescendo tonight with their grand opening, and I think we’ve been waiting for this.”
Although the theatre has had previous opening celebrations to mark the first show and the opening of the Stage Door and Canteen section, this event marks the opening of the main auditorium and the first show to take place on the main stage.
Bouson said he hopes the audience is able to truly take in what that means for the venue and the community, even though the auditorium still has plenty of work to go before it is completely finished.
“I want people to really sit back and relive some of their favorite memories of being at the Ohio Theatre when it was a disco, but we also hope that we’re exposing people to different art forms at this venue with this live original show that you can’t see anywhere else in the world,” he said. “This is just the beginning of the use of the main stage. Now, we can do all sorts of live entertainment, including theatre, dance, symphony and stand-up comedy that we couldn’t do before.”
Metzger added, “People are just going to have a wild time, both young and older crowds, especially with the performance tonight. I haven’t seen any of it, but I’ve heard a lot, and what’s nice is that you get a wonderful dinner and get to sit down and enjoy the experience of watching the theatrical performance. We’re excited to see them use the big stage.”
Metzger said that he thinks things are only looking up for the theatre.
“I think the community will be able to see the potential here, and then there are even plans for the upstairs area,” Metzger said. “I think what they have here is something the community needed for our quality of life and economic development. And it’s also something that will bring a lot of young people into the workforce.”
Bouson added that the community being so surprisingly welcome to the theatre is a factor that makes him and co-owner Joe Correll certain that they made the right choice to come to Lima.
“We think of ourselves as crazy people because look what we did, but we’re so happy to be in a community where we feel safe because everybody’s crazy and we’re all crazy together,” he said.
To stay up to date on the Ohio Theatre, visit ohiotheatrelima.com and follow its Facebook page. Tickets for “One Night in Fantasia” which runs Fridays and Saturdays through June 17, are on sale now at the website.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
