The Mystery of Edwin Drood shines with gorgeous singing, sparkling wit and clever elements of surprise at Weathervane Community Playhouse.

The 1985 musical, in which the audience gets to choose the ending, is ingeniously written by Rupert Holmes, the book writer, composer and lyricist for this wholly original show. Set in 1892 London inside the Music Hall Royale, a theatrical troupe stages a flamboyant version of Charles Dickens’ real-life mystery novel, which was unfinished when he died.

This show’s melodramatic play-within-a-play is comedically punctuated at key moments by characters’ arched brows, set to dramatic flourishes from the orchestra pit.

Director Jim Weaver, whose impressive biography includes directing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, is the perfect fit at the helm of this large, fast-paced spectacle full of marvelous singing. Weaver, who previously directed the musical Ragtime at Kent State University, has cast 13 KSU performers in Drood, many of whom are making their Weathervane debuts.

That makes for a satisfying infusion of new talent in the 22-member cast, all of whom have at least dual roles. Leading the proceedings is Patrick Dukeman as the Chairman, or narrator for the play-within-the-play. Dukeman was the heart and soul of last summer’s musical The Drowsy Chaperone, and here he is the nearly maniacally funny glue that holds the inner drama together.

In this story, Drood (Amanda Davis — yes, a woman) is engaged to the sweet Rosa Bud (Alexandra Jaeb), who is also adored by Drood’s not-so-subtle uncle, John Jasper (Jason Leupold). Twins from Ceylon arrive upon the scene and the young man, Neville Landless (Cody Hernandez) has an instant rivalry with Drood, who vanishes.

Davis couldn’t truly come across as a man no matter how hard she tried, and that’s part of what makes this role so funny: In the show-within-the-show, she plays a famous male impersonator.

Has Drood just disappeared or has he been murdered? The audience gets to question the motives of key characters and decide the ending, along with the true identity of a character in disguise, and who will end up in a love relationship.

Every moment of its two hours and 30 minutes is finely honed in one of the most complex musicals Weathervane has mounted in years. What makes this all the more spectacular is that the cast has learned multiple endings with numerous variations on three story points. That means each of 10 or so actors must jump in when called to on the spot.

Such inventive writing won The Mystery of Edwin Drood five 1986 Tony awards, including best musical.

One of the show’s highlights is Jaeb with her incredible operatic soprano voice in the poetic Moonfall. Leupold plays a fine villain and Meg Hopp is hilarious as Princess Puffer, the madame of the opium den who sings the crusty The Wages of Sin.

Dylan Ratell also has a spectacular singing moment that no one could miss in a great shtick about wanting a bigger part in the show-within-the-show. The musical continues to poke fun at operatic conventions with a patter song in a mystery sleuth character’s Out on a Limerick.

Costume designer Jasen Smith must have had a ball creating the elaborate Victorian-era costumes with spectacular bustles and hats, and designer Alan Scott Farrell evokes the London music hall era with a grand curtain and beautiful street scene backdrop.

With all this show’s delights, audiences won’t want to miss Drood’s final week at Weathervane.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood shines with gorgeous singing, sparkling wit and clever elements of surprise at Weathervane Community Playhouse.

The 1985 musical, in which the audience gets to choose the ending, is ingeniously written by Rupert Holmes, the book writer, composer and lyricist for this wholly original show. Set in 1892 London inside the Music Hall Royale, a theatrical troupe stages a flamboyant version of Charles Dickens’ real-life mystery novel, which was unfinished when he died.

This show’s melodramatic play-within-a-play is comedically punctuated at key moments by characters’ arched brows, set to dramatic flourishes from the orchestra pit.

Director Jim Weaver, whose impressive biography includes directing Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, is the perfect fit at the helm of this large, fast-paced spectacle full of marvelous singing. Weaver, who previously directed the musical Ragtime at Kent State University, has cast 13 KSU performers in Drood, many of whom are making their Weathervane debuts.

That makes for a satisfying infusion of new talent in the 22-member cast, all of whom have at least dual roles. Leading the proceedings is Patrick Dukeman as the Chairman, or narrator for the play-within-the-play. Dukeman was the heart and soul of last summer’s musical The Drowsy Chaperone, and here he is the nearly maniacally funny glue that holds the inner drama together.

In this story, Drood (Amanda Davis — yes, a woman) is engaged to the sweet Rosa Bud (Alexandra Jaeb), who is also adored by Drood’s not-so-subtle uncle, John Jasper (Jason Leupold). Twins from Ceylon arrive upon the scene and the young man, Neville Landless (Cody Hernandez) has an instant rivalry with Drood, who vanishes.

Davis couldn’t truly come across as a man no matter how hard she tried, and that’s part of what makes this role so funny: In the show-within-the-show, she plays a famous male impersonator.

Has Drood just disappeared or has he been murdered? The audience gets to question the motives of key characters and decide the ending, along with the true identity of a character in disguise, and who will end up in a love relationship.

Every moment of its two hours and 30 minutes is finely honed in one of the most complex musicals Weathervane has mounted in years. What makes this all the more spectacular is that the cast has learned multiple endings with numerous variations on three story points. That means each of 10 or so actors must jump in when called to on the spot.

Such inventive writing won The Mystery of Edwin Drood five 1986 Tony awards, including best musical.

One of the show’s highlights is Jaeb with her incredible operatic soprano voice in the poetic Moonfall. Leupold plays a fine villain and Meg Hopp is hilarious as Princess Puffer, the madame of the opium den who sings the crusty The Wages of Sin.

Dylan Ratell also has a spectacular singing moment that no one could miss in a great shtick about wanting a bigger part in the show-within-the-show. The musical continues to poke fun at operatic conventions with a patter song in a mystery sleuth character’s Out on a Limerick.

Costume designer Jasen Smith must have had a ball creating the elaborate Victorian-era costumes with spectacular bustles and hats, and designer Alan Scott Farrell evokes the London music hall era with a grand curtain and beautiful street scene backdrop.

With all this show’s delights, audiences won’t want to miss Drood’s final week at Weathervane.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

UPDATE: Due to illness, Thomas Hampson has canceled his Tuesday Musical concert. Efforts are being made to reschedule his performance and master class. All season tickets for this concert will be honored at the future engagement; single tickets may be refunded at the point of purchase.

Baritone Thomas Hampson will make his Akron debut with the Tuesday Musical Association at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall with works from his “Song of America’’ project.

The project, which explores the poetic and musical legacy of song that has shaped American culture through the centuries, has earned Hampson the title of the “ambassador of American song.” Hampson, who has an international career as a recitalist, opera singer and recording artist, will perform music by Copland, Ives, Hopkinson, Bowles and Farwell, among others. Kevin Murphy will accompany him on piano.

This scholar of music and poetry will sing works set to the poetry of Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes and Tennessee Williams as well as a letter by Abraham Lincoln. In 2010, Hampson received the Living Legend Award by the Library of Congress, where he serves as special adviser to the Study and Performance of Music in America.

He opened in the title role of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Simon Boccanegra before coming to Akron, where he’ll give a master class to four students from the University of Akron, Kent State University, Baldwin-Wallace and the Cleveland Institute of Music. The class, at 5:30 p.m. today at the Akron-Summit County Public Library, is free and open to the public. Call 330-761-3460 for information.

Hampson is artist in residence at the New York Philharmonic and artistic director of the Heidelberger Fruhling’s Lied Academy. He also was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences two years ago. For information on Hampson and his “Songs of America’’ project, see www.thomashampson.com and www.songofamerica.net.

Thursday’s concert, sponsored by the Charles E. & Mabel M. Ritchie Memorial Foundation, is dedicated to the memory of Clara I. Knight, a longtime Tuesday Musical supporter, wife to Landon Knight and mother of John S. and James L. Knight, who founded the Akron Beacon Journal and Knight Ridder newspapers.

Valerie Thorson, director of music at First Congregational Church of Akron, will give a free pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. Concert tickets cost $25-$45, free for students with a voucher. Vouchers are available through teachers or at the student ticket table in the lobby before the show. Call 330-761-3460 for more information on student tickets.

Regular tickets may be purchased at 330-972-7570.

‘The Giver’ on stage

Magical Theatre Company opened its 2012-2013 season with The Giver, based on the Newbery Award-winning book by Lois Lowry and adapted by Cleveland-area playwright Eric Coble. Jonas, 12, lives in a world without poverty, crime and sickness, but he also has no color, music or choice. When he is chosen to become the Receiver of Memory, he becomes determined to regain power over his own destiny.

The show stars Geoffrey Darling, originally of New Zealand, in the title role and Kolin Morgenstern of Akron as Jonas. Also in the show are adults Adam Hoffman of Stow, Eric Lualdi of Cuyahoga Falls and Holly Barkdoll of Canton, as well as young actors Emma Picht of Hudson, Sam Kosco of Copley, Katie Petit of Fairlawn and Leah Schwiger of North Lawrence. Final performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $9-$11. Call 330-848-3708 or see www.magicaltheatre.org.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

UPDATE: Due to illness, Thomas Hampson has canceled his Tuesday Musical concert. Efforts are being made to reschedule his performance and master class. All season tickets for this concert will be honored at the future engagement; single tickets may be refunded at the point of purchase.

Baritone Thomas Hampson will make his Akron debut with the Tuesday Musical Association at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall with works from his “Song of America’’ project.

The project, which explores the poetic and musical legacy of song that has shaped American culture through the centuries, has earned Hampson the title of the “ambassador of American song.” Hampson, who has an international career as a recitalist, opera singer and recording artist, will perform music by Copland, Ives, Hopkinson, Bowles and Farwell, among others. Kevin Murphy will accompany him on piano.

This scholar of music and poetry will sing works set to the poetry of Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes and Tennessee Williams as well as a letter by Abraham Lincoln. In 2010, Hampson received the Living Legend Award by the Library of Congress, where he serves as special adviser to the Study and Performance of Music in America.

He opened in the title role of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Simon Boccanegra before coming to Akron, where he’ll give a master class to four students from the University of Akron, Kent State University, Baldwin-Wallace and the Cleveland Institute of Music. The class, at 5:30 p.m. today at the Akron-Summit County Public Library, is free and open to the public. Call 330-761-3460 for information.

Hampson is artist in residence at the New York Philharmonic and artistic director of the Heidelberger Fruhling’s Lied Academy. He also was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences two years ago. For information on Hampson and his “Songs of America’’ project, see www.thomashampson.com and www.songofamerica.net.

Thursday’s concert, sponsored by the Charles E. & Mabel M. Ritchie Memorial Foundation, is dedicated to the memory of Clara I. Knight, a longtime Tuesday Musical supporter, wife to Charles Landon Knight and mother of John S. and James L. Knight, who founded the Akron Beacon Journal and Knight Ridder newspapers.

Valerie Thorson, director of music at First Congregational Church of Akron, will give a free pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. Concert tickets cost $25-$45, free for students with a voucher. Vouchers are available through teachers or at the student ticket table in the lobby before the show. Call 330-761-3460 for more information on student tickets.

Regular tickets may be purchased at 330-972-7570.

‘The Giver’ on stage

Magical Theatre Company opened its 2012-2013 season with The Giver, based on the Newbery Award-winning book by Lois Lowry and adapted by Cleveland-area playwright Eric Coble. Jonas, 12, lives in a world without poverty, crime and sickness, but he also has no color, music or choice. When he is chosen to become the Receiver of Memory, he becomes determined to regain power over his own destiny.

The show stars Geoffrey Darling, originally of New Zealand, in the title role and Kolin Morgenstern of Akron as Jonas. Also in the show are adults Adam Hoffman of Stow, Eric Lualdi of Cuyahoga Falls and Holly Barkdoll of Canton, as well as young actors Emma Picht of Hudson, Sam Kosco of Copley, Katie Petit of Fairlawn and Leah Schwiger of North Lawrence. Final performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $9-$11. Call 330-848-3708 or see www.magicaltheatre.org.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Baritone Thomas Hampson will make his Akron debut with the Tuesday Musical Association at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall with works from his “Song of America’’ project.

The project, which explores the poetic and musical legacy of song that has shaped American culture through the centuries, has earned Hampson the title of the “ambassador of American song.” Hampson, who has an international career as a recitalist, opera singer and recording artist, will perform music by Copland, Ives, Hopkinson, Bowles and Farwell, among others. Kevin Murphy will accompany him on piano.

This scholar of music and poetry will sing works set to the poetry of Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes and Tennessee Williams as well as a letter by Abraham Lincoln. In 2010, Hampson received the Living Legend Award by the Library of Congress, where he serves as special adviser to the Study and Performance of Music in America.

He opened in the title role of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Simon Boccanegra before coming to Akron, where he’ll give a master class to four students from the University of Akron, Kent State University, Baldwin-Wallace and the Cleveland Institute of Music. The class, at 5:30 p.m. today at the Akron-Summit County Public Library, is free and open to the public. Call 330-761-3460 for information.

Hampson is artist in residence at the New York Philharmonic and artistic director of the Heidelberger Fruhling’s Lied Academy. He also was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences two years ago. For information on Hampson and his “Songs of America’’ project, see www.thomashampson.com and www.songofamerica.net.

Thursday’s concert, sponsored by the Charles E. & Mabel M. Ritchie Memorial Foundation, is dedicated to the memory of Clara I. Knight, a longtime Tuesday Musical supporter, wife to Landon Knight and mother of John S. and James L. Knight, who founded the Akron Beacon Journal and Knight Ridder newspapers.

Valerie Thorson, director of music at First Congregational Church of Akron, will give a free pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. Concert tickets cost $25-$45, free for students with a voucher. Vouchers are available through teachers or at the student ticket table in the lobby before the show. Call 330-761-3460 for more information on student tickets.

Regular tickets may be purchased at 330-972-7570.

‘The Giver’ on stage

Magical Theatre Company opened its 2012-2013 season with The Giver, based on the Newbery Award-winning book by Lois Lowry and adapted by Cleveland-area playwright Eric Coble. Jonas, 12, lives in a world without poverty, crime and sickness, but he also has no color, music or choice. When he is chosen to become the Receiver of Memory, he becomes determined to regain power over his own destiny.

The show stars Geoffrey Darling, originally of New Zealand, in the title role and Kolin Morgenstern of Akron as Jonas. Also in the show are adults Adam Hoffman of Stow, Eric Lualdi of Cuyahoga Falls and Holly Barkdoll of Canton, as well as young actors Emma Picht of Hudson, Sam Kosco of Copley, Katie Petit of Fairlawn and Leah Schwiger of North Lawrence. Final performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $9-$11. Call 330-848-3708 or see www.magicaltheatre.org.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

By Dorothy Shinn
Beacon Journal art and architecture critic

When we think of the work of American artist Mary Cassatt, pastels come to mind. We recall not just the soft, fuzzy, light colors of the nursery or boudoir, but the dry chalk medium as well.

For Cassatt, along with her contemporary and friend Edgar Degas, was a master pastellist.

Through Jan. 21, the Cleveland Museum of Art presents Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris, exploring Cassatt’s images of women and those of her contemporaries Degas, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot, Auguste Renoir and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

After the bath.

We seldom think of Cassatt as a master in printmaking, but she most certainly was, and this exhibition explores not only Cassatt’s works on paper, but her experimental approach to printmaking, the medium in which she was ultimately most revolutionary.

Organized thematically and primarily drawn from the the museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition contains more than 50 works on paper, depicting visions of femininity ranging from the bourgeois wife and mother, to peasant women of the countryside, to urban women at work in the ballet and the brothel.

The museum’s strong holdings include more than a dozen prints spanning the range of Cassatt’s activity as a printmaker, from her first efforts in 1879 when she was working closely with Degas, to her famous suite of 10 color prints of 1890-91 that depict the daily life of the modern woman of 19th-century Paris.

In addition to Cassatt’s masterpiece in pastel, After the Bath (c. 1901), a number of her drawings will also be on view, including studies for several prints in the exhibition.

Numerous examples from the museum’s collection of pastels are highlighted in the exhibition — a rare opportunity for visitors to enjoy spectacularly colorful, light-sensitive works.

The exhibition also includes an 18th century Japanese woodcut that exemplifies the influence of ukiyo-e prints on the work of Cassatt and her contemporaries.

Cassatt examined women throughout the course of their lives from infancy to adulthood and old age. While she celebrated mothers and children, her male contemporaries focused on “public women:” actresses, dancers and prostitutes.

The show also includes drawings in pastel and watercolor as well as etchings and lithographs by Degas, Edouard Manet and Toulouse-Lautrec that represent women from a variety of perspectives. Peasant women working in the countryside are depicted in the work of Pissarro and Renoir. So visitors are given the opportunity to see different artists’ interpretations of what constituted the feminine ideal of the era.

Toulouse-Lautrec, for instance, was known for his depictions of the dancers and singers of the Moulin Rouge and other nightspots of Montmartre. Degas concentrated on the Montmartre types, the little dancers of the Paris opera dressed in floating tutus and students taking exercises at the barre. His interest in ballet dancers intensified in the 1870s, resulting in nearly 1,500 works on the subject.

All of these artists sought out the most characteristic participants in a world of transformation and upheaval.

Cassatt was an American “aristocrat” from Pittsburgh, well educated and spirited, with a will strong enough to overcome her parents’ objections to her career as an artist.

She and her mother spent five years in Paris before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Ambitious and determined, she returned there as soon as she could, in 1873 at age 29, making it her permanent residence and earning the reputation as the American Impressionist from Pennsylvania, according to an essay written in the museum’s members magazine by exhibition organizer Heather Lemonedes, curator of drawings.

Cassatt met Degas in 1877, and their friendship would profoundly affect her development and career. They visited museums and galleries, shopped for her clothes and hats and worked in one another’s studios. Degas must have felt drawn to the American spirit in her, as he was Creole on his mother’s side, and had spent five months in New Orleans in 1872.

He introduced Cassatt to printmaking, and at the fifth Impressionist Exhibition in 1880 Cassatt exhibited a selection of her etchings alongside her oil paintings and pastels.

The museum owns two works that represent Cassatt’s early experiments in printmaking. A drawing, Knitting in the Library (1881), posed for by her mother, was used to make one of Cassatt’s first softground etchings. The two works are shown side by side so that visitors can glimpse Cassatt’s working practice and technical innovations.

Cassatt also made a suite of 10 color prints with the assistance of a professional printer, known to us only as Monsieur Leroy. She prepared an edition of only 25 that is today extremely rare and sought after.

The museum’s six prints from the series are all on view, and its preparatory drawing for one of them, The Letter, is shown alongside an impression of the print on loan from the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio.

The museum plans two talks related to the exhibit:

• 2 p.m. today — A free talk by Lemonedes in the Recital Hall will examine Cassatt’s life and art in the context of fin de siècle Paris, juxtaposing her paintings, pastels and prints with the art and literature of her contemporary expatriates.

• 6:30 p.m. Jan. 9 — Dr. Mary Weaver Chapin, Portland Art Museum, gives a free talk in the Recital Hall on Public Women: Actresses, Dancers and Prostitutes in Nineteenth-Century Paris. This lecture examines the work of Degas, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec and others.

DETAILS

Details

Show: Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris

When: Through Jan. 21

Where: Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd., University Circle, Cleveland

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays, until 9 p.m. Wednesday and Friday

Information: 216-421-7340, 877-262-4748 or www.cleveland art.org. Box office: 888-262-0033

Dorothy Shinn writes about art and architecture for the Akron Beacon Journal. Send information to her at the Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640 or dtgshinn@att.net.

Ben Vereen spent his birthday doing what he loves — performing.

The master entertainer of the stage and screen regaled audiences Wednesday night at Kent State University’s E. Turner Stump Theater with stories from his 40-year career as well as tunes from Broadway and the Rat Pack at the concert “Steppin’ Out with Ben Vereen.’’ On his 66th birthday, the legendary song and dance man also gave an inspirational look at how he has overcome adversity and how the arts saved his life.

Tunes from the Broadway canon ranged from the fun Magic to Do from Pippin to the anthem to individualism Defying Gravity from Wicked, with not a single selection a throwaway. Vereen created his own interpretations for each, with the dominant theme being that nothing was gonna bring this joyful, tenacious artist down.

Vereen’s narrative stretched from his time at the High School of Performing Arts in New York, when he used to sneak into the second act of Broadway plays, through his struggles coming back from a horrific accident when he was hit by a motorist in 1992. Along the way he worked with luminaries including Bob Fosse, who cast him the Vegas show of Sweet Charity, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who made him the original Judas on Broadway in Jesus Christ Superstar.

He poked fun at himself talking about his early auditions, and shared how Sammy Davis Jr. rebuffed him the first time they met. The pair later worked in the movie Sweet Charity and Davis became Vereen’s close friend and mentor.

The showman’s tribute to Davis included Davis’ version of That Old Black Magic as well as video footage of Davis surprising Vereen by showing up on The Mike Douglas Show, where the pair sang This Is the Life. Wednesday evening, Vereen smoothly picked up the tail end of the song live at Kent State.

In a show of uplifting highlights, Vereen brought the music of the Rat Pack to life with an emotional medley of Frank Sinatra hits, led by his impassioned My Way. The entertainer thanked Sinatra for making it possible for African American performers to be on stage.

It’s understandable why these Defying Gravity lyrics are deeply personal to Vereen, who played the Wizard in the Broadway show:

“I’m through accepting limits ’cause someone says they’re so. Some things I cannot change but till I try, I’ll never know!’’

Such was the case with Vereen’s near-death experience in Malibu after he suffered a car crash, had a stroke, and was hit in the road as a pedestrian. Doctors told him to give up his career but he defied their expectations. After heavy rehab, he walked onstage 10 months later in Jelly’s Last Jam.

The arts pulled him out of that difficult time in his life, Vereen told the crowd Wednesday. In his concert, he turned the tune Stand By Me into a rallying cry, calling the audience to rise and sing “Stand up for the arts.’’

“When you say that the arts are in trouble, call Ben Vereen, I’ll be there on the double,’’ he sang.

A birthday cake was wheeled onstage and the audience sang Happy Birthday to Vereen. He returned the love at every step, and also jammed with each of his band members, featuring extended solos from drummer Marc Dicciani and pianist David Loeb, who have been with him for 30 years, as well as son Aaron Vereen, percussionist, and Tom Kennedy on bass.

Over nearly two straight hours, the uplifting song and dance man tirelessly gave his heart and soul to his audience. He returned the next day to give both a master class and free public lecture on overcoming adversity, arts advocacy and disabilities in the arts.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

By Mary Beth Breckenridge
Beacon Journal staff writer

COVENTRY TWP.: There’s scary, and then there’s gory.

The folks at Tadmor Shrine know there’s a difference. That’s why they operate a kid-friendly haunted house without the blood and guts that are staples of many Halloween haunts.

That’s not to say the attraction is without frights. The haunted house promises enough ghosts, skeletons and spooky surprises to provide a certain fear factor.

A giant spider awaits visitors at the haunted house in the haunted house in the Tadmor Shrine pavilion. (Michael Chritton/Akron Beacon Journal)

But it’s all in fun, insisted Don Corbett, a Shriner who is in charge of promoting the haunted house.

“The kids scream and they holler and they have a good time,” he said.

The haunted house, which opens this weekend, is geared to children 12 or younger. It includes such attractions as a ride in the Shriners’ Krazy Kops wagon, a storyteller who spins tales from a Cinderella coach, a juggler and a hayride through a spooky enchanted forest.

There’s also a small shop and a food court where families can fuel up on treats like hot dogs and giant cookies, and visitors will be entered into a drawing for a bicycle.

This is the sixth year for the haunted house, which started as a way to raise money for the Shrine center. While the group raises funds and does volunteer work to support the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children and their patients, Corbett is careful to point out that the proceeds from the haunted house go to the center, not the hospitals.

The fundraiser became necessary because membership in the shrine had fallen from about 6,000 in the 1960s to around 1,500, and the group needed money to keep its meeting place operating, he said.

That’s when the late Bud McMahan stepped in.

[Also see: Haunted house seeks volunteers]

McMahan, a Wadsworth builder and a member of the shrine, envisioned enclosing a picnic shelter on the center’s property and turning it into a maze of haunted rooms. There were plenty of other haunted houses around, but the members realized few were designed for younger kids, Corbett said.

McMahan and his fellow members of the Legion of Honor — a group of veterans within the shrine — took on the project initially. Seventeen people loaned $500 each to pay for the initial work, and the haunted house was born.

“It was actually one of his dreams,” said McMahan’s son Chris, who with his brother, Terry, has taken over leadership of the haunted house since their father died in 2008. Chris McMahan is the husband of Kim Hone-McMahan, a Beacon Journal reporter.

Chris McMahan recalled helping his father with the layout of the enchanted forest, the last part of the haunted house his dad was involved with. “He went around with his hand on trees, and I went around behind him with a chain saw,” McMahan said with a smile.

One of Bud McMahan’s designs was the pumpkin-shaped entrance, where a wizard talks to the visitors while the pumpkin rotates on a motorized platform before it discharges them into the haunted house. The entrance is used year after year, but the displays inside have changed significantly this year — and it’s all disassembled and stored after Halloween.

Among this year’s themes are a haunted shipwreck, a swamp monster room and a mad scientist’s operating room, but we’re not going to spoil the surprise by revealing details. One year, the haunted house had a spider room, but that was eliminated because “it scared the heck out of the kids,” Chris McMahan said.

What’s not scary are the safety precautions the Shriners take. All the interior walls are coated with fireproof paint, and the building has emergency lighting, lighted exits and fire alarms, Corbett pointed out.

The haunted house is a significant undertaking for the Shriners, but it’s also a lot of fun, Chris McMahan said. Not only does it help keep the doors of the shrine center open, but it also provides a fun diversion for the community.

It’s a labor of love, he said.

Well, maybe a little fear, too.

Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/mbbreck, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckenridge and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.

By Dorothy Shinn
Beacon Journal art? and architecture critic

Now in its fourth year, the Light-UP Lantern Festival in University Park takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday on Crouse, Kirn, and Spicer Streets in Akron surrounding Don Drumm Studios & Gallery.

The free festival offers the lantern parade, music, and visual and performing arts. You can find lantern-making instructions at http://lightuplantern.com/?page_id=5, or stop by the lantern booth and make one on the spot.

For more information, call 330-253-6268.

Art grants

Stark County artists, teachers, and representatives of nonprofit organizations serving the area are being asked to propose Great Ideas to ArtsinStark in hopes of being awarded a grant ranging from $500 to $10,000. Deadline to apply is Oct. 22.

The arts council is looking for projects that are innovative or, in the case of schools, follow the SmArts plan for arts-for-learning projects. Individual artists are invited to apply for mini grants ($500) for new projects to benefit the community. Up to $150,000 is available for projects taking place in 2013.

Find the Great Idea form at http://artsinstark.com or pick up a copy at the ArtsinStark offices, 900 Cleveland Ave., NW, Canton. After a form has been received, grant applications will be provided. Guidelines and information are available on the website or by calling Anne Wadian at 330-453-1075, ext. 204. Schools should contact Education Coordinator Jennifer Hickman at 330-453-1075, ext. 208.

Watermarks 2012

Cleveland-area nonprofit art centers and galleries will hold 21 exhibits in 14 different venues as part of Watermarks 2012, an international papermaking conference being held Wednesday through Oct. 21 in Cleveland.

The conference will include papermaking workshops and demos, lectures, exhibits and gallery and museum tours that are open to both professional artists and the public.

Register at http://morganconservatory.org/home.htm or at 216-361-9255 for the conference at the Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Education Foundation, 1754 E. 47th St., Cleveland.

Information on preconference workshops, which begin on Monday, and a listing of exhibits can be found on the website.

FRIDAY

Reception — Akron Woman’s City Club Gallery 732, 732 E. Exchange St., holds a 5 to 7 p.m. free reception for artist Vijay Rastogi. 330-762-6261 or www.akronwomanscityclub.com.

Potting Around — Zeber-Martell Clay Studio, 43 Furnace St., Northside District, Akron, begins fall classes with one on making a decorative fall platter. Others include a mug workshop, necklace workshop, decorative tile class and a holiday workshop. 330-253-3808 or www.zeber-martell.blogspot.com.

Dollhouse Exhibit — The McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, 800 McKinley Monument Drive, holds a 6 to 8 p.m. free opening for the dollhouse exhibit Life in Miniature, on view through March 3 in the Keller Gallery. Curator Kim Kenney will present a “Tea with the Curator” program at 10 a.m. Monday on the history of dollhouses and miniatures, followed by a guided tour of the exhibition; $15, includes tea/coffee and breakfast sweets. Paid reservations are required by Friday. Call 330-455-7043. The Museum Shoppe will be selling raffle tickets to win a furnished dollhouse; winner will be drawn at the Holiday Open House Nov. 30.

Opening — The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve opens Verwandlung: A Collection of Work by Mario Kujawski, with a 5 to 8 p.m. reception at 1834 E.123rd St., Cleveland. On view through Nov. 9. 216-721-9020.

SATURDAY

Book Sale — Cuyahoga Valley Art Center, 2131 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, is having a sale of gently used art books and art supplies from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CVAC instructors will give demonstrations of their painting styles. Coffee and pastries on sale. 330-928-8092 or www.cvartcenter.org.

Opening — The Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd., University Circle, opens Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris, on view through Jan. 21 in the prints and drawings gallery. Related programming includes: Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris, a free talk at 2 p.m. Saturday by Heather Lemonedes, curator of drawings, in the Recital Hall; and Public Women: Actresses, Dancers and Prostitutes in 19th-Century Paris a free talk at 6:30 p.m. by Dr. Mary Weaver Chapin, Portland Art Museum, on Jan. 9 in the Recital Hall.

Dorothy Shinn writes about art and architecture for the Akron Beacon Journal. Send information to her at the Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640 or dtgshinn@att.net.

By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal staff writer

Obsession and desperate acts of desire will unfold on the Akron Civic Theatre stage as Verb Ballets stages Carmen: Story of Passion at 8 p.m. Saturday.

Richard Dickinson, former ballet master for the Ohio Ballet, has choreographed a new rendition of the 19th century Bizet opera. Dickinson has worked as rehearsal director for Verb Ballets since 2010. Carmen is the first major piece he has set on the company.

From left, Ali Block, Leslie Miller, Stephanie Krise, Rebecca Nicolas, on floor is Kara Madden and Or Sagi, Lloyd Boyd III dance in Verb Ballet’s performance of Carmen: Story of Passion, which will be at the Akron Civic Theatre Saturday, 10-13 (photo byHarry Weller)

Verb’s rendition premiered at Cleveland Public Theatre in April, where it was performed in the round, with the audience on every side. It will be performed the same way at the Civic, allowing viewers to be immersed in the action occurring center stage. Dancers in character also will sit among audience members.

Dickinson had an interesting inspiration for creating the dance in the round: “I went to the Indians game and saw that all these people were sitting in a circle watching this game.’’

The choreographer saw that circular pattern as symbolic of a bullfighting ring, where spectators cheer on their favorite toreador.

The story of the boldly sexy cigar factory girl has a couple of love triangles and multiple storylines that entwine. Kara Madden dances Carmen, Jarrod Sickles plays Don Jose, Akron’s Brian Murphy plays toreador Escamillo and Akron’s Ashley Cohen plays Micaela, who’s also obsessed with Don Jose. New company member Or Sagi of Israel plays Zuniga.

Verb Director Maggi Carlson said the six CPT performances of Carmen were sold out and people tried to resort to sneaking in.

“People would walk out of the theater saying, ‘Oh my God, I felt like I was in the bedroom watching,’ ” Carlson said of the sultry ballet.

The piece also has been adapted to a proscenium stage and was recently performed at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights. At the end of the month, the nine Verb dancers will showcase the ballet again in a 12-minute version in Springfield.

To prepare for creating the ballet, Dickinson immersed himself in the opera’s music, read the novella and looked at art by Goya. He grew up in Southern California, where he learned some Spanish dancing, and in addition to his ballet training, he studied ballroom dancing, including the tango, salsa and rumba.

“Hopefully I’ve condensed the story down from this huge opera into this 45-minute ballet that has a universal theme of passion and obsession,” Dickinson said.

Tickets cost $25. Call 330-253-2488 or see www.akroncivic.com.

Faction of Fools to visit

Wendy Duke, drama teacher at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, says 20 years of commedia dell’arte work at the school will culminate with a visit by the award-winning Faction of Fools this weekend, and a collaborative project between the middle school and University of Akron students.

Duke decided to expose her students to the brilliance of commedia dell’arte at the professional level after seeing the Washington, D.C., troupe perform A Commedia Romeo and Juliet as well as Hamlecchino, Clown Prince of Denmark in D.C. She had first “met” the troupe online through International Commedia Day, which Miller South has been involved with since 2010. The global day of performances among theater companies, schools and other theater artists celebrates the Renaissance art and its stock characters as an international source of slapstick comedy.

Troupes around the world communicated on International Commedia Day on Twitter, with kids playing Zanni (zany servant characters) sending tweets as part of the Miller South show.

Duke happened upon a commedia play in 1993, when the school opened, and began to research the art form then. The school’s commedia troupe was founded that year and began performing around town in 1995.

The art form has always been an essential core of Miller South’s drama training. Students get to invent their own characters — including names like Zucchini, Zamboni and Cappuccino — and design their own costumes.

Miller South’s commedia plays include Christmas Carol, Funny Folk Tales from Around the World, The Tempest, Richard III, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and currently, Harry Potter and the Rubber Chicken.

“Our troupe has always taken classic literature and then reformatted it in commedia style,’’ Duke said of the form, which is based on improvising.

The kids write a script for future students, who add new spins to the material each year.

The Faction of Fools performance of A Commedia Romeo and Juliet at Miller South is a 20-year anniversary gala event for the school. The Helen Hayes Award-winning troupe will perform at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Miller South Auditorium, 1055 East Ave. Cost is $10. The production is appropriate for those ages 9 and up. Call 330-761-1306 for reservations.

Faction also will give a free performance at UA’s Daum Theatre in Koble Hall at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Call 330-972-7895 for more information.

The D.C. troupe is teaching commedia workshops this week at both Miller South and the University of Akron. At Miller South, workshop students will work in small groups to study and devise character gestures.

The workshops will lead to a collaborative performance project between the middle school and university students that will be premiered Feb. 25, 2013, the next International Commedia Day.

Matthew Wilson, director of Faction of Fools, said Akron is the furthest the company has toured.

Five members of the troupe will perform, taking off their masks and changing bits of their costumes in front of the audience to assume various characters. Their Romeo and Juliet set is composed of a theater trunk that breaks apart into cubes, used to contain masks and props as well as to build other set pieces.

Faction of Fools is a company in residence at Gallaudet University for the deaf, where training includes physical-based acting and gestural languages.

“I think what Wendy’s done at Miller South is pretty unique and exemplary,” Wilson said of the school’s commedia troupe and studies. “The students are very lucky to be exposed to the opportunities they have.”

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal staff writer

There’s a lot of love going around Actors’ Summit for American folk hero Will Rogers, the legendary trick roper, humorist and film star who entertained the country from the Roaring ’20s through the Great Depression.

Actor Neil Thackaberry has immersed himself in all things Rogers in order to personify the legend in the one-man show Will Rogers’ America, which opened the Akron theater’s 14th season. The play, which runs about one hour, 45 minutes with no intermission, comes on the heels of Thackaberry’s one-man performance last year as Teddy Roosevelt in Bully.

Neil Thackaberry as Will Rogers in “Will Rogers U.S.A” at the Actors’ Summit. (Undated handout photo)

Thackaberry cuts a gum-snappin’, cowboy-hat-wearin’ figure as the loquacious Rogers. But on opening night Friday, he slid in and out of a subtly folksy accent back into his normally clipped elocution, which didn’t help his characterization. Thackaberry said he’s not trying to impersonate Rogers, but the historic entertainer spoke with a much more pronounced cowboy twang.

Rogers, who lived from 1879 to 1935, was born in Oklahoma on Cherokee Indian territory. He got his start as a performer in a wild west show, the circus and in vaudeville. Many folks might be familiar with Rogers through the musical The Will Rogers Follies, which chronicled the man as the entertainer who headlined the Ziegfeld Follies. That show features plenty of Rogers’ fascinating rope tricks.

In the Actors’ Summit show, one of Thackaberry’s two rope tricks fell terribly flat. But shining forth clearly in Will Rogers’ America was the humorist’s homespun style of wisdom.

Much of the show focuses on Rogers’ political commentary. The man who traveled the world making observations about human nature and regularly took aim at many a politician was a syndicated columnist in 600 U.S. newspapers — all with just a fourth-grade education.

The political commentary from 70-some years ago that’s presented onstage is timed perfectly to the current election season: Much of what Rogers said was wrong about America still rings eerily true.

Today, we talk about the 99 percent of America vs. the wealthiest 1 percent.

Back in the ’30s, Rogers talked about the same thing with this comment: “Ten guys have enough to buy the whole world and 10 million people can’t get enough to eat.’’

This heartfelt observation about our “land of plenty’’ was the emotional high point of the show.

The play re-creates commentary Rogers delivered on his nationwide lecture circuit in what director George Roth and Thackaberry call a pastiche of Rogers’ greatest hits. All of Rogers’ writings are open to the public domain, and no script exists for this play. Actors’ Summit has translated the text from a performance by actor James Whitmore as Rogers in 1972, which was taped for a TV show.

At Actors’ Summit, the material had a few too many awkward, uncomfortable transitions as the anecdotes, observations and commentary jumped around between unrelated topics. This supposedly reflected Rogers’ stream of consciousness as he joked about everything from Congress to corsets.

It’s a wealth of pithy material within which Thackaberry lost his place a couple of times, getting stuck in spots where Rogers was looking at newspapers to comment on headlines of the day.

Rogers’ favorite thing to joke about was Republicans but he also created gags about religion, doctors, Hollywood celebrities, Pilgrims and more. All of the words in this play are his, and as homespun as they are, they have a deceptive simplicity.

This “Poet Lariat’’ and political pundit had plenty of criticism of Congress: “Compared to them, I’m an amateur. They make a joke, it’s a law,’’ he said.

Above all, Rogers offered Americans advice on how to live right, so you’d never be embarrassed if you sent your parrot to the town gossip.

“If there’s no malice in your heart, there can’t be any in your gags,’’ he said.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Firestone High School reports it’s one of the first high schools to present The Color Purple — The Musical, which opens at 7 tonight and continues 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and a 2:30 p.m. matinee Saturday at 333 Rampart Ave., Akron. The 2005 musical, based on the book by Alice Walker, features a joyous score with jazz, ragtime, gospel, African music and blues.

The show is directed by Mark Zimmerman, with choreography by Cassandra Capocci, music direction by Ron Hazelett, costume design by Randie Sass, production management by Elynmarie Kazle, sound design by Christopher Pepe and lighting design by Dennis Dugan.

It stars junior Wynter Mason as Celie, senior Jacob Jones as Mister and junior Dana Green as Shug. Sophomore Dara Perry plays Nettie, junior Kari Rodgers plays Sofia and sophomore Brielle Burley plays Squeak.

The musical also will feature young actors Katlynn Rankins, a fifth-grade vocal student at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, as Young Celie and Olivia; Kardierre Allen, a seventh-grade drama student at Miller South, as Young Harpo; and Mikayla Braylock, a third-grader at Crouse school, as Young Nettie and Henrietta.

Tickets cost $8 in advance or $10 at the door. Find an order form at www.firestonetheatre.com or purchase at www.brownpapertickets.com. Call the theater office at 330-873-3408 for information.

— Kerry Clawson

By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal staff writer

The Trey McIntyre Project showed Akron audiences Saturday that ballet can be about a lot more than pointe shoes and tutus.

Those things were not to be found as the contemporary ballet company from Boise, Idaho, performed a kid pop culture-infused program at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall, kicking off the 2012-2013 DanceCleveland season.

Lauren Edson and Travis Walker in “Bad Winter,” by Trey McIntyre. (Lisa Voll)

The program started with the playful dance Leatherwing Bat, set to six songs from the Grammy-winning 1969 album Peter, Paul and Mommy by Peter, Paul and Mary. Six dancers cavorted to songs ranging from Going to the Zoo to Puff (The Magic Dragon).

Amid all the playfulness, the tall, long-legged John Michael Schert portrayed a sense of melancholy as he ruefully held a paper airplane in his mouth. Later, Schert portrayed the victim of bullying as he lay splayed on his belly on the stage floor as the airplane was thrown past him from the wings.

Diminutive dancer Brett Perry seemed to defy gravity as he leaped quickly in and out of a male dancer’s arms and his partner seemed to hold him effortlessly with an arm wrapped around his right quad. Several dancers cradled Perry in a sleepy part of the dance before they exploded hilariously back into Going to the Zoo.

The dance kept returning to the lyrics “I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor … and I don’t like it very much” from the song Boa Constrictor. Female dancers clung to Schert’s knees on both sides as the children’s song continued, “Oh gee, oh gee, he’s up to my knee.”

The, dance inspired by choreographer McIntyre’s childhood, is a flagship work for his company that will be retired and was receiving its second-last performance in Akron. Schert, executive director and co-founder of the company, said songwriter Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary saw Leatherwing Bat’s debut at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts in 2008, and was moved by what a different perspective McIntyre created with the songs he wrote.

The program made a marked shift from its early giddiness to Bad Winter, a 2011 autobiographical piece by McIntyre about a bad breakup he endured. It was difficult to comprehend how white-tails-clad dancer Chanel DaSilva’s solo set to the old recording of Arthur Tracy’s Pennies from Heaven fit in as a precursor to the duet of raw pain that followed. According to Schert in a post-performance Q&A, McIntyre was inspired by the movie Pennies from Heaven, which has Bernadette Peters and Steve Martin lip-syncing to very old recordings in sparkling production numbers set against a sad story of the Great Depression.

The emotional high point came with Bad Winter’s second segment: the heartbreaking duet between Travis Walker and Ashley Werhun set to That Home and To Build a Home. The choreographer poured his heart out through his dancers in magnificent moments, such as when Werhun stood behind Walker and put his T-shirt over her head, then pulled him backward onto her in a sitting position. In this tear-inducing moment, the couple stood up with her head still under his shirt, as if she were drowning in the relationship.

Later, the couple crouched and stared into each other’s eyes while each grappled desperately with the back of the other’s head, speaking volumes about the death of a relationship.

The mood reverted to playfulness with the program’s final piece, Ladies and Gentle Men, set to music from the 1970s children’s TV special, record and book Free to Be … You and Me. This ode to individualism and accepting differences in others includes a dance to William’s Doll, with the taunting sound recording “A doll, a doll, William wants a doll.” In this section about gender role expectations, men in suits dance with women in full-skirted, jewel-toned party dresses that are stripped away. Afterward, the women are carried like stiff marionettes to the song Girl Land.

The cast ended up dancing in brightly patterned bathing suits, ending on a celebratory note to the tUne-yArDs’ Sisters and Brothers as each dancer showed his or her wacky individualism — a red party dress worn as a cape on a woman, and a dress worn as a skirt on a man.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

The Trey McIntyre Project showed Akron audiences Saturday that ballet can be about a lot more than pointe shoes and tutus.

Those things were not to be found as the contemporary ballet company from Boise, Idaho, performed a kid pop culture-infused program at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall, kicking off the 2012-2013 DanceCleveland season.

The program started with the playful dance Leatherwing Bat, set to six songs from the Grammy-winning 1969 album Peter, Paul and Mommy by Peter, Paul and Mary. Six dancers cavorted to songs ranging from Going to the Zoo to Puff (The Magic Dragon).

Amid all the playfulness, the tall, long-legged John Michael Schert portrayed a sense of melancholy as he ruefully held a paper airplane in his mouth. Later, Schert portrayed the victim of bullying as he lay splayed on his belly on the stage floor as the airplane was thrown past him from the wings.

Diminutive dancer Brett Perry seemed to defy gravity as he leaped quickly in and out of a male dancer’s arms and his partner seemed to hold him effortlessly with an arm wrapped around his right quad. Several dancers cradled Perry in a sleepy part of the dance before they exploded hilariously back into Going to the Zoo.

The dance kept returning to the lyrics “I’m being swallowed by a boa constrictor … and I don’t like it very much” from the song Boa Constrictor. Female dancers clung to Schert’s knees on both sides as the children’s song continued, “Oh gee, oh gee, he’s up to my knee.”

The, dance inspired by choreographer McIntyre’s childhood, is a flagship work for his company that will be retired and was receiving its second-last performance in Akron. Schert, executive director and co-founder of the company, said songwriter Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary saw Leatherwing Bat’s debut at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts in 2008, and was moved by what a different perspective McIntyre created with the songs he wrote.

The program made a marked shift from its early giddiness to Bad Winter, a 2011 autobiographical piece by McIntyre about a bad breakup he endured. It was difficult to comprehend how white-tails-clad dancer Chanel DaSilva’s solo set to the old recording of Arthur Tracy’s Pennies from Heaven fit in as a precursor to the duet of raw pain that followed. According to Schert in a post-performance Q&A, McIntyre was inspired by the movie Pennies from Heaven, which has Bernadette Peters and Steve Martin lip-syncing to very old recordings in sparkling production numbers set against a sad story of the Great Depression.

The emotional high point came with Bad Winter’s second segment: the heartbreaking duet between Travis Walker and Ashley Werhun set to That Home and To Build a Home. The choreographer poured his heart out through his dancers in magnificent moments, such as when Werhun stood behind Walker and put his T-shirt over her head, then pulled him backward onto her in a sitting position. In this tear-inducing moment, the couple stood up with her head still under his shirt, as if she were drowning in the relationship.

Later, the couple crouched and stared into each other’s eyes while each grappled desperately with the back of the other’s head, speaking volumes about the death of a relationship.

The mood reverted to playfulness with the program’s final piece, Ladies and Gentle Men, set to music from the 1970s children’s TV special, record and book Free to Be … You and Me. This ode to individualism and accepting differences in others includes a dance to William’s Doll, with the taunting sound recording “A doll, a doll, William wants a doll.” In this section about gender role expectations, men in suits dance with women in full-skirted, jewel-toned party dresses that are stripped away. Afterward, the women are carried like stiff marionettes to the song Girl Land.

The cast ended up dancing in brightly patterned bathing suits, ending on a celebratory note to the tUne-yArDs’ Sisters and Brothers as each dancer showed his or her wacky individualism — a red party dress worn as a cape on a woman, and a dress worn as a skirt on a man.

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal arts writer

Joy and positive energy flow from song-and-dance man Ben Vereen in big, fat waves over the phone line.

“How are you today, my queen?” he began the conversation late last month from New Jersey, where he said he was getting ready for his two-day appearance coming up at Kent State University on Wednesday and Thursday.

Ben Vereen

When I responded that I had felt frazzled, but his warm greeting was making me feel better already, Vereen insisted that I take several deep breaths with him, focusing carefully on both the inhale and the exhale.

“We don’t use it enough,” Vereen said. “If you feel like you’re having a crazy day, my queen, stop and breathe. You know why? Because you are the most important entity on this universe.”

Empowerment is the main theme of Vereen’s message to others. After more than 40 years as a member of Broadway royalty, the superstar singer, actor and dancer has become a mentor to young entertainers and also offers master classes and inspirational talks across the country that tie into life lessons he’s learned throughout his career.

He’s the godfather and acting coach for Usher, who used to date his daughter Karon. Vereen helped prepare the R&B star for his role as Billy Flynn in Broadway’s Chicago in 2006. He remembers Usher as a kid with drooping pants who used to swipe his Bob Fosse videos to learn everything he could about Vereen’s dancing.

“I’m proud of him. I’m proud of the man he is today,” Vereen said of Usher.

He also served as acting coach for “Andre 3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton while filming Idlewild with the musical group Outkast the same year.

The legend of stage and screen, who won a 1972 Tony Award as the Leading Player in Broadway’s Pippin, is best known for his iconic role as Chicken George in the TV miniseries Roots. Vereen originated the role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971 and most recently played the Wizard of Oz in Wicked.

His dance film work includes Sweet Charity, All That Jazz and Funny Lady. In August, the Museum of Dance honored Vereen, who says he doesn’t dance much anymore, with a lifetime achievement award.

At Kent State University, he will perform with his band in “Steppin’ Out Live with Ben Vereen” Wednesday, his 66th birthday. The show will include a tribute to Frank Sinatra and his late mentor Sammy Davis Jr., as well as tunes from the best of Broadway.

On Thursday night, he’ll present the free lecture Up Close and Personal with Ben Vereen in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series. Vereen will weave his personal experiences with talk about arts advocacy, overcoming adversity, arts in education and disabilities in the arts.

Overcoming adversity

This legendary triple threat knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity: He fought to return to his career after being hit by a motorist while he was walking near his home in Malibu in 1992. Doctors told him his career was over, but 10 months later, he walked onstage with Gregory Hines in Jelly’s Last Jam on Broadway.

Vereen credits the intensive therapy he received at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey for helping him get his life back.

“I had determination and I tried to instill that in people who had fallen through the cracks,” said Vereen, who shares his recovery experiences in his lectures. “Do not fall down and do not lay down in dismay.”

Later, when the performer had his knees redone, he performed his concerts with symphony orchestras from a wheelchair, dancing in his chair after being trained by Mary Verdi-Fletcher of Cleveland’s Dancing Wheels. Vereen, who subscribes to the motto “never stop moving,” said he’ll do ballet in a wheelchair as part of his one-man show, Last of the Showmen, which reflects on his life and pays tributes to his heroes. It is slated to open on Broadway in 2013 and will be directed by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis).

“We should embrace disabilities as we embrace ourselves,” the performer said.

Vereen has made another comeback in his life — recovering from drug addiction in the ’80s. He has since created the foundation Celebrities for a Drug-Free America, which has raised more than $300,000 for drug rehab centers, educational programs and inner city-based programs.

The artist’s efforts to help young people go further: He’s working on a new program called Ben Vereen’s Path to Excellence Through the Arts, which helps educate performing artists ages 16 to 30 about working with lawyers, agents and producers as well as staying healthy through proper nutrition and physical therapy.

Vereen said his New York-based organization focuses on empowering young people through the life form of art. “We’re all art pieces. We all come through the creator and the creator creates art. So we’re all walking, talking art pieces but we forget who we are because we’re too busy looking outside instead of looking within,” he said.

Making a difference

Vereen said that he was a kid from Brooklyn who couldn’t even pronounce his own name when he auditioned for the High School of the Performing Arts in Manhattan. Dr. Rachel Yocum, principal of the school’s dance department, made all the difference.

“She made it possible for me to come to the school and she changed my life,” he said.

Vereen said his master class at Kent this week will be very personal.

“I want the student to feel safe. I like to get inside, and I have them work from the inside out,” he said.

Students will act, sing and dance — focusing on feeling dance from within. “The audience comes to see the truth of you,” he tells students.

Vereen, whose talk often comes back to the divine in each human being, stresses that his lectures empower others. When speaking about disabilities in the arts, he also relates his own experiences with type 2 diabetes, which he was diagnosed with in 2007.

“It’s not a challenge, it’s an opportunity. I’m not suffering with it, I’m living with it,” he said of the disease. “Change your mind and you’ll change your life.”

The artist stressed that people have the power to turn diabetes around by exercising, eating right and taking care of their bodies. Of paramount importance is beginning healthful eating habits for all at a young age, Vereen said.

“But what do I know? I’m just some legendary song-and-dance man,” he joked.

DETAILS

Concert: Steppin’ Out with Ben Vereen

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: E. Turner Stump Theatre, Kent State University

Tickets: $25; senior citizens $20; students $10

Information: 330-672-2787 or www.kent.edu/artscollege

Lecture: Up Close and Personal with Ben Vereen

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Kent State Student Center Ballroom

Tickets: Free; reservations recommended

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.