MANSFIELD – The upcoming season at the Renaissance Theatre features a nod to a number of classics and crowd favorites, while celebrating the future of the historical theatre.
The 2016-2017 season at the Renaissance Theatre opens with the Disney classic “Beauty and the Beast,” and just gets better from there. The holiday favorite “A Christmas Carol” will round out the end of the year, and the much-anticipated return of a Renaissance original opens the spring, not to mention tribute bands to ABBA and The Eagles.
Next year’s lineup was officially announced at the Renaissance’s annual Season Preview Party on Tuesday evening. In addition to the announcement of the 2016-2017 season, the free event featured live performances, a dessert reception, and giveaways courtesy of the #RenSeason hashtag on social media platforms.
Rand Smith, president of the board at the Renaissance Theatre, emphasized time and again that the Renaissance is not one person’s theatre.
“This is our theatre,” he said. “Not mine. Ours.”
To that end, the community played a large part in selecting this year’s season. The lineup was shaped in part as a result of 2,000 people taking a programming survey earlier in the year. Responses from the survey helped the Renaissance choose the shows the public said they wanted to see.
Of course, the season would not be completed without the additional input and work of the 22 board members and 14 staff members of the Renaissance. The theatre also would be nowhere without the work of more than 300 volunteers, whose importance was underscored by Smith.
“When you watch children come on the stage for the first time and discover something they didn’t know they could do, the value of your time is immeasurable,” Smith said.
The Renaissance also gave thanks to their financial backers, including 447 individual donors and 11 foundations. Jack Smith of the Conard Foundation noted that the foundation’s namesake was especially partial to the Renaissance, which is why they were happy to help with the ceiling restoration.
Brady Grove, president of the Richland County Foundation, also stated his appreciation for Mansfield’s historic theatre.
“Imagine the Renaissance not being here, and what that would mean to a community like Mansfield,” Grove said. “If you think of the Renaissance as merely performing arts, you’re selling it short. A place like the Renaissance is vital to economic growth in Mansfield.”
Foundations are not the only financial backers at the Renaissance. The theatre’s Broadway Series including “Beauty and the Beast,” “A Christmas Carol,” and “Sister Act” is presented once again by Richland Bank.
The Broadway Series will also feature the return of “Hot Mess: A Lethal New Musical,” an original musical comedy written and directed by the Renaissance’s artistic director Michael Thomas. The show will also make its debut off Broadway in New York City sometime next year.
Other local business sponsors include OhioHealth sponsoring the Symphony Series, Mechanics Bank sponsoring the Education Series, and Avita Health System sponsoring the Concert Series.
Perhaps the most important number mentioned by Smith was 40,000 – the number of patrons who visit the Renaissance Theatre each season. He hoped the upcoming year would be no different.
“This was the seventh theatre built in Mansfield in 1927, and we’re the last one standing,” Smith said. “We knew the world would come to this stage if we worked to restore it. That vision is still alive and well because of all you do.”
For more information about the Renaissance Theatre’s 2016-2017 season, visit www.mansfieldtickets.com.
July 30-31, August 6-7: Beauty and the Beast
September 9-11: MY Theatre: School of Rock
September 17: MSO Pops: Oh What a Night
September 30: Here Come the Mummies
October 23: Teddy Bear Concert: The Science of Sound
October 29: MSO Masterworks
November 12, 13, 19, 20: A Christmas Carol
November 13: MSYS: Fall Concert
December 4: MSYO: Holiday Prelude
December 10: NEOS: A 1940s Nutcracker
December 17-18: MSO: Holiday Pops
January 7: Diamond Rio
January 22: Teddy Bear Concert: The Finger-Painted Sound
January 27: The Second City’s Game Night
February 4-5: RYOT: Gondoliers/Pinocchio
February 18: MSO Pops: When Swing Was King
March 4, 5, 11, 12: Sister Act
March 19: Teddy Bear Concert: Goldilocks & The Three Bears
March 25: MSO Masterworks
March 26: MSYS: Spring Concert
March 31, April 1, 2: MY Theatre: Shrek the Musical
April 8: Bob and Tom Comedy Tour
April 21-23: Hot Mess: A Lethal New Musical
April 27: Arrival: A Tribute to ABBA
May 7: MSYO: Spring Concert
May 13: MSO Masterworks
May 16: Season Preview Party
May 20: Classic Albums Live: The Eagles – Hotel California
May 27-28: RYOT: Little Johnny Jones
