Rockin' Horribles, Rust Belt Theater

The Update | ‘Rockin’ Horribles’ at Rust Belt Theater; Warren Philharmonic in Spring Concert

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Rust Belt Theater Company will bring back its comic musical “The Rockin’ Horribles Audience Participation Show” for a two-weekend run beginning Friday.

Performances will be at 8 p.m. April 22, 23, 29 and 30; and at 2 p.m. May 1, at Club Switch 221 Belmont Ave., which is the new home of Rust Belt Theater.

Written by Robert Dennick Joki and Josh Taylor, the spoof encourages audience members to take an active part in the performance via the use of props, sing-a-longs, dancing, and other means in the style of “The Rocky Horror Show.”

The show revolves around a “painfully basic” couple, Chad and Becky. After crashing their car in a neighborhood on the “wrong side of the tracks,” the couple find themselves seeking refuge in the estate of an eccentric recluse who has a very unusual fetish.

With the assistance of creepy cohorts Jib Jab, Fuchsia and Columbiana, the recently engaged couple tests the boundaries and limitations of their gender identities and “traditional” relationship. The result is an evening of dark comedy, audience participation, and “rocking horror” – that is rated “R” for adult language and situations. 

The cast includes Wesley Miller, Jude Mikulich, Brooke Nobbs, Kage Coven, Caitlyn Murphy, Lisa Torrence, Cordell Sewell Jr, Rick Morrow, Vicci Sfikas, Jeremy Grimes, Austin Brown and Joki.

Tickets are $15. Participation bags with props to throw at the actors will also be available at the door for an extra $5. 

“Proceeds from the prop bags and the Sunday matinee performance will help fund the community outreach projects we have planned for Pride Youngstown, and Pride in The Valley festivals,” Joki said.

For reservations,  call 330 507 2358, or go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-rockin-horribles-tickets-322490797657

Warren Philharmonic to Present Spring Concert

WARREN, Ohio – The Warren Philharmonic Orchestra will present “Paris in Spring,” a concert featuring the music of Mozart, Debussy and others, at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 24, at First Presbyterian Church, 256 Mahoning Ave. NW.

Under the baton of music director and conductor Susan Davenny Wyner, the orchestra will perform “Abduction” from the Seraglio Overture by Mozart, the Ohio premiere of “Pulse” by Margaret Brouwer, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun) and Fêtes from Nocturnes by Claude Debussy, and The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky.  

“Our spring concert spirits us from Vienna and America over to Paris for five thrilling and very different musical adventures,” said  Davenny Wyner. “What particularly excites me about this program is how brilliantly each composer uses the orchestra’s 50 instruments to evoke different dramas and ‘colors.’ And our American composer will be with us to talk about her piece!”

Composer Margaret Brouwer will be at the concert for the Ohio premiere of her “Pulse.”
Though short, “Pulse” is full of surprising, dynamic orchestral exchanges that surround a mysterious appearance of motives in its middle section.

Brouwer served as head of the composition department at the Cleveland Institute of Music from 1996 to 2008 and has been praised for inventive imagination.

To close the concert, the WPO will perform Stravinsky’s famous Firebird Suite.

Tickets are $30 ($15 for students; free for children 12 and under).

Graduating Art Students to Exhibit Work

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Twenty-four graduating seniors from Youngstown State University’s visual and dramatic arts department will exhibit their work in the Spring Graduating BFA Exhibition at the McDonough Museum of Art, from Friday, April 22, through Saturday, May 7.

An opening reception will take place from 5-7 p.m. Friday. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. The McDonough Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Students exhibiting their work are Methembe Albertyn, Mark Angelilli, Gina Cooper, Megan Danver, Anne Gulfo, Basha Guthrie, Dylan Hawk, Rachel Hritz, Lauren Linger, Mia Mondora, Samantha Nan, Amanda Rumbaugh, Linda D. Saccomen, Patrick Savage, Alexandria Sahyoun, Natalie Sevits, Justen Shotts, Meghan Smith, Emily Stonestreet, Cassidy Swick, Dylan K. Thomas, Cody Wilson, Josh Wilson and Hannah Wormley.

Pictured at top: Jude Mikulich and Brooke Nobbs star in “The Rockin’ Horribles Audience Participation Show.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.