Top arts stories in Dayton in 2023

Neal Gittleman takes medical leave, returns

Dayton Philharmonic Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman began 2023 on medical leave to recuperate from a surgical procedure. He was diagnosed with intermediate-stage prostate cancer in late 2022. Associate Conductor Patrick Reynolds conducted the orchestra throughout Gittleman’s recovery. Gittleman returned to the podium March 10-11 to lead the DPO Masterwo-rks Series presentation of “Perspectives: War and Peace,” a concert featuring three composers’ musical reactions to war and their hopes for peace.

Dayton Ballet celebrates 85th season

Dayton Ballet, founded in 1937 by sisters Josephine and Hermene Schwarz and the second-oldest regional ballet company in the U.S., celebrated its 85th season with a “Diamond Anniversary” showcase Feb. 10-12 at the Victoria Theatre. Four routines, all created by female choreographers, marked the occasion: “Limoncello,” a fun, uplifting work choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa; “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a dramatic, character-driven story ballet choreographed by former Dayton Ballet Artistic Director Karen Russo Burke; “I’ll Meet You There,” a spiritual account choreographed by Jennifer Sydor; and “Dear Booky,” a reflective homage to Dayton Ballet history also choreographed by Burke. In December, the company notably presented the final version of Burke’s staging of “The Nutcracker.”

Schuster Center celebrates 20th anniversary

The Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center turned 20 in March. The center opened on March 1, 2003 in the form of a black-tie gala event featuring an array of celebrities. A Community Open House followed that brought thousands of individuals from all over the Miami Valley through the César Pelli-designed venue. The world-class facility has since hosted more than 5.37 million guests at more than 10,687 performances, meetings, weddings, parties, receptions, graduations, and fundraisers.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company artistic director attends National Medal of the Arts ceremony

Debbie Blunden-Diggs, artistic director of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) and daughter of DCDC founder Jeraldyne Blunden, represented the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) at the White House on March 21. The IABD was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Biden. DCDC was one of the five dance organizations that founded IABD. The group was officially formalized at its 1991 conference hosted in Dayton by DCDC. Blunden-Diggs serves on the IABD executive board.

Julia Reichert memorial service

Groundbreaking Academy and Emmy Award-winning documentarian Julia Reichert was memorialized May 6 on the campus of Antioch College in Yellow Springs. Reichert died Dec. 1, 2022 at age 76 having battled a rare form of terminal cancer for four and a half years. For 50 years, along with longtime collaborators Steven Bognar and Jim Klein, she illuminated humanity, particularly America’s working-class, across compelling themes of feminism, family, politics and economics. She was also a Wright State University professor of film production for 28 years.

Dayton arts groups receive grants from National Endowment for the Arts

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance and Dayton Visual Arts Center (The Contemporary Dayton) were among 32 Ohio arts organizations to receive spring grants from the National Endowment for the Arts totaling more than $2.2 million. Announced May 24, the grants were for current and upcoming projects. Individual amounts: DCDC: $65,000; DPAA: $18,000; and The Contemporary Dayton: $36,000.

Dayton area students compete on Broadway at Jimmy Awards

Patrick Comunale of Centerville High School and Maggie Weckesser of Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School represented Dayton Live and the Miami Valley High School Theatre Awards (MVHSTA) at the 14th annual Jimmy Awards held June 26 in New York City. Also known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Jimmy Awards are a national celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual artistry in vocal, dance and acting performance and elevating the importance of theatre arts education in schools. Comunale and Weckesser joined 94 other student nominees from across the country for a week-long intense training program that culminated with performing at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, the home of Disney’s “The Lion King.”

Dayton Performing Arts Alliance names new Dayton Ballet artistic director

On July 20 the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance named Brandon Ragland as the new artistic director of Dayton Ballet. With more than 15 years as a ballet professional, Ragland, 38, came to Dayton from the Louisville Ballet, where he was a principal dancer, managed the Louisville Ballet School’s pre-professional program, and served as resident choreographer. He began his role Aug. 1. He will also select the spring 2024 repertoire for the company’s season finale presentation of “New Beginnings” slated April 12-14 at the Victoria Theatre.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company executive director steps down

In September, Phyllis Brzozowska stepped down from her position as executive director of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company due to health reasons. She had served as interim executive director from January through June. DCDC noted she would continue to work with the company as an executive consultant.

Yellow Springs Film Festival debuts

The inaugural Yellow Springs Film Festival delivered innovative narrative features and short films, thought-provoking documentaries, concert films, and a Julia Reichert retrospective Oct. 6-8 at three venues in the village. Spearheaded by festival founder and programmer Eric Mahoney, the event featured Academy and Emmy Award-winning documentarian Steven Bognar, Emmy and Grammy-nominated comedian/musician Fred Armisen, Emmy-nominated actor/director Steve Zahn, and Grammy-nominated Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan among others.

Reality TV stars gather for ‘Real Talk’ at UD

Taylor Hale, historic winner of “Big Brother 24,” and Wendell Holland, winner of “Survivor: Ghost Island,” were among the reality TV celebrities that participated in the pop culture forum “Real Talk: Gender & Reality TV” Oct. 25 at the University of Dayton. Moderated by Toronto-based Murtz Jaffer, former host of Canada’s “Reality Obsessed,” and University of Dayton Associate Professor of Psychology and “‘Survivor’ Researcher” Erin O’Mara Kunz, this event explored gender dynamics throughout the last two decades of reality TV. Hale, the first Black woman to win a regular season of “Big Brother,” and Holland, who also appeared in “Survivor: Winners at War,” were joined by Eliza Orlins (“Survivor: Vanuatu,” “Survivor: Micronesia,” “The Amazing Race 31″), Becky Lee (”Survivor: Cook Islands”) and Brice Izyah (“Survivor: Cagayan”).

Dayton Live CEO steps down

Ty Sutton announced Oct. 30 he was stepping down from his position as Dayton Live President and CEO having accepted a new leadership position with the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sutton’s notable achievements include rebranding Victoria Theatre Association as Dayton Live in 2020 and securing the local premiere of blockbuster “Hamilton” in 2022.

Dayton artists selected for Oregon District 8/4 Memorial

Four Dayton artists were chosen to create a memorial in tribute to the victims of the Oregon District tragedy that occurred on Aug. 4, 2019. On Nov. 3 the 8/4 Memorial Committee announced the selection of the following team of collaborators to create what will be known as “The Seed of Life” memorial:

· Terry Welker, FAIA: architect/sculptor, team leader

· Sierra Leone: poet, teaching artist, community organizer

· Jes McMillan: artist, community builder, The Mosaic Institute

· James Pate: artist, designer, community builder

The team has a budget of $200,000 for the completion of the memorial, expected to be finished by Aug. 4, 2024, the fifth anniversary of the tragedy.

Dayton Literary Peace Prize honors storytelling excellence

Poet, essayist, short story writer and author Sandra Cisneros was the recipient of the 2023 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation’s Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award. In addition to receiving the award Nov. 12 at the Schuster Center, she was featured in conversation Nov. 11 at the Victoria Theatre with Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress. Hayden is the first woman and first African American to lead the national library.

Amy Schneider returns to Dayton for Transgender Day of Remembrance

Dayton native and “Jeopardy!” super champ Amy Schneider gave the keynote address at the Transgender Day of Remembrance at Sinclair Community College. Transgender Day of Remembrance is an annual observance on Nov. 20 honoring the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. While in Dayton, she signed copies of her fearless, fascinating and funny memoir, “In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life,” at Barnes & Noble in Beavercreek.

La Comedia Dinner Theatre changes ownership

In November, La Comedia Dinner Theatre in Springboro entered a new era of ownership for the first time in nearly 30 years. The Adkins family, owners since 1995, sold Ohio’s only professional dinner theatre to Dave and Sherry Gabert of Dayton. The Adkins family spearheaded 185 productions from “Gypsy” in 1995 to “Grumpy Old Men,” which ended in October.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s Jeraldyne Blunden commemorative stamp campaign

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company continued its initiative to ensure its founder, Dayton native Jeraldyne Blunden, would be commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp. The groundwork began in late 2021 as the brainchild of DCDC Senior Artistic Director Kevin Ward, a longtime DCDC dancer who became DCDC artistic director upon Blunden’s death at age 58 in November 1999. The stamp campaign received 14,339 letters of support. However, the endeavor did not advance as a stamp candidate by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee. In a Dec. 21 email to supporters, DCDC thanked the community for its valiant effort. “We sincerely appreciate each one of your signatures, bringing us closer to making Jeraldyne’s legacy known to the world through a commemorate stamp,” the email stated. “However, our determination remains unwavering, and we will continue working tirelessly toward this goal in the future.”

In Memoriam

Dayton artist Robert Blackstone, 51, died Aug. 1 in downtown Dayton from a gunshot wound in the chest. His artistic imprint lives on in “Crystal City,” a sprawling, fascinating installation that began in 1990 on his grandmother’s dining room table with just a few pieces. Figurines, mirrors, ornaments, stuffed animals and train sets are among the eye-popping kaleidoscope of found objects within Blackstone’s crowning achievement. “Crystal City” is situated downtown within the first floor of the vacant Leigh Building, located on the corner of Second and Ludlow streets.

Peter Condopoulos, owner of one of Ohio’s most prominent talent agencies, died Sept. 16 in Cincinnati. He was 67. As owner of PCG Talent Agency in Sharonville, Condopoulos secured acting for TV, film and commercial talent in Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus for over 15 years.

Bluegrass musician Brian Spirk, who passed away Oct. 5 due to a hemorrhagic stroke. He was 49. Spirk was active locally since the 1990s when he played guitar in Gulliver’s Traveling Medicine Show. For the past decade, Spirk was a member of local newgrass group the Repeating Arms. He played mandolin on the band’s albums “Blackberry Winter” (2013) and “Higher Than Lonesome” (2021), and the EP, “Hilltops & Highways,” a 2015 collaboration with roots rockers the New Old-Fashioned.

John A. Falkenbach, a 2018 Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame inductee whose specific contributions as a lighting designer accented numerous community theater productions across the Dayton area, died Nov. 23. He was 65. Falkenbach was involved in community, educational and professional theatre for almost 50 years. In addition to his outstanding lighting expertise, he served as director, producer, actor and technician.