The Ohio Theatre will host a talent showcase Friday.
LIMA — The Ohio Theatre will showcase talent in a new way in its free show Friday.
“A Night of a Thousand Stars” will see all-star members of the Avant Garage Theatre Company perform various acts starting at 7:30 p.m. Friday on the theatre’s Stage Door Canteen space and co-owner Michael Bouson said there should be plenty of surprises.
“They’re all going to get 10 minutes to show off their talent to the audience and support each other as well as push themselves a little farther with what they can do,” he said. “We decided to make it a free event because we wanted to have as many people in the audience as possible. So we’re completely full, even though we have a waiting list, and it’s going to be a really great night.”
Many of the performances will feature show tunes, but some have yet to be revealed.
“That’s pretty typical for something like this, but I know we have one of our performers doing jazz flute and she’s astonishing,” Bouson said. “We have some other folks who don’t want me to disclose what they’re doing, but they’ve got some surprises up their sleeves.”
Bouson added that the event will be full of what he and co-owner Joe Correll came to Lima for in the first place.
“We came to Lima because the talent pool was so diverse,” he said. “This gives us one more opportunity to showcase it, so it’s like checking off a box on our wishlist.”
The Ohio Theatre season has already kicked off with one show, but this will set up a slate that continues until dinner theatre productions start.
“We close for the winter due to heating mostly, but then we came out of the gate,” Bouson said. “We’ve got more and more lined up basically every single week until our next dinner theatre production so this is the first big one. The event we did last week was a little smaller by design, but we’re super stoked about this one.”
Bouson said even though the event is free and full, it is possible that people who have already reserved spots do not show up and those on the waitlist could get in.
“Come early to get the best seating,” he said. “We have our special event menu, which will feature all of our signature pizzas and our award-winning chicken tenders, as well as our drink specials. It’s going to be a great night.”
For more information or to get on the waitlist, visit the Ohio Theatre website, ohiotheatrelima.com.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
