by Alicia Kelso
CityScene has been covering the top entertainment events in the city for 10 years. Here is a highlight reel of some of those moments.
“(Performing at Radio City Music Hall) is history. And for a dancer, it’s iconic. The very first Rockette did what I am doing on stage – all of the women who have been a part of this for so long have done exactly what I’m doing. It’s a dream come true to carry on this tradition. I cry every single year during the first kick line.” – Rockette Mary Cappellas, Nov./Dec. 2008
“I’ve never been to Columbus and I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t wait to come there and enjoy the people and the town and the golf courses. I hear Columbus has great golf courses!” – Actor Stacy Keach, playing the role of President Richard Nixon in Broadway’s Frost/Nixon, Sept./Oct. 2008
“(Dicky) and I are Yin and Yang. The only things that are similar about us are, well … We’re the same height. And our ears are big. And we have the same tone in our voice. The rest is all different. I’m late, and flighty. He’s pragmatic and he has to make sense. He’s the straight man in our comedy team, which is funny since I’m the older one. Every comedy team has had an exceptional straight man.” – Tom Smothers, The Smothers Brothers, May/June 2007
“From the beginning, I always said my life was going to change (because of celebrity status), but it wasn’t going to change me. I stay close to a lot of my old friends from Texas and my family. There are a lot of promising actors who burn out because they haven’t stayed true to who they are and where they came from.” – Lou Diamond Phillips, playing the role of King Arthur in Broadway’s Camelot, Jan./Feb. 2008
“Song inspiration comes to me at the weirdest times. I’ll be driving in a car and I’ll get sick of the radio and will turn it off. All of a sudden my head starts playing its own tunes.” – Guitarist Earl Slick, May/June 2004
“I just looked around my physics class one day and realized, ‘These people don’t look like me.’” – Huey Lewis on why he gave up engineering studies at Cornell University to become a rock musician, May/June 2005
“Do not underestimate the food knowledge and sophistication of Columbus residents.” – Chef Richard Rosendale, owner of Rosendale’s and Details, July/August 2008
“When the human spirit visibly animates an object, we experience a special, almost life-giving connection. I thought we could create these giant masks that are clearly Scar and Mufasa, but the human face is revealed below, so you’re not losing the human expression; you’re not hiding the actor.” – Julie Taymor, director of Broadway’s The Lion King, May/June 2004
“It was the crowning jewel for many of us in the orchestra. It was our equivalent of the Super Bowl and we have the Columbus community to thank for helping to get us there.” – Concertmaster Chas Wetherbee, about the Columbus Symphony Orchestra’s 50th anniversary performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Nov./Dec. 2002
“I was sitting in a theater in Tiffin wondering if I could perform there. The guy who ran it said he liked my stuff and I was booked to perform before a birthday party with a bunch of parents and their kids. I still have the flyer – I was billed below a piece of cake.” – Comedian Brian Regan, Sept./Oct. 2005
“This is an opportunity that has been put in front of me and I’m just taking it one step at a time.” – BalletMet dancer Jimmy Orrante on his choreographed production of The Great Gatsby, March/April 2008
“I was not driven to play in front of a crowd. I would have rather been in the company of birds and trees.” – Arlo Guthrie, who performed with the CSO during the 20th season of Picnic with the Pops, July/Aug. 2002
“I’ve been doing improv so long, I did it with Adam and Eve. Improv is an amazing tool whether you’re a camera operator, attorney or actor. And it’s fun. You don’t have to rehearse. You have so much knowledge stored inside of you and when you get up there, the adrenaline’s flowing.” – Kathy Kinney, The Drew Carey Show’s “Mimi” and member of the traveling improv group for Drew Carey’s Green Screen, Nov./Dec. 2005
“It was always assumed that my brother and sister would be actors, but they didn’t really think I would be. I didn’t either until I was about 15. I think I was just sort of this quiet, apparently glum child.” –Actress Lynn Redgrave, who starred in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Southern Theatre, March/April 2006
“Art truly happens at the moment of creation, and it’s so unique for the public to witness that act of creation … There is probably no other opportunity for the public to see this size of an act of spontaneous creativity.” – Rick Compton, founder of Via Colori, who brought the festival to Columbus, Sept./Oct. 2003
“I think if you’re going to try and recreate the film versions on stage, you’re setting yourself up for failure. The emphasis should be on storytelling, and the set should not get in the way of the story or overwhelm it.” – James Kronzer, set designer of Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka, Nov./Dec. 2005
“Practice, practice, practice. Learn the business and take care of business. Be consistent. Be on time. Be persistent. Learn as much musically as you can. The more versatile you are, the more in demand you will be.” – Bobby Floyd, Columbus jazz musician, March/April 2004
“I love (living in Southwest Ohio). I like the small-town feel, where you go to get your bagel and coffee and they know your name. I work in the fast lane, but I get to live in the slow lane.” – Legendary guitarist Peter Frampton, May/June 2004
“Stand-up is my bread and butter; it’s what I love most. Making people laugh is a treat, and leaving the room and making them happier than when I got there is a great job to have.”
– Comedian and Actor Robert Klein, Jan./Feb. 2007
“When you end up walking down the red carpet at the Academy Awards, you have to pinch yourself, because you think ‘I’m at the Academy Awards and I never really expected this to happen.’” – Independent film producer and UA native Jeffrey Sharp, Sept/Oct. 2004
“Here is a great band that has wonderful support from the community that is bringing in about 60 percent of its income from ticket sales. To establish that model is extremely rare. We have it, New York City has it and I’d say about three other cities have it and that’s it. I have to sometimes pinch myself because that just doesn’t happen.” – Columbus Jazz Orchestra artistic director Byron Stripling, Jan./Feb.2009
“My wife and I met at Ohio State. We just fell in love with Columbus. In pro sports you always want to have a place that is your home base where you can go back and regroup. It’s nice to have a place where, no matter what happens outside of football, you’re still a part of a community. We love Ohio State, and we love being part of the Columbus community.” – Former Buckeye and current Kansas City Chief Mike Vrabel, Sept./Oct. 2004
“Is the meat supposed to be dead before you cook it?” – Improv comedian Colin Mochrie, Jan./Feb. 2005
“I’ve grown up with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and as such I love them more than any other orchestra I’ve worked with. This is just a wonderful orchestra and we’ve been through thick and thin together. Columbus was my first professional job … And I’m still here.” – CSO Conductor Albert-George Schram, July/Aug. 2003
“People can come see the show and enter their own little world, whatever that world may be. They can make up their own story.” – Kevin Atherton, performer with Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai, July/August 2005
“It was love at first sight. I fell in love with the Oval. If I ever had a child, I would name him Oval Lewis … My life is staying fearless on stage, trying to stay sober, keep my wife as happy as possible and just continue to beat Michigan every year.” – Comedian and Ohio State alumnus Richard Lewis, Jan./Feb. 2006
“I think my Neverland is just a place with no boundaries. My Neverland is a place where there really is caring and joy and people are passionate about what they do. And you can fly … you can just fly.” – Cathy Rigby, who played Peter Pan in CAPA/Braodway’s production of Peter Pan, March/April 2005
“The first ‘tornado’ I did without any spotting or protection was terrifying. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done … The first time I did the ‘tornado’ was in 2003 in Columbus, so perhaps Ohio brings me luck.” – United States Figure Skating Champion Michael Weiss, the first person in the world to land the “tornado,” a back flip with full twist, Jan./Feb. 2007
“We’re just a band that loves playing music and loves the fact that we can take a tradition from the 1940s and let people know the history of the music.” – Bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs Jan./Feb. 2006
“The Lincoln people were so nice and the community was so nice. I’m not coming here as a big time New York choreographer. I want to give my talent because I’m a dancer just like them. I have all my talent to share with (Columbus), and they have theirs to share with me.” –Actor/dancer Maurice Hines, new artistic director of the Lincoln Theatre, May/June 2009
“Acting is what I’ve done since I was young. I fell in love with it as a child and have been very lucky to be able to spend my adult life doing something I enjoyed doing as a kid. I like the variety and the people and, of course, the attention.” – Actor Richard Thomas, who appeared in Broadway’s Twelve Angry Men, Nov./Dec. 2006
“When the kids come, all the little girls want to be Sugar Plum and all the little boys want to be Fritz, so it’s always nice to be the mean guy. There’s so much more meat to it. You can really sink your teeth into the role.” – Dancer Hisham Omardien, who played the Evil Mouse King in BalletMet’s The Nutcracker, Nov./Dec. 2004
“Putting an exhibit of this scale together is like a puzzle – the pieces don’t always fit, so you have to keep moving them around until it comes together. In the end, all the guest sees is perfection.” – Kate Storm, project leader for COSI’s Star Wars exhibit, July/August 2006
“It’s exciting because we have come to an event in our history where we have purchased our space – essentially a city block. For an arts organization of our size to own not only the space we work in, but a performance space, is a huge accomplishment. It says a lot about this community.” – Jennifer Sciantarelli, communications manager for BalletMet, July/Aug. 2007
“The Columbus community is always excited when we present a spectacular show like Wicked and The Lion King. It’s also great when we are able to present a celebrity along with the show, like we did with Jerry Lewis in Damn Yankees and Kathleen Turner in The Graduate. And I’ll always remember our first presentation of Phantom – the opening night gala was underground in a parking garage – very atmospheric.” – Leslie K. Broecker, president of Broadway Across America – Midwest, on its 20th anniversary in Columbus, Sept./Oct. 2008
“I think (Columbus) is a good focus point for us. Dale (Chihuly) has a great relationship with Franklin Park Conservatory and there is a commitment to his work there. It’s a good fit and the conservatory is a gorgeous venue. We’re all welcoming the opportunity to be back.” – Tom Lind, project manager of Chihuly’s Reimagined exhibit at FPC, July/Aug. 2009
“I think the overall message that people walk away with is how love can survive all sorts of circumstances. Despite disease, despite poverty, despite economic, racial and social differences, love is what thrusts us together.” – Jed Resnick, who played Mark in RENT, March/April 2006