<html><head></head><body><div class="yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"><div class="ydp82d6e3eeyiv3627432684ydp8d526926yiv8178142447yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:16px;"><div><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:sans-serif;">Live Theater Returns as Spotlights Goes </span></strong><strong><em><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:sans-serif;">Into the Woods</span></em></strong><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:sans-serif;">!</span></strong></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:sans-serif;"><br></span></strong></div><div dir="ltr"><div>
<p class="ydp82d6e3eeyiv3627432684ydp8d526926yiv8178142447ydp9528dd08yiv6308717067ydp20fe6defMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="color:black;">After 18 months, the Broadview Heights Spotlights’ stage will no longer be dark. Rehearsals have already begun for <em>Into the Woods</em> by Stephen Sondheim, and the excitement is palpable for the 20-person cast that will be bring this show to life. </span></p>
<p class="ydp82d6e3eeyiv3627432684ydp8d526926yiv8178142447ydp9528dd08yiv6308717067ydp20fe6defMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="color:black;">Originally scheduled to open in November of 2020,<em> Into the Woods</em>
was postponed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Spotlights has been
carefully evaluating its options since March of last year. “We had a
wonderful season planned for 2020, and halfway through the run of our
second production, we had to close. After that, each monthly meeting
was pretty somber because we just had to keep cancelling things,” says
Tim Anderson, Spotlights’ Education Director. “We made the decision to
announce one project at a time to prevent disappointment fatigue.”
Despite the impossibility of live, in-person performances in the
theater’s newly built 3200-square-foot performance space, the theater
still presented four successful virtual performances and its annual
outdoor “Local Lore Ghost Walk” during the past year. </span></p>
<p class="ydp82d6e3eeyiv3627432684ydp8d526926yiv8178142447ydp9528dd08yiv6308717067ydp20fe6defMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="color:black;">The
Spotlights decided to relaunch with this show because of its themes and
familiarity to the community. The winner of the 1988 Tony Award for
Best Musical, <em>Into the Woods</em> cleverly tells the familiar
stories of well-known fairy-tale characters including Little Red Riding
Hood, Jack (of beanstalk fame), Cinderella, Rapunzel, and a Baker and
his Wife. But once all of these characters get their wishes, the
consequences of their actions return to haunt them. In the end, getting
exactly what one wants isn’t what one might think. “The ‘woods’ are a
metaphor for all of the challenges that interrupt our lives and change
their trajectory - the crisis points that we all have to go through to
become who and what we want to be,” says Director and Spotlights’
Trustee Ryan Bergeron. “Sometimes you choose the challenge; and
sometimes it chooses you. Either way, the journey leaves you changed -
whether it is for better or worse is largely up to us. Coming out of the
last 18 months, we could think of no other story with more resonance
and relevance.”</span></p>
<p class="ydp82d6e3eeyiv3627432684ydp8d526926yiv8178142447ydp9528dd08yiv6308717067ydp20fe6defMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="color:black;">The
Spotlights’ production is directed and musically directed by Ryan
Bergeron, with musical staging by Trish Hostettler and technical design
by Tim Anderson. The cast includes Emily Beck, Riley Beight, Roxanna
Bell, Abbey Brinkhoff, Glorietta Burks, Kyla Burks, Brenton Cochran,
Tara Corkery, Livy Douglas, Corey East, Karen Johnston, Andrew Keller,
Jacob Lang, Peggy Newton, Britt Paige, Sarah Price, Marco Quiroz, Kassie
Schill, Thomas Wenz, and Natalie Zenczak.</span></p>
<p class="ydp82d6e3eeyiv3627432684ydp8d526926yiv8178142447ydp9528dd08yiv6308717067ydp20fe6defMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="color:black;">The
show will run Fridays and Saturdays, September 24 – October 9 at
7:30PM. A Sunday matinee on October 3 will start at 3:00PM. Tickets
are $17 for adults and $14 for students and seniors and may be purchased
at </span><span class="ydp82d6e3eeyiv3627432684ydp8d526926yiv8178142447ydp9528dd08yiv6308717067ydp20fe6defMsoHyperlink">www.broadview-heights-spotlights.org</span><span style="color:black;">. Please see the website for up-to-date audience Covid-19 health and safety protocols.</span></p>
<p class="ydp82d6e3eeyiv3627432684ydp8d526926yiv8178142447ydp9528dd08yiv6308717067ydp20fe6defMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;"><span style="color:black;">Also,
keep an eye out for the return of the “Local Lore Ghost Walk,” October
22-24. The Spotlights will also be one of 1500 theaters participating
in the international theatrical event, <em>All Together Now</em>,
November 12 – 14. Featuring songs from famous Broadway musicals, this
one-weekend only revue is presented in partnership with Musical Theatre
International to celebrate the world-wide return of live theater.</span></p>
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