Ohio University Lancaster Theatre to perform during Lancaster Festival

The Ohio University Lancaster Theatre will be putting on a show in July for the Lancaster Festival. 

The show, titled “Friends Celebrating the Music of Broadway,” will take place at 2 and 7 p.m. on July 25 in the Wagner Theatre on the Lancaster Campus. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by going to https://commerce.cashnet.com/oul-theatre. Seating is limited because of current campus guidelines. Director and producer A. Victor Jones said anyone interested should purchase tickets quickly because they are selling fast. 

The show is a musical theater concert and will celebrate memorable moments from past productions, Jones said. The show will be about 80-90 minutes long and will not have an intermission. The performers are current students, OUL theater alumni and community members from Central Ohio. 

Jones said he and his team are working hard behind the scenes to make sure the show is a magical and memorable experience for theatergoers. 

“Our show is full of surprises and promises to have something for everyone,” Jones said.

The show is a reimagined performance of a 10th anniversary production called “A Decade of Song and Celebration” that was canceled in 2020, Jones said. Some of the cast and songs that were going to be in the canceled 2020 show will be included. 

“It feels amazing to be back creating live theater and working on a production,” Jones said. “The cast and creative team is overwhelmed with gratitude and excited to have this opportunity to perform.”

Jones said they are busy getting ready for their upcoming in-person rehearsals. This will be their first time together in 16 months. The creative team has done work in some form over the past year and a half. 

“A successful production starts with a passionate creative team,” Jones said.

The Ohio University Lancaster Theatre has performed a musical production during the Lancaster Festival annually for the last decade. Jones said he had a dream of rejuvenating the theater program when he started at OUL. He wanted to get students and community members involved in a summer theatrical production.

The Lancaster Campus will also play host to several concerts during the Festival, including former Eagles guitarist Don Felder, The Band Perry, and Abba tribute band Dancing Dream.