The All-City Musical is returning to the Akron Civic Theatre this year. The annual production which gives Northeast Ohio high school students the chance to show off their talents was cancelled last year due to the pandemic.
This year’s show is a scaled-down production called A Broadway Cabaret directed by Kent State’s School of Theatre and Dance adjunct professor Mavis Jennings.
The Civic’s associate director of programming, Val Renner, says a change for this year’s production is that they’re inviting back last year’s seniors who missed out on their final All-Music performance.
Renner says of last year’s graduates that, “They got robbed of that last performance which they all worked really hard on and we thought if we can do small-scale this year, let's do a cabaret and let's let them sing on the stage one more time.”
Those wishing to submit auditions must record a personal introduction statement and “sing at least, 32 bars of a ballad in addition to an up-tempo song" which best suits their voice and personality. Auditions are to be submitted by email to allcitymusicalakron@gmail.com by May 1, 2021.
A press release from the Civic Theatre maintains the theatre’s commitment to COVID-19 safety measures. “COVID restrictions are still in place for live performance venues, and we are abiding by the rules handed down to us by the State of Ohio. Due to capacity we will not be able to produce the large scale production of West Side Story this year.”
Renner also says there will be a limited audience allowed at the June 17th performance, although the ticketed event still holds a capacity of 700. “The tickets are sold in only pods of four and a couple pods of two here and there, but around these pods are six feet each way to keep everyone away from each other.”
Tickets go on sale next month. To find ticket prices and availability, you can visit the Civic Theatre's website here.
