Area Arts And Entertainment Gains Momentum

By the end of 2024, there was plenty of momentum as patrons in Jamestown and the surrounding area saw an uptick in Arts and Entertainment productions throughout the year.

Here are some highlights.

LBLTJ

For community theater, the Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown offered many shows throughout the year including “The Outsiders,” “Emma,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Rock of Ages,” “Orson Welles’ Dracula: A Live Radio Play,” and finally “The Wizard of Oz.”

The Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown, located at 18 E. Second St., Jamestown.

In 2024, LBLTJ Board President Holly Weston took some chances with programming, and chose different shows, so theater-goers could have a good time.

“What we have learned over the years is that people like to come to the theater and have fun. So when we look at our shows, we don’t always like to pick the sad, super-dramatic shows, because theater is such an escape, and there’s enough sad drama in the world right now already,” Weston said in August.

With “Dracula,” she made good on her promise.

“While this isn’t our standard format, it’s a wonderful opportunity to explore a different avenue of live theatre. Plus, with Halloween just around the corner, Dracula is the perfect choice to kick off the final week of the spooky season,” Weston added.

REG LENNA

Lewis Black appears on stage at Comedy Central’s ‘Night Of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert For Autism Education’ at the Beacon Theatre in New York, Oct. 2, 2010.
AP Photo/Charles Sykes

Whether you like movies, live music or drama, art happens at The Reg Lenna Center For the Arts, 116 E. Third St.,

Movies at The Reg is a popular destination for movie buffs who may not regularly get to a movie theater to see movies that have already made their screen debuts.

In 2024, the Reg hosted shows by the Femmes of Rock of which the proceeds of the April 27 concert went toward Italian-American Charity Golf Association cancer care initiatives at UPMC Hillman Cancer Treatment Center. According to Joe Paterniti, concert event coordinator, $37,000 was raised.

“Thank you Jamestown, @reglennajamestown, @iacharitygolf and Joe Paterniti for making last night’s show possible. We were treated so well, and we were pleased to find out that somewhere between 35-40k was raised through ticket sales to benefit UPMC Hillman Cancer Care Center. We had a blast rocking out with all of you,” Femmes founder Nina DiGregorio posted to the Femmes of Rock Facebook page shortly after the show.

The Reg also offered the community a chance to become part of the theater’s legacy. For a donation, patrons could make commemorations by having names and messages engraved on plaques that will be placed on new theater seats. Individuals, families, businesses and organizations were encouraged to participate, said Len Barry, Reg director of marketing and communications.

10,000 Maniacs from left are John Lombardo, Jerome Augustyniak, Dennis Drew, Mary Ramsey, and Steve Gustafson.
Submitted photo

Who could forget Puddles Pity Party. Known as Puddles, the nearly 7-foot clown has the pipes to sing songs. Puddles rarely speaks, but Big Mike Geier, acting as a confidant, sometimes speaks for Puddles. Through Geier, Puddles responds to email.

And Puddles Pity Party performed in November at The Reg.

As part of his Goodbye Yeller Brick Road – The Final Tour, Lewis Black performed at the Reg in September. The Reg tour stop was sponsored by The National Comedy Center. For more than 35 years, he has toured as a comedian, and although Black is ending his touring career, he is not retiring, but shifting his focus on other endeavors.

“I want to get back to writing,” Black said. “I do a Rantcast. I want to do some of that live.”

Black is a longtime supporter and donor of the National Comedy Center and a NCC Advisory Board member. When the NCC opened in 2018, Black went on Stephen Colbert’s late night show specifically to promote the NCC and Jamestown.

In 2025, Black is scheduled to appear at Chautauqua Institution for a weeklong series of lectures hosted by Black in the amphitheater at 10:45 a.m. the week of June 30 to July 4. The week of lectures, held in partnership with the NCC, will investigate how comedy genres, styles and content have evolved to meet modern tastes and sensibilities, and the comedian’s role in defending free speech. Panelists will be announced in the coming months.

NCC

In August, the NCC held its Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. It always attracts many people who just love comedy – and Lucille Ball.

The headliner in 2024 was comedian Nate Bargatze. According to National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson, Bargatze had come full-circle.

“Nate was in the first showcase I ever booked in 2011. … And so Nate Bargatze, who’s now filling arenas all over the country, and hosting Saturday Night Live was one of these showcase comics – here (in Jamestown in 2011),” Gunderson noted.

10,000 MANIACS

With the radio documentary 10,000 Maniacs: Can’t Ignore the Train, listeners can hear how the band got its start. The first episode premiered in July. It is the real deal, and you can hear the authenticity in their voices.

Emily Drew, and her late husband Aaron Perez, and their company Crying Out Loud Productions, produced the documentary along with WRFA.

The doc was years in the making.

“My late husband, Aaron Perez, a photojournalist and documentarian, had been interested in producing a feature length documentary with 10,000 Maniacs as the subject since he was personally introduced to the band in 2016,” Emily Drew said.

Emily is the daughter of keyboardist and one of the founding members of 10,000 Maniacs, Dennis Drew.

In August, 10,000 Maniacs performed at Chautauqua, and the institution holds a special place in their hearts.

“We all grew up in the shadow of its great legacy. I have seen so many great artists, writers, musicians and public servants on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. It gives me chills to know we are going to grace that (Amphitheater) stage again,” Drew said.

Drew added, since the early 1980s, the band has had a long history with the Institution, and it has played an important role in the band’s development.

“We would play every summer throughout the 80s at the College Club or the High School Club in addition to playing in Mayville at the Chautauqua Manor to predominantly Chautauqua Institution patrons. We made many friends there,” Drew said.

SPIRE THEATER

For Angelo Valentino and Ylsa Maj, entertainment is in their DNA as they are dedicated to bringing and maintaining an arts culture in Jamestown. They are part of the reason for the resurgence in the area. They run and maintain The Spire Theater.

Their efforts, Valentino said, have always relied solely on direct community support. Over the past two decades, while many businesses have opened and closed – some despite receiving significant financial backing – the couple has maintained The Spire as a grassroots operation.

“Our success speaks to the power of community solidarity and their tireless dedication to the arts in Jamestown,” Valentino said.

The complex, located at 317 E. Third St., now includes Odyssey Hall, Studio Metro Underground Theater, and the InSpire North Wing, which houses art and music studios, as well as film and recording spaces.

From late April through May, The Spire Theater is home to Chautauqua’s Got Talent.

The competition draws many area musicians who share their talents for a chance to win studio time at Found Recording Studio.\