Trending
Yo-Yo Ma.
It's impossible not to look back at arts and entertainment in the Mahoning Valley in 2018 and not have the cellist's appearance at Warren Community Amphitheatre on Aug. 13 tower over everything else.
A free concert by the biggest name in classical music, an event that showcased not only his immense talents but also the talents of the local musicians who performed with him and before him made for a memorable night. Even the thunder and lightning and the threat of rain that never materialized -- at least not over the outdoor concert venue itself -- added to the drama of the evening.
The experience was intensified by getting to interview Ma in his SUV / limo minutes before the gig. That 25-minute conversation is on my short list of most memorable interviews, and considering I've been doing this for 30-plus years, that's not an easy list to crack.
But 2018 had no shortage of highlights.
Two days before Yo-Yo Ma, Stambaugh Stadium hosted a concert as big as any show that played Blossom Music Center or KeyBank Pavilion as Florida-Georgia Line filled the Youngstown State University venue. I'm not a bro-country fan, but it was a home run for JAC Management.
JAC had success with country at the Covelli Centre as well, and in 2018 they brought in the very first rock act I saw live (Judas Priest on March 15) and one of my all-time favorite performers (John Fogerty on June 19). At Packard Music Hall, JAC hosted Rock and Roll Hall of Famer George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, and another appearance by Alice Cooper. And news this week indicates the promotions / management company will be around to bring more acts to Packard in the future.
The Tribune Chronicle broke the news in late December 2017, but developer Mark Marvin and Sunrise Entertainment officially announced their plans in February to renovate and reopen the Robins Theatre in downtown Warren. Its reopening already is the default choice for the biggest local entertainment story of 2020.
I saw a lot of great concerts in 2018, whether it was Warren native Dennis Drummond entertaining students at all four Warren K-8 schools with his guitar wizardry in February, The Vindys commanding the main stage at Federal Frenzy in downtown Youngstown, Leavittsburg native Jerry Douglas bringing his band to the Kent Stage, Foo Fighters at PPG Paints Arena, Jason Isbell in Cleveland, Courtney Barnett in Columbus, Tenacious D in Pittsburgh or Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul in Northfield.
Finally getting to see Van Morrison (as part of the Outlaw Music Festival at KeyBank Pavilion) meant one less item on my bucket list, and David Bryne's reimagining of a rock concert was the best rock show I saw in 2018.
Yayoi Kusama's "Infinity Mirrors" was amazing at the Cleveland Art Museum, but so was the work of local artists at the Occupied Warren house this summer. And John Mellencamp returned to the Butler Institute of American Art (this time in Youngstown) with an exhibition even more compelling than his Butler-Trumbull show in 2013.
"Hamilton" lived up to its hype during a six-week run in Cleveland this summer. The tour starts 2019 at Pittsburgh's Benedum Center, and I'll stand by what I said in my Cleveland review. If you believe any theatrical experience is worth what "Hamilton" tickets cost, you won't be disappointed. And theatergoers always can gamble for a chance at the $10 tickets available for each performance.
Closer to home, Youngstown Playhouse packed the house for an eight-show run of "Mamma Mia," Kent State University at Trumbull Theater delivered an appealing Summer Stock musical with "The Addams Family" and a tense little thriller in "Gaslight." And Trumbull New Theatre kept its performance space filled with laughter with a comedy-heavy slate and made that space more comfortable with new seating.
I'm sure after this runs, I'm going to go, "Arrggh, how could I possibly have forgotten …. ?" What can I say? That's what happens when there are so many memorable entertainment events from which to choose.
Andy Gray is the entertainment writer for the Tribune Chronicle. Write to him at agray@tribtoday.com.