2024 is ending much better than it started for Spirit of the Bear. The band, which formed a decade ago in Boardman and currently is based in Columbus, spent 2023 working on a new album and playing Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and other prestigious venues as an opening act for ...

The big first act finale in the musical “Wicked” is “Defying Gravity.” For the skeptics out there — myself included — the big screen adaptation of “Wicked” could be described as defying cynicism. And for those who’ve been awaiting a film version of Stephen Schwartz and ...

Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment: • Cynthia Erivo will be in movie theaters locally and nationwide this weekend as Elphaba in part one of the big-screen adaptation of the musical “Wicked.” Northeast Ohio fans will have a chance to see Erivo in person before part two ...

Art BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART, 524 Wick Ave., Youngstown: “Richard Hahn: Facades,” throughSunday; “Mateo Blanco: My United States of America,” through Dec. 1; “Entangled Attraction, 2022,” through Feb. 16, 2025. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon ...

“Pete the Penguin’s Vintage Variety Show: A Musical Comedy Extravaganza” debuts Friday at Youngstown State University. Written and directed by University Theatre lecturer Adam Howard, the production follows a group of musical theater students as they attempt to modernize a hopelessly ...

The Iron and Steel Thanksgiving Train Show runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary’s Assumption Social Center, 356 S. Belle Vista Ave., Youngstown. The all-gauge model train show features train sets, locomotives, rolling stock, accessories and other goods. The event is handicap ...