The Spire Theater complex, located at 317 E. Third St., includes Odyssey Hall, Studio Metro Underground Theater and the InSpire North Wing, which houses art and music studios, as well as movie theater spaces and recording. Photo submitted
Call it a renaissance if you want.
As 2024 draws to a close, there was plenty of momentum as patrons in and around Jamestown saw an uptick in arts and entertainment productions throughout the year.
Here are some highlights.
LBLTJ
For community theater, the Lucille Ball Little Theater in Jamestown offered numerous 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 Theater of Jamestown, located at 18 E. Second St., Jamestown.
In 2024, LBLTJ Board President Holly Weston took programming risks and chose different shows so audiences could have a good time.
“What we’ve 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 already enough sad drama in the world right now,” said Weston in August.
With “Dracula”, she kept her promise.
“Although it’s not our standard format, it’s a wonderful opportunity to explore another avenue of live theater.” Plus, with Halloween just around the corner, Dracula is the perfect choice to kick off the final week of the spooky season,” added Weston.
REG LENNA
Lewis Black appears on stage during Comedy Central’s “Night Of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert For Autism Education” at the Beacon Theater in New York, October 2, 2010. AP Photo/Charles Sykes
Whether you love movies, live music or theater, art happens at the Reg Lenna Center For the Arts, 116 E. Third St.,
Movies at The Reg is a popular destination for movie fans who don’t regularly go to the cinema to see films that have already debuted on screen.
In 2024, the Reg hosted Women of Rock shows with proceeds from the April 27 concert benefiting the Italian-American Charity Golf Association’s cancer initiatives at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Treatment Center. According to Joe Paterniti, concert 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 were happy to discover that between $35,000 and $40,000 was raised through ticket sales to benefit the UPMC Hillman Cancer Care Center. We had a great time with you all,” Femmes founder Nina DiGregorio posted on the Femmes of Rock Facebook page shortly after the show.
The Reg also offered the community the chance to be 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 the theater’s new seats. Individuals, families, businesses and organizations were encouraged to participate, said Len Barry, regional marketing and communications director.
The 10,000 Maniacs on the left are John Lombardo, Jerome Augustyniak, Dennis Drew, Mary Ramsey and Steve Gustafson. Photo submitted
Who could forget Puddles Pity Party. Known as Puddles, the nearly 7-foot clown has the flutes to sing songs. Puddles rarely speaks, but Big Mike Geier, acting as a confidant, sometimes speaks on Puddles’ behalf. Thanks to Geier, Puddles responds to emails.
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 over 35 years he has been touring as a comedian, and although Black is ending his touring career, he is not retiring, but is focusing on other projects.
“I want to get back into writing,” Black said. “I’m doing a Rantcast. I want to do some of it live.
Black is a longtime supporter and donor to the National Comedy Center and a member of the NCC Advisory Board. When the NCC opened in 2018, Black appeared on Stephen Colbert’s late night show specifically to promote the NCC and Jamestown.
In 2025, Black is scheduled to perform at Chautauqua Institution for a week-long lecture series hosted by Black in the amphitheater at 10:45 a.m. the week of June 30-July 4. The week of lectures, organized in partnership with the NCC, explore how the genres, styles and content of comedy have evolved to meet modern tastes and sensibilities, as well as the role of the comedian in defending the freedom of expression. Panelists will be announced in the coming months.
NCC
In August, the NCC held its Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. It still attracts a lot of people who just love comedy – and Lucille Ball.
The headliner in 2024 was comedian Nate Bargatze. According to Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center, Bargatze had come full circle.
“Nate was in the first showcase I ever booked in 2011. …And so Nate Bargatze, who now fills arenas all over the country and hosts Saturday Night Live, was one of those showcase comics – here (at 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 their start. The first episode premiered in July. They’re the real deal and you can hear the authenticity in their voices.
Emily Drew and her late husband Aaron Perez, along with their company Crying Out Loud Productions, produced the documentary with WRFA.
The document had been in the works for years.
“My late husband, Aaron Perez, a photojournalist and documentarian, had wanted to produce a feature-length documentary about 10,000 Maniacs ever since he was personally introduced to the group in 2016,” said Emily Drew.
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 his great legacy. I have seen so many great artists, writers, musicians and public servants on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution. It gives me chills to know that we’re going to grace that stage (of the amphitheater) again,” Drew said.
Drew added that since the early 1980s, the group has had a long history with the Institution and has played an important role in the development of the group.
“We played every summer throughout the ’80s at the College Club or the High School Club in addition to playing in Mayville at Chautauqua Manor to mostly patrons of the Chautauqua Institution. We made a lot of 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 artistic culture in Jamestown. They partly explain the region’s resurgence. They run and maintain the Spire Theater.
Their efforts, Valentino said, have always relied solely on direct community support. Over the past two decades, as many businesses have opened and closed – some despite significant financial backing – the couple has maintained The Spire as a local business.
“Our success is a testament 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 movie and theater spaces. ‘registration.
From late April through May, the Spire Theater hosts Chautauqua’s Got Talent.
The competition attracts many area musicians who share their talents for a chance to win studio time at Found Recording Studio.