By Valerie Posthumus
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—The Lighthouse Festival Theatre has dropped the final curtain of the summer season.
Shows such as Peter Pan, The Real Sherlock Holmes, and Meet My Sister were just a few of the offerings throughout the summer. Derek Ritschel, Artistic Director since 2010 for Lighthouse said, “We’ve been very lucky, you know, there’s lots of reports of theatres doing around 40-50% audiences because of COVID and people being nervous about going back into buildings. Lighthouse, both our theatres combined, did 70%, so we are extremely lucky and thrilled and happy that it’s been a really great year. And next year’s subscriptions are for sale, and they are going like hot cakes already, so we’re thrilled.”
Glory Days, the season topper, ran from September 7 to 25. It was a musical tribute to highly successful artists such as The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Carly Simon, and Elton John, whose careers began on the stage at the world-famous Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. The show had eight musicians and artists covering well-known songs such as Take It Easy and You’re So Vain, while also sharing the history of the artists along with little-known facts about them and their most popular songs. Many times, the audience clapped and sang along to familiar tunes while on their own journey back in time among their memories. The show ended with a standing ovation, a high note.
“The season topper we do at the end of every season, so every year it’s different. Next year is The Grand Ole Opry,” said Ritschel. “They’ll give you history and little tidbits of information. It’s new in Port Colborne, however, we’ve been doing them in Dover for 30 years.”
Lighthouse is also set to debut a brand-new play, Tip of the Iceberg, which will run in Port Colborne from November 9-13 and in Port Dover from November 16-26.
Finally, Ritschel said, “We do three theatres actually, two professional and one amateur in Simcoe. They do the winter months. They have started rehearsals for the winter show called Pumpernickel Junction; it’s a cute show.”
About how to go about becoming involved in amateur theatre Ritschel said, “No experience necessary, people can volunteer to build sets or work behind the scenes, stage management, or be on stage. Visit simcoelittletheatre.org where you can find auditions, news releases of what they are looking for, anything to do with the theatre.”
For more information or to purchase tickets for the Lighthouse Festival Theatre, visit lighthousetheatre.com.
