Busy weekend coming at the NPAC

I am sorry to have missed you last week, but I was representing the Van Wert area at the Ohio Arts Presenter’s State Conference in Columbus.  Believe it or not, I was on the run the entire time and didn’t have the time to get a “Music in Van Wert” column written last week!

Now, it’s back to the business of the arts in Van Wert. This weekend is a big one for the Niswonger Performing Arts Center as we have two events. This Friday is the first Friday without high school football for most of us.  We purposely chose to present a concert on November 4 so everyone would have something to fill that void. I would like to thank the local football teams for not qualifying for the playoffs and spoiling our plans, although Crestview had me worried there for awhile.

The concert for this Friday was purposely chosen because it represents high energy with the a cappella vocal group: Rockapella.  Students who attend will love this group!  Hip-Hop, Jazz, Rock, and a little of everything else will be performed by this band of five guys.  I truly believe this is a concert where young and old alike can attend and really enjoy the concert.  Tickets are available at the door Friday night for this 7:30 p.m. concert — same time as the kick-off for high school football games.

Then on Sunday, an event that seems to have some people wondering exactly what it is; “COACH: The Untold Story of Al McGuire” will be performed at 3 p.m. at the NPAC.  I say “performed” because it is a one-man play. It is not just a talk about the hall of fame basketball coach, but rather a dramatic theatrical play where Cotter Smith portrays Al McGuire.

Some may not be familiar with the actor Cotter Smith, so allow me to list a few of his acting credits.  TV appearances include: “St. Elsewhere,” “Hill Street Blues,” “Cagney & Lacey,” “Moonlighting,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Murder She Wrote,” “L.A. Law,” “Chicago Hope,” “Law & Order,” “Night Stalker,” and many more. His film credits include 11 different appearances from 1984-2011.

Smith was personally chosen to portray Coach Al McGuire because of his New York tough guy character. From looking at his TV credits, you can see what kind of character he often portrays. Legendary sports broadcaster Dick Enberg wrote the play and personally chose Cotter for the role. At its premier on the campus of Indiana University (Enberg’s alma mater), the widow of McGuire attended and said she felt it was literally her husband on stage, Smith was that good!

If you are a sports fan, you will enjoy this play. If you are a theatre fan, you will enjoy this play. If you just want to get out of the house on an early November Sunday afternoon for about 90 minutes, you will enjoy this play.

You will want to make sure and stay after the play for a question-and-answer session. I found this to be extremely interesting and entertaining when I attended. More stories often get told during Q & A that are not normally told. Also, Enberg has recorded an interesting introduction and welcome to the show that gives a little background as to why he wrote the play.

I hope you now have your curiosity piqued a little now and that you will want to check out this Sunday matinee, as well as Friday night’s exciting concert by Rockapella. We’ll see you at the theatre!

FINÉ.