Live theater coming to NPAC in 2022

Van Wert independent staff and submitted information

Van Wert Live is providing a glimpse into live entertainment in 2022 with Broadway and favorite family theatricals.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, February 12, Broadway returns to the Niswonger stage with An American In Paris. Romance! Adventure! Gershwin! Who could ask for anything more? Filled with the music of legendary composers George and Ira Gershwin, the Tony Award-winning masterpiece, An American In Paris, is dancing its way to Van Wert.

Inspired by the Academy Award-winning film, this beloved Broadway transports the audience to post-war Paris, where romance is in the air and youthful optimism reigns. Gershwin’s soaring melodies are matched by gravity-defying dance as the world rediscovers the power of love. Hoping to start a new life, World War II veteran Jerry Mulligan chooses newly-liberated Paris to try and make his mark as a painter. Jerry’s life becomes complicated when he meets the mysterious Lise, a young Parisian ballet dancer with a haunting secret who, like Jerry, is yearning for a new beginning.

By popular demand, The Church Basement Ladies bring back laughter in their 20th Anniversary Tour on Sunday, March 6, with two performances at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. The very popular Church Basement Ladies musical is a celebration of the church basement kitchen and the women who work there featuring four distinct characters and their relationships as they organize the food and the problems of a rural Minnesota church.

From the elderly matriarch of the kitchen to the young bride-to-be learning the proper order of things, the book and music give us a touching, funny look at their lives as we see them handle a record-breaking Christmas dinner, the funeral of a dear friend, a Hawaiian Easter Fundraiser, and a steaming hot July wedding.

They stave off potential disasters, share and debate recipes, instruct the young, and keep the Pastor on due course while thoroughly enjoying, (and tolerating) each other. Funny and down to earth, audiences will recognize these ladies as they begin to see the church year unfold from below the House of God.

“Scooby-Doo! and The Lost City of Gold” brings your favorite Great Dane to life at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26. Scooby-Doo and the rest of the Gang will join us in Van Wert for this hair-raising experience. Scooby-Doo and his meddling, mystery-solving friends will embark on a new adventure to solve a brand new mystery brought to life with cutting-edge technology, original music, puppetry, magic, singing, dance, interactive video, aerial arts, acrobatics, and video mapping.

In Scooby-Doo! and The Lost City of Gold, fans of music, discovery, and gh-gh-ghosts won’t need a passport to travel with Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred, and Velma to a fictitious South American town where ghostly sightings threaten to scare attendees away from the annual music festival. Zoinks!

These newly announced events, are immediately available to Van Wert Live Members beginning Friday, October 15. General Sales begin Friday, October 29.

Annual sponsors making live entertainment happen in Van Wert are Central Insurance, First Federal Bank of Van Wert, and Statewide Ford-Lincoln.

VWLive Event and Membership information can be found at vanwertlive.com or through the Box Office by phone 419.238.6722 or in-person from 12-4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 12-6 p.m. on Friday.

The Van Wert Area Performing Arts Foundation presenting VWLive events is powered by the Van Wert County Foundation. The Box Office is located within the Niswonger Performing Arts Center, 10700 State Route 118 S, Van Wert.