NPAC to premiere Las Vegas-style show

VW independent/submitted information

A brand new Las Vegas-style musical show will be presented for the very first time on the stage of Van Wert’s Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio in mid-August. And residents of the area who enjoy attending shows at the Niswonger will have the opportunity to be part of the audience as the show is videotaped for future promotion.

Titled “Vintage Vegas with Jimmi K”, the show will feature the music of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Tom Jones performed by singer-dancer Jimmy K, and backed up by an incredible band featuring seven musicians, including some from the Van Wert area, and a team of amazing dancers from Las Vegas.

Otherwise known as Jimmi Kilduff Jr., Jimmi K is a powerhouse entertainer who has appeared in multiple off-Broadway productions, at the world famous Birdland Jazz Club in midtown Manhattan, and as a featured entertainer aboard both ships from Hawaii to Dubai for the Princess and Norwegian cruise lines. Later this year he will be appearing in the lead role of a brand new musical written by Tony- and Grammy award-winning Steven Schwartz, writer and composer of the great music that helped make the Broadway show Wickedso successful.

This brand new show, never seen before, will be rehearsed on the Niswonger stage and presented for the first time on Friday, August 17, and again on Saturday, August 18, starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and are available at npacvw.org or through the Niswonger Box Office, 419.238.6722 Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

So how does a show like this come to life on the Niswonger stage in Van Wert, Ohio? It started when the Boyd Dance Studio, started by Wanda Boyd 40 years ago in New Bremen, held its dance recital shows for the first time at the Niswonger on June 2.

Two years ago, Boyd’s daughter, Erin, and her husband, LJ Jellison, moved back to New Bremen because they wanted to raise their young children in a beautiful Midwest town like New Bremen, Erin’s hometown. They also brought with them an idea — an idea that originated while they were in New York City, where Erin Jellison was a Radio City Music Hall Rockette, and her husband, LJ, performed on Broadway, including a role in the original cast of Wicked. The idea continued to grow while the couple was in Las Vegas and LJ was performing as a featured artist with Cirque du Soleil.

When the Boyd Dance Studio brought them to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio, they found a beautiful and professionally-operated theater and decided it was a great place to launch their idea for a new show.

It’s that new show, “Vintage Vegas with Jimmy K”, produced by Jellison Entertainment, that will debut on the Niswonger stage August 17-18.