Footlighters, Inc. is proud to announce our 2025-2026 season
THE WIZARD OF OZ
Directed by Zac Holman
September 4-21, 2025
THE ADDAMS FAMILY
Directed by Aubrey E. Wilson
November 6-23, 2025
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Directed by Jerry Wiesenhahn
January 29-February 15, 2026
GUYS AND DOLLS
Directed by Jennifer Day
April 16-May 3, 2026
Filed under Season Announcements
ALTAR BOYZ
Footlighters, Inc.
Feb. 13-March 2
Stained Glass Theatre [Newport]
Directed by Bunny Arszman
Vocal Direction by Libby Beiting-Lipps
Music Direction by George Drewyor
Choreography by JV Katz
Cast: Alex Devore as Matthew, Michael Richart as Mark, Christopher Ball as Luke, Ray Garcia as Juan & Jacob Gildenblatt as Abraham
Get ready for a foot-stomping, rafter-raising musical comedy about a fictitious Christian boy band on the last night of their national “Raise the Praise” tour. The Boyz are five all-singing, all-dancing heartthrobs from Ohio: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham. With tight harmonies and spectacular choreography, the Altar Boyz delight their audiences with a message of unity: “there is no star as bright as its constellation, no harmony in a single voice.”
Filed under On Stage
12/17 – Robert’s obituary with Visitation & Funeral Service information.
From the GoFundMe set up to help his family with funeral expenses…
Robert Weidle, Everyone’s Santa (1962-2024)
It is with broken hearts that we announce the sudden passing of one of our longtime family members, the wonderful Robert Weidle. Anyone who met him loved Robert. With his distinctive laugh and gentle demeanor, he had an inherent way of connecting with people instantly. Robert wore many hats at in local theatre: He was a gifted performer, director, producer, board member, and box office manager with Newport’s Footlighters Inc, and he shared his talents with countless other groups in the area, such as Cincinnati Music Theatre, Mariemont Players, The Drama Workshop, Brieabi Productions, and Beechmont Players—just to name a few. He was actively involved with ACT Cincinnati as an adjudicator and ACT representative, as well as OCTA as a board member, regional rep, and OCTAFest chairperson. He performed professionally at La Comedia in such iconic musicals as Cats and Sound of Music. And, of course, with his big infectious smile and jovial disposition, he was known to the entire Tri-State area as Cincinnati’s Santa Claus. In fact, he was THE Santa Claus for an entire generation of boys and girls, many of whom brought their own children to visit with him at the zoo. But his favorite roles were that of partner to David, father to Rob and Cassidy, and grandfather to Mia and Keito. His unexpected passing leaves a hole in our organization as big as his generous and kind heart. We will miss him terribly.
With Robert’s unexpected passing, there are many financial costs that his children will have to cover. We are using this Go Fund Me to help them defray the cost of his funeral and burial. Thank you for your support for a man who gave us so much joy over the years!
We will announce funeral service information as soon as it is available.
Filed under In Other News
The cast includes:
Directed and Choreographed by Jerry Wiesenhahn
Music Direction by Charlie Wilhelm
Co-Produced by George Fee and Kristen Vincenty
Lawrence Jameson makes his lavish living by charming wealthy women out of their money. Freddy Benson swindles much humbler amounts from sympathetic women with fabricated stories about his grandmother’s failing health. After a chance meeting on a train, they attempt to work together—only to find that this small French town isn’t big enough for the two of them. They agree on a settlement: The first one to extract $50,000 from heiress Christine Colgate wins, and the other must leave town. But who’s really conning who?
Performances run May 1-18.
For more information visit www.footlighters.org.
Filed under Cast list
NEWPORT, KY — Go go go Joseph!
Told entirely through song, this upbeat musical follows the trials and tribulations of Joseph from the Old Testament. After being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams lands him as Pharaoh’s right-hand man. Full of catchy tunes and a heartfelt message, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a story for the dreamer in all of us.
Veteran award-winning actor and operatic soprano Megan Ainsley Schneider takes the stage as the show’s narrator, a beloved role she has played before. In fact, this marks her fourth production of Joseph, having first appeared in the children’s chorus as an eighth grader at Walnut Hills High School. Megan has performed with several local companies in town, including The Covedale, The Carnegie, The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, and Footlighters. She is a certified Early Childhood Montessori teacher, and her joy is working with young children each day.
For the past seven years, Megan has vocal directed summer theater camps through the Cincinnati Academy of Performing Arts. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has always held a special place in her heart, serving as a meaningful touchstone throughout her life, and she is excited to bring its magic back to the stage once more. What makes Footlighters’ family-friendly production even more extraordinary for her is that she gets to share the stage for the first time with her daughter, Hattie, and pass along her love of theater and Joseph.
Performances:
Tickets: $25 each and available online at footlighters.org/tickets or by contacting the box office via text or phone call at (859) 652-3849 or FootlightersTickets@gmail.com.
The Footlighters, Inc., has been producing quality community theater shows in Greater Cincinnati for over 60 years. The group was established in 1963 by a small group of community theater volunteers who wanted to bring theater opportunities to the west side of Cincinnati.
In 1987, the group bought the Salem United Methodist Church in Newport and transformed it into The Stained Glass Theatre. The theater is on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a Kentucky landmark. In September of 2021, Footlighters completed the third and final phase of their accessibility project by adding ADA-compliant seating in their theater to complement the ADA ramp and elevator installed in 2017 and 2018, allowing access for all patrons with limited mobility.
For more information, please visit footlighters.org or like The Footlighters, Inc., on Facebook.
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Filed under Press Releases
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 