April and May will feature several fun shows at the Holland Theatre, with a lighter performance schedule than usual due to the season’s main event: the installation and lighting of the theater’s new marquee.
April kicks off with Madcap Puppets: Pinocchio at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 5.
Audience members will follow Geppetto’s beloved puppet on his quest to become a real boy. Pinocchio is lured into every prank and scheme imaginable as life-size puppets and audience participation are woven into this cherished classic tale.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth 17 and under. This event is sponsored by Belser Accounting.
Then on Friday, April 11, the Logan County Art and Music Festival returns, with a concert beginning at 7:30 p.m.
High school students from Bellefontaine, Benjamin Logan, Calvary Christian, Indian Lake, and Riverside Schools present this all-county honors choir concert directed by Dr. Micah Bland. A free ticket is required for admission.
Artwork from K-12 students will also be on display and may be viewed before the concert.
This event is sponsored by the Holland Theatre and LoCo Art. Donations will be accepted to support future youth arts programming.
Next up is David Anthony: An Evening of Magic and Hypnosis, with a performance set for Saturday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m.
Get ready to experience mind-blowing magic and laugh-out-loud comedy hypnosis in this fun-filled evening. An award-winning entertainer from Cleveland, David Anthony presents his amazing magic routines in the first half of the show; in the second half, the audience becomes the star as volunteers come on stage to be hypnotized.
Meanwhile, installation of the new marquee – a re-creation of the original grand marquee that graced the Holland when it opened in 1931 – is set to begin in mid-April. The marquee will be lit for the first time in a public celebration on Friday, May 23.
The event will include entertainment, food trucks and the exciting moment at sundown when the marquee is lit for the first time. Made possible by generous community support and a grant from the Jeffris Family Foundation, the marquee is currently under construction at Wagner Sign Co. in Elyria.
The marquee is a replica of the original that graced the front of the theater when it opened in 1931, updated with state-of-the-art technology and safety standards. The blade of the original marquee was removed in the 1950s due to city code changes, and the rest of the marquee was removed in the 1960s due to street expansion and traffic.
Up next will be Camelot on June 20-22 and Heartache Tonight: A Tribute to the Eagles on June 27.
This season’s sponsor is Beasley Architecture & Design, with media sponsorship from the Bellefontaine Examiner and V-Teck Communication, and season support from Honda of America and the Ohio Arts Council.
Tickets are available online at TheHolland.org, by phone at (937) 592-9002, or in person at the box office, 127 E. Columbus Ave. Box office hours are Tuesday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursday and Friday 1 to 5 p.m.