Mansfield, OH. The Renaissance Theatre has added two September shows to its summer drive-in series called the “Ren Backlot.” These events consist of film screenings, sing-alongs, and live performances featuring local talent in the back parking lot of the theatre; food trucks and concessions are often on-site. The added concerts are Dancing in the Streets: The Motown Sound on September 11 and 12 at 8:30 PM, and When You Wish Upon a Star: Disney in Concert on September 25 and 26 at 8:00 PM. These additional concerts are part of the Avita Innovation Concert Series.
In addition to the two concerts, the film Labyrinth, part of the Lind Siegenthaler Cinema Series, will be shown on September 4 at 9:00 PM. Tickets to the film are $15.00 per car.
When You Wish Upon a Star: Disney in Concert features Paul Martin’s Jazz Orchestra and vocalists Caroline Grace Williams, Kelly Knowlton, Ryan Shreve, and Condrea Webber. It will feature the greatest Disney hits of all time such as ‘When You Wish Upon a Star,’ ‘Let It Go,’ ‘Colors of the Wind,’ ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me,’ ‘Feed the Birds,’ ‘Hakuna Matata,’ ‘A Whole New World,’ ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight,’ ‘Bare Necessities,’ ‘For the First Time in Forever,’ and many more will be performed. The evening will also include a Disney sing-along and trivia.
Dancing in the Streets: The Motown Sound, a collaboration with Alice Bond, (The Temptations, The Four Tops), and Condrea Webber, (At Last: An Evening with Etta James, Ohio Idol), is a retrospective of the all-time greatest hits that ever came out of the Motor City. Bond (arranger/musical director and keyboards) and Webber (vocals) will be joined by singers Dylan Daniels, Jody Odom Jr., and Deon Taylor. Joining Bond for the onstage band is Rollie Harper on drums, Ed Jonnet on sax, and Travis Ferrell on bass. The concert will feature such two dozen songs, including: ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,’ ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine,’ ‘Please Mr. Postman,’ ‘My Guy,’ ‘It’s a Shame,’ ‘Baby Love,’ ‘I Hear a Symphony,’ ‘Heatwave,’ ‘Midnight Train to Georgia,’ ‘Never Can Say Goodbye,’ ‘I’ll Be There,’ ‘How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You,’ ‘Second That Emotion,’ ‘Tears of a Clown,’ ‘My Girl,’ ‘Just My Imagination,’ and focus on the greatest Motown artists: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Supremes, The Jackson Five, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Jackie Wilson, Mary Wells, Gladys Knight and many more.
Tickets for the two Avita Innovation Concert Series shows are $25 per car. All tickets are on sale at www.RenTickets.org or by calling the Box Office at 419-522-2726. For health reasons, cash will not be accepted at the gate.
For all Ren Backlot events, gates will open one hour before the designated performance/screening time. Patrons may stay in their vehicles or sit in chairs by their vehicle or in a designated socially distanced area. Patrons are required to wear masks at all times when outside of their cars and while in the physical building unless eating or drinking. Audio is broadcast on an FM radio station and outdoor speakers. Renaissance concessions and food vendors (depending on availability) will be available, and patrons may bring in food; no alcoholic beverages are permitted due to changes in on-site liquor licensing.