Behind the Scenes with Lisa Condit and The First Sold-Out Show in 2021
Hank Stolz spoke with Lisa Condit and Ashleigh Prince about sold out shows, Sounds of Zamar, Ricky Duran and more. Read on for highlights from the interview, or listen to the full interview below. Then tune in to Talk of the Commonwealth with Hank Stolz on WCRN 830AM Fridays at 9 AM and Saturdays at 1 PM for more behind-the-scenes interviews.
Hank: Time now for Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre with your host, Lisa Condit, live in the studio. Ashleigh Prince is here as well!
Lisa: Good morning Hank! As always, we’re excited and pumped up to be here at Behind the Scenes at The Hanover Theatre. We have very exciting thing to share with all of you. Would you believe that we have had our first sold out show?
Hank: Whoa!
Lisa: Honest to goodness, the first sold out show. You’re probably wondering which show could this possibly be. Have any guesses?
Hank: Which show could it possibly be? Well, we are big Ricky Duran fans. Has that is that even gone on sale?
Lisa: Oh yes, Ricky is on sale. Absolutely!
Hank: I’m going to guess that.
Lisa: Okay, well it’s not Ricky Duran, though we are going to get to more about Ricky Duran and we do know he’s kicking off our full season back on the main stage. We’re totally excited about that. For anybody who had tickets beforehand, those tickets are still good for September 18th, and there are still limited seats available. Ashleigh has some social media promotions coming up, so people might be able to win some of those precious Ricky Duran tickets.
Hank: Very nice!
Lisa: Here’s the thing. This weekend, Urinetown presented by The Hanover Theatre Conservatory‘s Youth Acting Company at the Brick Box theater… Their opening night is sold out!
Hank: I think that’s great, now that is exciting. Everybody’s been talking about that “new normal”, I think the new normal is just the normal. I think people are just back and ready to be back. By the way, Urinetown is one of my favorite shows.
Hank: It was one of those shows that I honestly knew nothing about when I went walking in, like “I’m going to see a show called Urinetown“. I will admit that the 12-year-old Stooges fan in me kicked in, I just couldn’t get over the over the name. That show was terrific. The music is fantastic, it makes you think, it makes its point, it’s got some great comedic moments along with a dramatic storyline about a future in which we sort of tax everything. It’s a great play. OK, opening night is sold out but head over there this weekend and see the other performances!
Lisa: Absolutely, and we’re talking about performances at the BrickBox. The moral of this story is definitely to order your tickets in advance because they could sell out. I just want to say that I’m so excited for the participants in our Youth Acting Company. Think about it, this is a sold out performance of a fantastic musical with great songs. As a matter of fact, our president and CEO’s son is in the acting company. I don’t know, maybe it’s the next generation of acting coming out of the Siebels family, but there are many other very talented actors that are participating.
Ashleigh: I did learn that a lot of the cast are actually seniors that are graduating out of the program. You might have seen on our social media, I’ve been posting senior spotlights. A lot of the Urinetown cast are those are those students! That’s extremely exciting. There are limited tickets for Saturday and Sunday. It’s very close to being sold out, so don’t walk, run, to get your ticket!
Ashleigh: As a former theatre kid, I’m ecstatic. Especially post pandemic, it has to be riveting for these students!
Lisa: Yes, absolutely. Which brings us back to – the Brick Box is a new venue! A lot of people haven’t been there yet. We have been fortunate to have the Poe Doubleheader there, we filmed A Christmas Carol Reimagined, and it is the coolest space, so head on over.
Lisa: Also, this week we announced a couple of new shows that are coming to the Hanover Theatre. We’re busting with news Hank!
Hank: I love that!
Lisa: If you’re on our email list, and of course you can sign up for that at thehanovertheatre.org as well, you’ll see that tickets for the Miss Massachusetts Preliminary and Pageant went on sale! I am continually very impressed with the caliber of person who participates. Many of these young women are extremely intelligent, are extremely active and are really trying to make the world a much better place for everyone. It is a scholarship experience for many of them, and it is highly competitive. We have also just announced The Sounds of Zamar!
Hank: The Sounds of Zamar?
Lisa: Yes! Trey McLaughlin and the Sounds of Zamar. They have very positive messaging, very upbeat, lots of harmonies, so if you’re into music, you’re going to love this! It is appropriate for all ages and again, very positive messaging.
Ashleigh: They’re all from Augusta, GA. They’re known for their harmonies and their blends. They have performed with gospel greats such as: William McDowell, Kierra “Kiki” Sheard, Richard Smallwood, VaShawn Mitchell, Earnest Pugh, and James Fortune and I think that’s going to be an amazing performance! They seem very excited to come and see us, so go and get your tickets!
Lisa: Its so true! Also just this last week we opened the Box Office windows again!
Ashleigh: *Angelic choir sounds*
Lisa: So very exciting! We are seeing the public again! In this day and age, there isn’t much foot traffic, but we do have Customer Service and Sales Associates at that window from 10am to 6pm, Monday through Friday. They are only there on weekends when we have shows during the summer.
Hank: I think that is fantastic. Just another sign that we are returning to normal. There’s much more to come and to tell you about Behind the Scenes at the Hanover Theatre.
