NOTE: Soapbox Media is a sponsor of The Requiem Project.
This Friday marks the culmination of months of sweat equity and artistic collaborations. On 11.11.11, the Emery Theatre reopens its doors for a full slate of special events featuring bright local stars from Over the Rhine to Drew and Lea Lachey to awe-inspiring visual artists including photographers
Michael Wilson and Soapbox's own
Scott Beseler.
When
Tara Lindsey Gordon and
Tina Manchise host their preview weekend, guests can view a local treasure that's been under wraps for years. The Emery Theatre in Over-the-Rhine, built in 1911 with impeccable acoustics, is the first concert hall in the United States to have no obstructed seats.
The weekend-long celebration begins with a Friday night fundraiser, a slate of building tours and performances. Headliners
Over the Rhine will be joined by musician and composer
Peter Adams, choreographer
Heather Britt, members of the modern chamber group
concert:nova,
Exhale Dance Tribe and
Madcap Puppet Theatre. Drew Lachey, of 98 Degrees and Dancing with the Stars, will introduce the women behind the Requiem Project. His wife Lea, a dancer and choreographer as well as West side native, performs with Exhale.
From the 1,600-seat theater to nearly 120,000 square feet of artistic space (the first two of seven floors will be open for tours this month), the Emery captivates returning and new visitors alike. Somewhere in its long-forgotten hallways, inspiration remains as palpable as the passion of the people dedicated to its restoration.
When the building opens on 11.11.11, visitors can tour dozens of artists' work, including glass artist
Margot Gotoff,
Cedric Cox and photos by
Michael Wilson, the event honoree. Gordon calls the Norwood native Wilson, whose photography has graced many an album cover, "the first in the water."
She and Manchise contacted Wilson to gauge his interest before they knew he was based in Cincinnati. "He spent two days shooting the Emery," Gordon says. "There couldn't be a more amazing friend to this project."
After the preview celebration starts Friday, festivities continue through the weekend. Saturday includes a free 2 p.m. concert by the Cincinnati Boychoir, free Chipotle lunch for kid guests and a visit from Cincinnati Zoo to You animals. Sunday, the Cincinnati Children's Choir stops in for a free 2 p.m. show.
Friday night guests can tour the building, where dozens of artists' work, curated by ParProjects, will be on display, then see the concert, and enjoy a couple of after-party options that run until 2 a.m.,
all for just $75.
Dinner and corporate sponsorship options remain available.
By Elissa Yancey
Follow Elissa on Twitter.
Photo by Michael Wilson.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.