La Comedia Dinner Theatre celebrates 50 years
La Comedia Dinner Theatre in Springboro celebrated 50 years of entertainment rooted in family and tradition. Founded and originally co-owned by Joe and Marilyn Mitchell, the organization had longtime leadership from the Adkins family (1995-2023) and is building new audiences with current owners Dave and Sherry Gabert of Vandalia. The 50th anniversary season featured praiseworthy productions of “Jersey Boys,” “Into the Woods,” “Children of Eden,” “Matilda The Musical” and “Legally Blonde: The Musical.”
‘The Six Triple Eight’ among 2025 Oscar nominees
Tyler Perry’s “The Six Triple Eight,” chronicling the trailblazing story of World War II’s first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color led by Daytonian Charity Adams Earley, received a nomination for the 97th Academy Awards. Starring a remarkable Kerry Washington as Charity, the inspiring film was recognized in the original song category for Diane Warren’s ballad “The Journey,” which is featured in the film against the backdrop of archival footage of the historic unit.
Credit: Bob Mahoney/Perry Well Films 2/Courtesy of Netflix
Credit: Bob Mahoney/Perry Well Films 2/Courtesy of Netflix
In related news, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was recognized in 2025 with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress, April 29 at the U.S. Capitol. However, in June, President Donald Trump’s decision to restore the original names of seven military bases previously named for Confederate military figures included Fort Lee, renamed Fort Gregg-Adams during the Biden administration in co-honor of Earley.
‘Kaleidoscope’ radio show celebrates 25th anniversary
“Kaleidoscope,” a variety broadcast on FaithandFriendsRadio.com, celebrated 25 years of providing Dayton audiences entertainment grounded in fun and faith. Hosted by Bill Nance and Melody Morris, co-hosts of the “New Day” morning show, “Kaleidoscope,” recorded live with an audience and aired later, has been an appealing outlet for nationally known Christian recording artists and local talent.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Sierra Leone chosen as Dayton’s first poet laureate
In February Sierra Leone became the first poet laureate for the city of Dayton. Leone has been at the forefront of urban creative arts and Dayton’s spoken word/poetry scene for more than 20 years. In 2000 she co-founded Oral Funk Poetry Productions with her husband, Robert Owens Sr. She also co-founded Signature Educational Solutions, furthering her collaborative impulses throughout the city, especially with Levitt Pavilion.
Wright State grad wins top documentary prize at Sundance Film Festival
In March Dayton native and Wright State University graduate Brittany Shyne won the Grand Jury Prize in Documentary at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival for “Seeds,” a beautifully intimate look at Black generational farmers in the American South.
Shyne also won the International Documentary Association’s Emerging Filmmaker Award and has received a nomination for Film Independent’s Truer Than Fiction Award, which is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
Credit: BRITTANY SHYNE
Credit: BRITTANY SHYNE
‘Sinners’ movie showcases Centerville HS grad Hannah Beachler’s stunning production design
Academy Award-winning production designer Hannah Beachler’s latest collaboration with writer/director Ryan Coogler is “Sinners,” nominated for seven Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture — Drama. Coogler’s fascinatingly eerie dramatic horror comedy blending racism with the supernatural in 1930s Mississippi has made $367 million worldwide since its release in April.
For her “Sinners” contributions, Beachler, a Centerville High School and Wright State University graduate, won best production design from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. She seems poised to receive her second Academy Award nomination in January.
Credit: Kevork Djansezian
Credit: Kevork Djansezian
Anchor Cheryl McHenry retires from storied journalism career of nearly 44 years
Legendary Dayton broadcast journalist Cheryl McHenry retired May 21 after nearly 44 years of service at WHIO-TV. Her accomplishments include earning nine Emmys for coverage of breaking news and a variety of projects. Most notably: the longtime franchise, “Miami Valley Murder Mysteries”; “PTSD: Invisible Wound,” a special produced to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress among military combat veterans; and coverage of the tragic Oregon District shooting.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Dayton Jewish International Film Fest turns 25
The Dayton Jewish International Film Festival, one of the longest-running arts and entertainment festivals in the region, celebrated its 25th anniversary with feature-length films and short films encompassing comedies, thrillers, drama and documentaries exploring themes of injustice, love, war, religion and family relationships.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Marin Alsop conducts ‘Concert for Peace’ at Schuster Center
“Concert for Peace,” a phenomenal collaboration between the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, took place May 29 at the Schuster Center.
The brainchild of U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, and marking the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, the unforgettable 90-minute concert featured absolutely thrilling leadership by renown conductor Marin Alsop, the first woman to serve as the head of major orchestras in the United States, South America, Austria and Great Britain.
Credit: ron valle
Credit: ron valle
Alsop’s extraordinary musicianship, virtuosity and physicality — putting her whole body into the music while displaying an astute gift for memorization — heightened the lively zest and rhythmic bliss of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” Overture, the beautifully pastoral yet wistful melancholy of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis” and the sweeping ferocity of Ludwig van Beethoven’s magnificent “Symphony No. 5.”
Nicole Scherzinger, a Wright State alumna, wins Tony for ‘Sunset Boulevard’
Wright State University alumna Nicole Scherzinger won the Tony Award for her magnificent Broadway debut in “Sunset Boulevard” at the 78th annual Tony Awards June 8 at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. The former lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls was lauded for her fiercely transformative and vocally thrilling reinterpretation of aging silent film star Norma Desmond in the Andrew Lloyd Webber-composed production, which also won for best revival of a musical and best lighting design of a musical.
Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Kettering grad, Oakwood student delivered Broadway debuts in national musical theater competition
Credit: MATT SILVER
Credit: MATT SILVER
Kettering Fairmont High School graduate Lynn Dauterman and Oakwood High School senior Griffin Greear made their Broadway debuts June 23 at the 16th annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards, commonly known as the Jimmy Awards. Representing the Miami Valley High School Theatre Awards (MVHSTAs), spearheaded by Dayton Live, Dauterman and Greear spent 10 days in master classes, training and rehearsals led by accomplished theater professionals.
Franklin Johnson inducted into Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame
In July Dayton native Franklin Johnson became the first Black male to be inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame, which was established in 2002. His credits include “A Few Good Men,” “American Son,” “Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting,” “Opus,” “Ragtime,” “Radio Golf,” and, most recently, last season’s Guild local premiere of “Between Riverside and Crazy.”
Credit: RICK FLYNN PHOTOGRAPHY
Credit: RICK FLYNN PHOTOGRAPHY
Dayton artist Robert Blackstone’s ‘Crystal City’ moves to Wisconsin
The incredibly eye-catching, sprawling art installation known as “Crystal City,” the late Dayton artist Robert Blackstone’s crowning achievement, was dismantled within the first floor of the vacant Leigh Building in downtown Dayton. It will be revived in October 2026 at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wis. The long-term goal is to structure and elevate the work as a traveling exhibition.
Credit: Russell Florence
Credit: Russell Florence
Keitaro Harada takes helm as music and artistic director of Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra
Keitaro Harada, born in Tokyo, Japan, is the fifth music director in the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s 92-year history. His opening concert Sept. 19-20 featured Carl Nielsen’s “Symphony No. 4,” also known as “The Inextinguishable,” and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s legendary “Piano Concerto No. 2.”
Harada said one of his biggest priorities is to expand the orchestra’s repertoire.
“I’ve spent a lot of time reviewing a lot of the great repertoire this orchestra has done over the past 30 years to see what they are fluent in and what they are not fluent in,” Harada said. “I want to keep challenging them with repertoire that is not in their usual canon.”
Dayton Region Walk of Fame inducts Rob Lowe, Vic Cassano Sr., Original Lakeside and more
Vic Cassano Sr., The Original Lakeside, The Levin Family, Rob Lowe and Jenell Ross were inducted into the 2025 Dayton Region Walk of Fame Sept. 24 at Sinclair Community College. Encompassing legacies in the worlds of acting, business, music and philanthropy, the inductees were selected based on their impactful contributions locally, nationally and internationally.
Z93 returns to airwaves joined by new alternative rock station
Everything old is new again as Z93 (WGTZ) returned to local airwaves Oct. 2 playing music from the ‘80s, ‘90s and early 2000s.
Rod Serling honored with an Ohio historical marker
Television pioneer Rod Serling, iconic creator and host of “The Twilight Zone,” was honored with an Ohio Historical Marker Oct. 2 on the campus of Antioch College in Yellow Springs. The Oct. 2 date is significant as it was the date “The Twilight Zone” premiered in 1959, 66 years ago.
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Salman Rushdie receives Dayton Literary Peace Prize honor
On Nov. 9 Salman Rushdie, the author of 22 acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction which have been translated into more than 40 languages, received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation’s Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award. He wad recognized for championing artistic courage, defending writers and intellectuals under threat throughout his career.
New exhibit celebrating James M. Cox’s lasting impact will be at Carillon Historical Park
A new exhibit honoring the late James M. Cox, whose influential imprint of entrepreneurship and leadership encompassed journalism and politics, will open at Carillon Historical Park in 2026.
The park has received a $1.5 million grant from the James M. Cox Foundation to help fund the exhibit honoring its namesake, James Middleton Cox (1870-1957). In addition to rising to prominence as a newspaper publisher, Cox served as a U.S. congressman, Ohio’s first three-term governor and the 1920 presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket alongside Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Credit: Dayton Daily News Archive
Credit: Dayton Daily News Archive
Suzanne “Suzy” Bassani, a passionate arts advocate who brought arts education to the forefront in Dayton in the 1980s as founder of the Muse Machine, died Nov. 20 in Denver, Colo. She was 85. In addition to conceiving the Muse Machine, Bassani joined forces with Caryl D. Philips and Sara Exley in 1986 to create the Human Race Theatre Company, Dayton’s only professional theatre company, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary during the 2025-2026 season.
Specializing in independent films, foreign films and documentaries, The NEON in downtown Dayton is celebrating 25 years under the leadership of Jonathan McNeal and Diana Cordero. It is a notable magnet for prestige pictures, movies that receive critical acclaim on the film festival circuit across the country and around the globe.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Dayton Art Institute receives major gift for feminist collection
Hundreds of works by local, national and international women artists will have a home at the Dayton Art Institute. The museum has received a transformational gift from Sara and Michelle Vance Waddell, who will donate a major collection of feminist art. It also bolsters the DAI’s ability to represent diverse perspectives and narratives within modern and contemporary art.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED