The Ritz announces 2023-24 season

Micky Dolenz, Amy Grant, Clint Black, Foghat and a variety of other music, comedy, community theater and family entertainment are scheduled for the 2023-24 season at The Ritz Theatre. Micky Dolenz Photo provided • Micky Dolenz, "Voice of the Monkees," takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11. The unmistakable performer has moved a generation and led the Monkees to a dozen Top 20 singles, four No. 1 albums and two Emmy Awards. Their three No. 1 singles were "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer" (both with lead vocals by Micky) and "Daydream Believer." • Amy Grant, who put contemporary Christian music on the map, is at The Ritz at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20. She was the first CCM artist to have a platinum record, the first to hit No. 1 on the pop charts ("Baby, Baby"), and the first to perform at the GRAMMY Awards. Since then, Grant has been strumming her way through 30-plus years as a singer-songwriter, author, television host and speaker. Over the years, she has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, including three multi-platinum, six platinum and four gold. Her chart performance has been consistent throughout her career, boasting six No. 1 hits, 10 "Top 40" pop singles, 17 "Top 40" adult contemporary tracks and multiple contemporary Christian chart-toppers. She has received six GRAMMY Awards and 26 Dove Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a star on the Music City Walk of Fame, and she has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. RaeLynn Photo provided • RaeLynn, new on the music scene, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28. "She has been streamed millions of times," Michael Strong, Ritz executive director, said. "We're really looking forward to having her here. You'll get to say 'I saw her when …'." Two-time ACM "New Female Vocalist" nominee, RaeLynn's most recent 2023 release is "It's Happening Right Here," which is a human trafficking awareness title track from the original documentary by Operation Underground Railroad. She released multiple songs in 2022 including "I Love My Hometown," "If God Took Days Off" and "Raisin' Me A Country Girl," amassing over one billion total career streams. • Clint Black is back on The Ritz stage at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2. Strong said Black was in Tiffin two or three years ago. One of the most storied careers in modern music, Clint Black surged to superstardom as part of the fabled Class of 1989, reaching No. 1 with five consecutive singles from his triple-platinum debut, Killin' Time. He followed that with the triple-platinum Put Yourself in My Shoes, and then a string of platinum and gold albums throughout the 1990s. He also wrote or co-wrote every one of his more than three dozen chart hits, including "A Better Man," "Where Are You Now," "When My Ship Comes In," "A Good Run of Bad Luck," "Summer's Comin'," "Like the Rain" and "Nothin' But the Taillights." He has sold more than 20 million records, earned more than a dozen gold and platinum awards in the U.S. and Canada including a GRAMMY, landed nearly two dozen major awards and nominations, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. • The Hit Men, billed as "The Ultimate Rock Concert," is set for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4. "It's like seeing 10 rock legends for the price of one," Strong said. "A lot of memories that music will hold." Attendees can relive rock's greatest hits with the five musicians who have shared the stage with legendary artists, including members of Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Wings, Alan Parsons, Billy Joel, Sting, Elton John, Journey, The Who and Cream. The Hit Men celebrate their associations with the mega-stars, share first-hand experiences as eyewitnesses to rock history and perform classic hits such as "Layla," "Don't Stop Believin'," "I Want To Know What Love Is," "Feels Like The First Time," and "Eye in the Sky." Kenny G Photo provided • Kenny G takes the stage Dec. 15 for a holiday concert. Strong said he's been interested in getting the sax player to Tiffin for many years. "He's just exceptional," he said. With a career that spans four decades, he is one of the most successful instrumental artists of the modern age and has racked up accomplishments that include more than 75 million albums sold and more than 1.5 billion global streams, seven Top 40-charting singles, 17 GRAMMY nominations and collaborations with such artists as Aretha Franklin, Katy Perry, Frank Sinatra, Kanye West and The Weeknd. The show features a mix of holiday hits and fan favorites such as "Songbird," Silhouette" and "The Moment." • Nobodies of Comedy are to perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27. Intended for mature audiences, attendees can see the funniest up-and-coming comedians in America. The unknown talent is rolled into one show, and some might become tomorrow's stars of comedy. • Chicago Transit, which plays the bet of Chicago, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 9. When Powerhouse decided to put together its Chicago Transit tribute act in the early 1990s, it was the first to do so, and the band remains today as the longest-running Chicago tribute band and the only one to carry four lead vocalists, just as the band Chicago does. With its three-piece horn section, five-piece rhythm section the band is able to cover all the Chicago material from the early horn-dominant classics such as "Make Me Smile, "25 or 6 to 4" and "Saturday in the Park" to the later, softer, keyboard-oriented ballads such as "If You Leave Me Now." • Here Come the Mummies for another Ritz show at 7:30 p.m. March 22. Back by popular demand, the Mummies is an eight-piece funk-rock band of 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies with a one-track mind. Their "Terrifying Funk from Beyond the Grave" is sure to get noticed. Since their discovery, the band has opened for P-Funk, Al Green and Cheap Trick; rocked Super Bowl Village; become a regular on The Bob and Tom Show; been invited to play Summer Camp Music Fest, Common Ground, Voodoo Fest, Musikfest, Summerfest and Riverbend; and sold tickets by the thousands across large swaths of North America. Mature audiences will appreciate mysterious personas, cunning song-craft and unrelenting live shows that will bend your brain and melt your face. The Four Freshmen Photo provided • The Four Freshmen, one of America's oldest active vocal groups, is to perform at 7:30 p.m. April 12. With a tight four-part vocal blend, sort-of-like barbershop, but harmonically similar to jazz, The Four Freshmen deliver a fresh take on every tune from swinging up-tempo arrangements that make a quartet feel like a big band to dreamy crooner-style ballads. The band appeals to older people as well as younger with its energetic and authentic blast-from-the-past style. Hits include "Graduation Day," Day by Day" and "It's a Blue World." Foghat Photo provided • Foghat's Road Fever Tour takes The Ritz stage at 7:30 p.m. April 20. "It's hard to find somebody who hasn't been to or knows somebody who has been to a Foghat concert," Strong said. Foghat live performances show why the band is still around and why they will be able to keep on rockin' as long as they want to play. Their music is timeless, and the live show is as intense as ever with the incredible energy and musicianship that one would expect and hope for from a seasoned band with such a long musical history. Foghat fans include the young who play Guitar Hero III and know all the lyrics to "Slow Ride," to the "dazed and confused" generation in their 30s and 40s and the "boomers" who bought Foghat's first vinyl or 8-track. Other hits include "Fool for the City" and "I Just Want to Make Love to You." • Toledo Symphony Brass Quintet is scheduled to perform at 7:30 p.m. May 18. The quintet creates the perfect ceremonial sound with two trumpets, a French horn, trombone and tuba. Together, they ensure a commanding performance from Sousa to Purcell's Trumpet Tune. "We don't have sponsors yet for some of these, so if anybody is interested in sponsoring let me know," Strong said. In addition to the headliners, Strong said Friday Night Live is back for the 2023-24 season at 7:30 p.m. Dates are Oct. 13, Nov. 10 and Dec. 22, 2023, as well as Jan. 26, Feb. 9, Mar. 8, Apr. 19 and May 3, 2024. Two or three artists play each Friday night in an unplugged performance environment. Everyone is invited to join the evening in an intimate setting with a glass of wine for $10. Movies and local plays Monday Night at the Movies features classics this season with movies starting at 7 p.m. Before television, movie complexes and the internet, there were movie theatres. Grand movie palaces were built with great excess including elaborate interior design, conditioned air and the incredible ambiance that became an important part of the movie-going experience. Built-in 1928 to capture the huge demand for "talkies," The Ritz Theatre became "the" place to see movies in Tiffin. Scheduled for this season are: • Oct. 16 – North by Northwest (1959) • Nov. 20 – To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) • Dec. 18 – Bells of Saint Mary's (1945) • Jan. 22 – The Maltese Falcon (1941) • Feb. 19 – Philadelphia Story (1940) • March 18 – On the Waterfront (1954) • April 15 – Gaslight (1944) • May 13 – A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) "These are classics that might have been shown when The Ritz opened," Strong said. "There's a good chance they would have been screened here in their first run." Tickets are $5. "Seeing these movies on the big screen makes a world of difference," he said. The 2023-2024 Ritz Players season starts with "Pippin" Sept. 23, 24 and Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Also planned for the season are "Rumors," by Neil Simmon, Feb. 16, 17, 23, 24, 25; "Steel Magnolias," by Robert Harling, May 4, 5, 10, 11; and "The Wizard of Oz," by L. Frank Baum, July 12,13, 20, 21. Ritz Teen Thespian Guild is to present "Greek Stories: From Artemis to Zeus," by Sophi Sagall Hopkins, Nov. 17, 18, 19. Ticket on-sale dates begin July 10 for subscription renewals, July 24 for new subscriptions, July 31 for flex packages of three or more live shows and Aug. 7 for single-event tickets. For more information, contact the box office, 30 S. Washington St., at 419-448-8544 or info@ritztheatre.org, or visit ritztheatre.org.