Wega Arts to present musical revue

Wega Arts will present “Villains of Vaudeville” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29-31, at the Gerold Opera House, in Weyauwega.

The house will open at 6 p.m. each day for drinks and appetizers.

The show will feature singing, magic and vaudeville type skits, as well as a backstage drama.

It is written, directed and produced by Kathy Fehl and Ian Teal, who also manage Wega Arts.

They both have an extensive background in theater and met in New York City, where each of them wrote and directed plays, ran theater companies and productions and in Teal’s case, did sketch comedy at Caroline’s, Catch A Rising Star and other clubs.

The production is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Gerold Opera House, which was built by George Gerold, a local farmer, in 1915.

The building has housed dances, movies, dinners, civic events and more.

It has served and continues to serve the community.

From 1915 until talking pictures came in, the building was mostly a vaudeville house.

Wega Arts, a nonprofit arts organization, purchased the Gerold Opera House in 2007 and has been renovating it and presenting concerts, films, plays and musicals ever since.

“Villains of Vaudeville” will headline Laila Salins, a singer from New York.

She perfoms cabaret, theater, concerts and opera in New York, Europe and also right here in Weyauwega.

Salins was in Weyauwega last year, starring as the black widow of “Secrets of the Dead,” which was also produced by Wega Arts at the Gerold. Her mezzo soprano voice brought the old halls of the opera house to ringing life.

Also returning to the Gerold for the show is Craig Anthony Knitt, who is a filmmaker, cartoonist/graphics artist and stand up comedian.

In addition, he is experienced with improvisational theater and teaches for the Boys & Girls Club. in Green Bay.

The Great Rondini will appear as Harry Houdini, regaling the crowd with tricks and escapes.

Sabrina Loehrke, who graduated from Weyauwega-Fremont High School this past spring and is now a freshman at Lawrence University, designed and executed the set.

Other participants include Joe Jones, of Iola, an experienced song and dance man; Barb Laedtke and Monica Reeves; Joni Radley at the piano; and Suzanne Dyer, Melinda Neuroth, Michael Kepler, Amanda Loehrke, Ava Loehrke, Amy Kurylo and others.

Some are students from the area, and others are theater people who have participated at the Gerold before.

Dinner, which will be served during the show, will be a French meal of boeuf bourguignon, mashed potatoes with creme fraiche, string beans, and cherries jubilee presented by Your Guest Chef, of the Fox Cities.

The dessert will be an event dramatic enough to match the show.

Tickets for the show and dinner are $35 and should be purchased by Friday, Oct. 23.

People may buy reserved tables of eight or whatever number of seats they need.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.wegaarts.org and also at the Book Cellar in Waupaca and Rural Relics in Weyauwega.

Wega Arts is grateful to the Waupaca Area Community Foundation for a grant which helped make the event possible.

The opera house is located at 136 E. Main St., in downtown Weyauwega.

For more information, contact Teal at 920-538-3990.