The Vic will mark a milestone

Victorian Players Theater will unveil its upcoming season next week with a little extra fanfare, because 2012 will mark the company’s 20th anniversary.

The Vic will have a press conference Wednesday to announce its 2011-12 schedule and also reveal its 20th-anniversary logo.

“We’re very excited to be able to have a 20th season,” said Marilyn Higgins, executive director. “We didn’t think we’d be in business this long.”

Actually, the little theater has hit new heights in the past couple years. It grabbed 16 Marquee Awards for the 2009-10 season, more than any other theater, and way more than it had ever won before. It also received $26,000 in grants from the Youngstown Foundation, which it used to replace the roof, seal the windows and do some plaster repairs.

The downstairs men’s room is also new, thanks to a November accident. A motorist who was rapidly driving past the theater in reverse lost control and bashed a hole into the building.

“We were the only drive-through theater in Youngstown for a while,” said Higgins with a laugh. Insurance paid for the repairs, and the theater got a new bathroom and hallway out of it.

The Vic was founded by the late Jean McClure Kelty and presented its first show — “The Drunkard” — on June 20, 1993, at the Oakland Center for the Arts. Although it was just one play, The Vic considers it part of the 1992-93 season (therefore making 2012 the 20th anniversary).

The Victorian utilized a few other places (Pig Iron Press and The Calvin Center) until 1994, when Kelty bought the 1890 church building at 702 Mahoning Ave. where it has been ever since.

It gave The Vic a historical home to match its mostly historical fare, and although it seats only about 80, it’s the right size for what the theater does. The small size comes in handy for the melodramas the theater likes to stage, in which audience members take part by throwing ping-pong balls at the villains.

The lack of a curtain also lets the audience see the set changes, which it seems to enjoy.

The Victorian Players will have a fundraiser in November, which Higgins described as a burlesque variety show.

It also will bring back “In the Spirit of Christmas,” the holiday one-acts directed by Sam Luptak.

But one Vic tradition will be put on hold this year.

There will be no macabre Edgar Allan Poe production this fall. Instead, J.E. Ballantyne will present the world premiere of “A Light in the Darkness: A Story of Hope During the Holocaust,” which he wrote and will direct. It’s a Holocaust piece, based on the true story of survivor Eva Schloss.

Schloss, who lives in London, will come to Youngstown for the premiere.

THE END RIDES AGAIN AT CEDARS NEXT WEEK

Cleveland’s WENZ 107.9-The End was a great alternative-rock radio station that ruled from 1992 to 1999, when its new corporate owners flipped its format to urban.

The DJs, who had a “we play what we want” attitude, took one last whack at The Man on their last day by famously playing R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World As We Know It” for 24 hours straight. I remember checking back throughout the day to see if they were still doing it.

When they were done, it was the end of The End — although Akron filmmaker Mike Wendt made a 2009 documentary on the station that featured many former DJs.

The music will return for one night Wednesday when Cedars Lounge, 23 N. Hazel St., downtown, hosts The End night. It will include trivia, specials and all the ’90s alt-rock music you can handle, says club owner Mara Simon. The 18-and-up show begins at 10 p.m.