Playhouse aims to stay the course

The Youngstown Playhouse built up a good bit of momentum over the past two years under operations manager Bernie Appugliese.

The quality of its performances, paid attendance, community involvement and donations all noticeably increased.

Appugliese will step down next month to pursue a career as a playwright in Chicago, and the theater’s board last week named long-time Valley theater pro James McClellan as his replacement.

Transitions are never easy, but this one shouldn’t be too bumpy.

McClellan is experienced in managing a nonprofit performing arts outfit, because he held a similar position as business manager of Ballet Western Reserve from 2005 to 2011. He also worked in managerial capacities for the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra and Easy Street Productions.

But McClellan, of course, is best known as an actor and singer. He is one of the area’s top performers and has appeared in many productions, most recently in the title role of East Street’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” last weekend at Powers Auditorium.

The opening at the Playhouse drew more applicants than the theater’s board expected. But Tom DeToro, president of the board, said picking McClellan was an easy decision.

DeToro noted that Appugliese has built a great foundation, and McClellan’s prime goal will be to keep the resurgence going and the money coming in.

“One thing that [McClellan] emphasized in his interview was [his intention] to continue building the relationships with patrons, sponsors and donors,” said DeToro. “This is going to be his big focus, and that is such an important aspect in community theater in this day and age.”

While proven ability as a performer and an administrator are indispensable, McClellan also will bring an intangible to his new post: a history that is intertwined with the Playhouse.

Like Appugliese, he started performing at the theater when he was young, and he also has a love for the local community theater scene.

Playhouse insiders say that under Appugliese, the atmosphere inside the building became lighter, and newcomers began to feel at home there. It was a return to the way it was in the ’80s.

McClellan remembers, and likes it that way.

“I want to pick up precisely where Bernie left off,” he said. “To break that momentum would be a mistake.”

To make the transition as seamless as possible, McClellan will shadow Appugliese on the job in the next few weeks to learn how things run on a daily basis.

McClellan already has connections with other performance groups in town and plans to continue to collaborate with them.

He also has an insight on how to keep theater-goers buying tickets.

“I noticed in the past several years that the new titles have gone over very well,” he said. These include “Cats,” “Chicago” and “Mary Poppins” – none of which had been done in the Valley before, or at least not in recent memory.

McClellan said he’ll push for plays and musicals that the Playhouse hasn’t touched yet.

KISS concert film event

KISS will come to Covelli Centre on Aug. 26, but fans can get a taste of what to expect on May 25 at “KISS Rocks Vegas,” a one-night concert movie event at select theaters.

The film will be screened at 7:30 p.m. The closest theaters showing the Fathom Events production are the Cinemark multiplexes in Cuyahoga Falls and North Canton (Tinseltown in Boardman, which usually shows Fathom events, is not on the list for some reason).

Go to fathomevents.com for tickets.

“KISS Rocks Vegas” was filmed during the fire-breathing, blood-spitting band’s historic nine-day run at the Hard Rock Hotel in Sin City in November 2014.