09/26/2009 HOLY HANNA! The Great Lakes Theater Festival Has a New Home
CLEVELAND, OH- The Great Lakes Theater Festival (GLTF) celebrated its grand opening in its grand new home, Cleveland's Hanna Theater, on Saturday September 20. GhostLight Productions, LLC had the honor of producing an event that more than lived up to its billing - Holy Hanna: An Evening of Surprises! Never known for producing the expected, GhostLight did not disappoint on this long-awaited night. Nearly 600 guests eagerly entered the Hanna Theater after waiting two years to see the space re-imagined through its $14 million renovation. Although this landmark gem had top billing for the evening, there were many stars on the night's program.
International artist Michael Ostaski brought his Art Explosion to the theater's newly designed thrust stage. Guests watched in amazement as Ostaski literally hand painted 6' x6' image of Shakespeare in just under six minutes. Ostaksi performs his unique art- as- theater with live music and what could possibly be better than watching him hurl paint onto canvas than to the accompaniment of Cleveland State associate professor and Grammy-winning pianist Angelin Chang? What started as random splotches and swirls emerged as a portrait of the Bard himself as Dr. Chang filled the theater with her poetry and technical brilliance. Since the evening not only celebrated the past but also the future, Great Lakes Theater Festival company member David Hanson made an appearance dressed as Shakespeare but with a contemporary twist - his signature red high tops! A second painting was immediately created by Mr. Ostaski-this time with the full-blown, 80 piece Contemporary Youth Orchestra under the rock-on guidance of Director, Liza Grossman. Of course it was a painting of the contemporary bard impersonator and his Chuck Taylor's!
After the performances, guests spilled out onto a tented E 14th Street for dinner and dancing - under yet more stars! The logistic challenges of the evening could have been billed as theater themselves. Working for months with the City of Cleveland, GhostLight Productions managed to obtain permits to close E. 14th to traffic, which meant even rerouting bus traffic for several days.
According to Heather Sherwin, GLTF director of development, the evening more than lived up to expectations. "Having the Hanna as our new home is incredible for our company and for theater-goers," said Sherwin. "Our grand opening night of surprises not only raised $175,000 for our programming, but it introduced a new audience to the artistic and social potential of the re-imagined space."
Formed in 2006, GhostLight Productions, LLC is a full‐spectrum integrated event design, production and management company. With over 50 years combined industry experience, Deborah Smythe Hermann, Chairwoman and CEO, and David Shimp, President and COO, form the backbone of GhostLight Productions. The company's award-winning events and their full commitment to exceeding their clients' objectives have contributed to their unprecedented growth.
