Shows feature national, regional, local performers

Three arts organizations offer a mix of family fun and date nights and even nationally touring performers made famous through TV competitions.

Season tickets are now available for Richmond Civic Theatre, Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Civic Hall Performing Arts Center. On-sale dates for individual tickets vary between the organizations.

Upcoming performances will be announced later in Western Wayne News for additional organizations including the Reid Center, Richmond Community Orchestra and Richmond Shakespeare Festival.

Richmond Civic Theatre

Classic musicals and dramas and contemporary stories meld in downtown Richmond.

Five MainStage and three Stage One Youth Theatre performances are scheduled.

The season opens Aug. 7 with the musical “The Wizard of Oz” and concludes in early May with “Into the Woods.” All 2025-26 shows are rated G or PG-13.

Season highlights:

• Aug. 7-10 and 14-17: “The Wizard of Oz” musical: Follow Dorothy and friends along the yellow brick road.
• Sept. 19-21 and 26-28: “Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr.”: A musical offering clever, catchy tunes from the 1970s cartoons.
• Nov. 7-9: “Charlotte’s Web”: A play about an unlikely friendship between a pig and spider.
• Dec. 11-14 and 18-21: “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical”: Learn about Santa’s helper and how what makes him different makes him special.
• Feb. 5-8 with two Saturday shows: Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express”: Suspects are isolated on a train with a killer in their midst.
• March 13-15 and 20-22: “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical”: Children of infamous villains attend school alongside children of beloved Disney heroes and have to decide whether to learn to be good or follow in their wicked parents’ footsteps.
• April 9-12 with two Saturday shows: “26 Pebbles”: A docudrama about the small town shaken by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.
• April 30-May 3 and May 7-10: “Into the Woods”: The musical features famous storybook characters who get their wishes, but consequences of their actions return to haunt them later.

RCT’s season tickets offer eight flex tickets that can be used in any combination. They are $91 for students and seniors 65-plus and $118 for adults.

Two family packages are offered. One is for families with children 12 and younger and includes 22 tickets for $278. The other, which is for those with children 13 and older, is $418 and offers 32 tickets.

Assisted by a few employees, RCT productions at the historic Murray Theatre, 1003 E. Main St., use the skills of hundreds of volunteers on and off stage who tackle props, sound, spotlights, makeup, set building, costumes and more. Newcomers are continually welcomed.

For more information, see gorct.org or call 765-962-8011.

Richmond Symphony Orchestra

The professional ensemble featuring talent from nearby cities offers “A Place to Belong” in 2025-2026.

“Our organization is rooted in the belief that the orchestra must be a space of access, engagement, and belonging for everyone we currently serve and those we are still striving to reach,” promotional materials note. 

The seven-concert season opens Sept. 20 with “American Rhythm and Color,” with later themes of “Lyricism & Depth,” “Love & Transformation” on Valentine’s Day, and “Echoes of Nature,” and it ends May 9 with “Destiny & Fantasy.”

Five Saturday night concerts will feature a soloist.

Music director Andrés Lopera has designed the other two especially for families. The first, showcasing movie themes, is on a Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. Oct. 12), and the other offers holiday favorites on a Saturday evening (Dec. 13).

The schedule includes:

• Sept. 20: Adams’ “The Chairman Dances,”; Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F and “An American In Paris,” and Stravinsky’s “The Firebird Suite”
• Oct. 12: “Brass & Blockbusters: An Afternoon at the Movies”
• Nov. 15: Coleridge-Taylor’s “Ballade in A minor,” Nielsen’s Flute Concerto and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2
• Dec. 13: “A Festive Holiday Celebration!”
• Feb. 14: Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8
• March 28: Mendelssohn’s “The Hebrides Overture (Finglas Cave),” Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral)
• May 9: Verdi’s “Overture to La forza del destino,” Respighi’s “La pentola magica (The Magic Pot)” and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2.

Season tickets are $115 per adult ($155 box seats) and $60 for college students. They are free for students in grades K-12. All of those concerts are at Civic Hall, 380 Hub Etchison Parkway, Richmond.

Before the season, RSO offers five free Sunset Series outdoor concerts for all ages featuring small ensembles around Wayne and Union counties. They’re open to the public.

The first four are at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays (July 9, July 30, Aug. 13 and Aug. 27) with the finale at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11.

Reservations are encouraged at richmondsymphony.org or by calling 765-966-5181.

Civic Hall

Five nationally touring shows are planned at 7 p.m. Saturdays, along with two children’s field trip programs, during Civic Hall’s Proudly Presenting Series.

The 32nd season opens Oct. 4 with the Texas Tenors, who’ll perform new music during their 15th anniversary tour plus patriotic, country and classical tunes. They became famous through the “America’s Got Talent” TV show, and fans continually request their return to the venue inside Richmond High School, 380 Hub Etchison Parkway.

Another requested returning act with a new show features father-son pianists Donald and Barron Ryan. Ryan & Ryan will offer “Going Gershwin” on Nov. 1. Their experience in classical, jazz, ragtime and funk allow them to offer fresh interpretations of classics and new music they’ve created.

On Dec. 6, Cello Voci will offer Christmas music. It’s a newly formed classical-crossover group starring cello and vocal duo Branden and James along with singer/songwriter Effie Passero from “American Idol” and Postmodern Jukebox. Singer/pianist Branden James was a finalist on “America’s Got Talent” and cellist James Clark has been a featured cellist for Idina Menzel, Olivia Newton-John and Bernadette Peters.

Emmy-winning singer/songwriter Shaun Johnson brings his Big Band Experience on March 7, featuring Midwest instrumentalists who’ve toured with numerous luminaries. He created a contemporary jazz pop sound, honoring legends like Frank Sinatra, with a nod to Michael Bublé and Lake Street Dive, while giving his own twist to songs such as “Spider-Man Theme” and increasingly popular original works.

The season concludes with Night Fever – A Tribute to the Bee Gees on May 2. The group has been touring the nation and world for the past 10 years, offering hits such as “Stayin’ Alive” in venues such as Disneyland.

The two children’s shows are “Bill Blagg’s Magic in Motion” on Jan. 14 and “Professor Gizmo’s Fun & Science Show” on Feb. 11. School groups and homeschool families can reserve tickets for $3 per person.

Civic Hall’s box office closes in about a week to walk-ins while schools are on break, but messages left through civichall.com or 765-973-3350 will be returned occasionally throughout the summer.