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Playhouse to stay put
at its present location

Lady Blue Jackets win first tournament

Northern Irish teens arrive in Canfield for Ulster Project

Girls In The Photo: Bottom Row Kneeling-Left To Right: Amanda Moss; Megan Beatty; Alexis Stutz; Andrea Ryhal. Middle Row-Behind The Trophy: Madison Quetot
Back Row Standing-Left To Right: Jessica Driscoll; Beth Zumbach; Kara Klem; Sarah Snyder; Kelsie Stutz; Darby Hepola; and Danielle Thomas. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO.

Pam Traino, co-director of Boardman Rotary Community Services, presents a check of $2,500 to Playhouse Director John Holt to be used for students to them theatre. Photo by Mike Varveris.

By Mike Varveris

John Holt, managing director of The Youngstown Playhouse, made a return visit to Boardman Rotary to tell of future plans for the Valley's community theatre. He had been at a Rotary luncheon previously to accept a $2,500 donation from the club which will be used for transporting students and young performers to the theatre.
"One thing I can tell you for sure," he said. "There are no plans to relocate the theatre elsewhere. In fact, we have plans to build a 150-seat addition for productions featuring students." For several years there has been talk of relocating the Playhouse from its present location at 600 Playhouse Lane off Glenwood Ave. in Youngstown to the suburbs.
"For one thing, the cost would prohibitive," he said adding the local theatre is one of the finest community theatres in the country, a 47,500 square-foot facility with plenty of convenient, well-lit parking space and security during its shows. The Playhouse's first home 80 years ago was a converted barn at 138 Lincoln Ave. where the organizers brought in 165 seats. Over the years, the Playhouse grew in size and moved from Lincoln Ave. to Market St. in 1942 and finally at its current home in 1959. Through the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the Playhouse experienced its golden age. The local talent, community support and enthusiasm launched the Playhouse to standards compared to some professional theatres on Broadway. Playhouse alumni such as the late Elizabeth Hartman found careers in Broadway or in Hollywood. Directors. Well-known directors and producers honed their skills at the Playhouse. Then came some dark years in the late 90s and early 2000s when the Playhouse was on the verge of collapse with bad credit, bad press, loss of subscribers and no money. The few Playhouse boosters convinced former managing director Bentley Lenhoff  to return from retirement in 2004 and take over the management and lead the Playhouse back to its golden years  Audiences were again treated to high quality entertainment. But Bentley would stay until he could his hand-picked successor in 2005 which happened to be John Holt. Holt, who has had theatre experienced in the New Castle, Pa. came aboard first as the Playhouse business manager. "Five days later I was offered the position of managing director by the Board upon Lenhoff's recommendation," Holt said. "My wife and I discussed it for some time."  Parents of three children, they were concerned of job security and heath care. "My wife then pulled a 180 saying there must be a reason or all of this," he said. "So, here I am." Under Holt's direction the past two years, the Youngstown Playhouse is rapidly approaching its golden years. Several productions have been stage before full-houses, "and we're seeing the same enthusiasm the Playhouse had its golden era, and we're also getting a new set of subscribers." Considered  America's oldest on-going community, the Playhouse now employs 12 including and includes banquet facility for 90 and the Youth Theatre  Ending its run on April 20 is "Enchanted April." The next production will be "Titanic: The Musical" which Holt will direct. It opened in Broadway in 1997 and is set on ocean liner HMS Titanic. It will run May 24 to June 15. Holt says tickets should be bought early for this production that should be one of the theatre's best. Contact 330-7880-8739 for ticket information.

The Mahoning Valley Lady Blue Jackets won the inaugural Girl's Developmental Division of the Laurel Hockey Tournament on Sunday, March 30, at Kirk S Nevin Arena in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The final score was 3 to 0 over the Geauga Lady Maple Leafs.
In the first period, Beth Zumbach of Canfield, scored for Mahoning Valley at 10:04 on the clock to give the Lady Blue Jackets a 1 to 0 lead. The Lady Blue Jackets would eventually out shoot the Lady Maple Leafs 15 to 9 for the game.
There was no more scoring by either team until the 1:41 mark of the third period. Darby Hepola also of Canfield scored a short-handed goal for Mahoning Valley on a assist from Megan Beatty of Austintown. The Lady Blue Jackets put the game away at the :11 second mark of the third period on a empty net goal by Andrea Ryhal of Salem, on an assist from Jessica Driscoll of Youngstown. Madison Quetot of Lisbon, was in goal for Mahoning Valley to record the shut-out.
The 37th Annual Laurel Hockey Tournament featured 44 teams from six states (Ohio, West Virginia, New York, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania). These teams represented 22 separate youth hockey associations. Forty of the teams were boy's teams spread across 12 USA Hockey youth divisions. The first ever Girl's Division in the history of the tournament was comprised of the Geauga Lady Maple Leafs, the Westmoreland Lady Eagles, the Indiana (PA) Lady Chiefs, and the Mahoning Valley Lady Blue Jackets.
The remainder of the Mahoning Valley Lady Blue Jackets tournament roster included Kara Klem and Sarah Snyder, both from Austintown, Danielle Thomas, Lisbon, Amanda Moss, Kelsie Stutz and Alexis Stutz, all from Boardman. Unable to attend due to illness was Zoie Amatore of Austintown.
The head coach of the Lady Blue Jackets is Jim Hepola of Canfield and the President of the Girls Developmental Hockey program is Diana Beatty of Austintown.
The Mahoning Valley Lady Blue Jackets is the only girl's hockey team in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana Counties. The Lady Blue Jackets have their practices and play their home games at the Ice Zone in Boardman, OH. If you would like to know more about girl's developmental hockey contact the Ice Zone at 330-965-1423.
LAURAL HOCKEY TOURNAMENT WRAP-UP: The Mahoning Valley Lady Blue Jackets won Friday night over the Lady Chiefs by a score of 9 to 0. The girls won Saturday afternoon over the Lady Eagles by a score of 6 to 4. At that point the Lady Blue Jackets had clinched a spot in the championship game on Sunday. The Lady Blue Jackets lost to the Lady Maple Leafs on Saturday night by a score of 6 to 0. That loss on Saturday night clinched the other championship slot for the Geauga team.

On June 29 twelve Northern Irish teenagers will be arriving in Canfield to meet their host families for the Mahoning Valley Ulster Project. Since 1988 Northern Irish teens have visited the local area to observe a month of peaceful interaction between faiths by building the bonds of friendship, trust and understanding.
Protestant and Catholic families are needed for the July 2008 project. The teens range in age from 14-16 and are equally divided: male and female, Catholic and Protestant. Each Northern Irish teen is paired with an American Host teen of the same age, gender and religious affiliation who shares similar likes and interests. Teens who have participated in the Project agree that friendships and activities of the month make it an exceptional experience that they will never forget. American teens may apply by contacting Char McKenna at 330-533-1876.
During the month of July, traditionally a period of heightened tensions in Northern Ireland, the Northern Irish teens and American Host teens are provided with a variety of spiritual, social, and service opportunities.  The teens gather to engage in group discussions and dialogs to help to begin to understand that they share much common ground. They complete community service projects such as clean up at Jubilee Gardens, and offer assistance to inner-city day care centers. The teens visit many of the local attractions such as Mill Creek Park and the Butler Museum of American Art and also attend picnics, swim parties, and dances. All of the expenses for the host teen and Northern Irish teen will be covered by Ulster Project funds except room, board, local transportation and family outings.
The Ulster project is dedicated to promoting a peaceful parity of esteem between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, by building tolerance, trust and ongoing positive relationships among potential leaders from these Christian traditions.  Now, more than 20 years later, the Ulster project has successfully grown to more than 24 host cities across the United States.
The Mahoning Valley Ulster project is an incorporated, ecumenical, tax-exempt, and non-profit peace project. Contributions made to the Ulster project are tax deductible. If you are interested in making a donation, please contact Joe McKenna or mail your contribution to the Ulster Project Communities for Peace, P.O. Box 322, Canfield, Ohio 44406.

New Middletown student wins writing contest