Raue Center For The Arts Celebrates a Record Setting Year!

Raue Center For The Arts is pleased to announce the appointment of two new staff promotions after a record setting year, as well as a number of new and exciting happenings that have taken place at the theatre this summer! Raue Center is excited to continue enriching the lives of all through the arts as the 2017-2018 season continues into fall.

"The board and staff are incredibly proud to wrap up the most successful year in Raue Center's history with an incredible summer. We hope the patrons and artists had as much fun as we did last year throughout over 300 events! We are grateful for the more than 800 donors and over 115 companies that helped us along the way and we are thrilled to provide opportunities for more than 17,000 students," says Executive Director, Richard Kuranda. "Crystal Lake and McHenry County are a great community and the arts are a huge part of our life. I hope more people will continue to join us."

Raue Center's in-house professional theatre company, Williams Street Repertory, kicked off its 2017-2018 season in late June, with a production of the classic Broadway musical, "Guys and Dolls." WSRep showcased a wide variety of talented cast members - from seasoned professionals and Equity actors to college students - in the production, which featured the theatre company's largest cast to-date.

The large-scale production provided McHenry County's only professional theatre company with a useful learning experience, presenting the opportunity to learn from the experiences of a wide range of talented cast members. WSRep is grateful for everything the talented cast of "Guys and Dolls" brought to the company and looks forward to growing and perfecting their process as the 2017-2018 season continues.

"Guys and Dolls" opened to a strong audience base on June 30, 2017 and continued to draw in crowds throughout its run. The Broadway classic also helped Raue Center and WSRep toward their goal of cultivating new audiences in the 2017-2018 season. "Guys and Dolls" brought in a record number of ticket orders made by over 300 new patrons who joined 555 returning patrons in purchasing tickets to the show by the end of its run on July 23, 2017. WSRep strives to continue cultivating new patrons throughout the season, which continues with "Little Shop of Horrors," opening October 6, 2017.

As the exciting 2017-2018 season continues, WSRep is proud to welcome a new member to its production staff with the addition of Evan Swanson as resident musical director. Swanson is a Chicago-based pianist, composer, arranger and music director. He holds a degree in jazz studies from DePaul University, where he studied with Ron Perrillo.

A Crystal Lake native, Swanson's journey with Raue Center began early in life as he regularly attended performances. His professional relationship with the theatre began in 2013, when he served as music director for "It's A Wonderful Life: A Radio Play" and began working with Sage Studio, Raue Center's arts education program. Swanson also conducted and performed in the orchestra for WSRep's productions of "Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical," "[title of show]," "A Christmas Survival Guide," "First Date" and "Guys and Dolls."

"For years, I looked at Raue Center as the kind of place I'd like to work someday and I'm happy that it has become the place I work today," says Swanson. His other work includes serving as musical director at Living Waters Lutheran Church, co-leader of Chicago-based quintet, Rare Export and as a sideman in a number of ensembles.

Raue Center is also proud to share an exciting staffing announcement, with the appointment of Miriam Naponelli to the role of Marketing Director. Before joining Raue Center in August 2016, Naponelli worked as the marketing director for Spotlight Youth Theater, where she successfully created and maintained marketing initiatives covering a five county demographic and reaching over 1,400 students year-round.

During her four years at Spotlight Youth Theater, Naponelli was one of four team members who spearheaded a rebrand of the company, grew summer camp enrollment by 20% and one of two team members assigned to the redesigned Spotlight Youth Theater's website.

Since joining the team at Raue Center, Naponelli, alongside the existing marketing team, has helped grow and cultivate new audiences and has also boosted social media and other digital marketing efforts. A graduate of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University with a BFA in acting, Naponelli appeared in WSRep's production of "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" and directed the theatre company's production of "A Christmas Survival Guide."

"I am excited to further Raue Center's mission of enriching the lives of all through the arts for many years to come," says Naponelli.

About Williams Street Repertory

Williams Street Repertory is a non-profit theatre company located in Crystal Lake, Ill. Over the past six years, WSR has built a reputation for artistic excellence as one of Illinois' leading producing theatres. WSR is dedicated to sustaining an artistic process of innovative and emotionally charged work, telling diverse stories and creating an in-house Production Company of well-respected artists. Since opening, WSR has presented more than 25 productions with a wide range of appeal, from Chicago premieres and international debuts to holiday favorites. In 2016, WSR entered into a contract with Actors' Equity Association, making WSR the only professional theatre company in McHenry County. WSR is dedicated to its mission of producing diverse and emotionally charged stories that deepen the cultural richness of our community and our region. WSR was made possible through support provided by Susen Håakansson Berg and James C. Berg, the City of Crystal Lake, ComEd, McHenry County Community Foundation and Epic Repertory Theater Company. For additional information, visit wsrep.org.

About Raue Center For The Arts

Raue Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of all through the arts. For 16 years, they have provided quality programming - striving to make it pertinent, available and affordable to all. As a painstakingly restored, 1920s regional Showcase Theatre named for its benefactor-Lucile Raue-Raue Center has attracted the finest stars, Broadway shows, musicians and artists. Named on the League of Historic American Theatres, Raue Center is one of the finest examples of restored art and decor in the nation. The 750-seat theatre, located in historic downtown Crystal Lake, Ill., is a gathering place for our region's citizens and has become a true destination. For additional information, visit rauecenter.org, facebook.com/RaueCenter and twitter.com/RaueCenter.

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