Vaudeville show celebrates 90 years of HIT

By P.J. GLISSON

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Ironwood - The Historic Ironwood Theatre was bustling with talent Saturday when it presented Aurora Nights: An Evening of Vaudeville in celebration of the theatre's 90th birthday.

An enthusiastic audience frequently showed its gratitude with claps, yells and whistles as various performers offered comedy, dance and music, along with literal and figurative layers of magic.

Several comedians offered an array of fun. Ethan Puisto and Ronnie Nygard were a big hit, playing The Janderson Sisters, Edith and Janie. The combination of their costuming, acting flair, and chummy interaction made for lots of laughs.

Al Fashbaugh also entertained with ease, doing stand-up comedy on subjects such as millennials, hippies and bidets. He even took a "selfie" photo with the audience.

Fashbaugh, Puisto and Nygard also participated in the Dryland Synchronized Swimming Team, which included Gabriel Schwartz and HIT operations manager Bruce Greenhill in ridiculous costumes and choreography designed for audience love.

One of the show's featured performers was Special Head, from America's Got Talent. While stopping here during his U.S. tour, he engaged in a number of dazzling acts such as levitation, illusion and fire play.

One-on-one segments with local boys included him appearing to cut his own head off while asking help from Jacob Gardner, of Novi, from the audience. He also played a numbers game with another audience member, Owen Ryskey, of Marenisco.

One of Special Head's most breathtaking acts was when he performed a "trust fall" over fire in the presence of his gasping assistant, Edith Janderson, of the aforementioned Janderson Sisters.

Another special feature was Chicago musician Andreas Kapsalis, whose fame as a "ten-fingered" guitarist inspired repeated cries of "Wow!" from the crowd. Kapsalis, who was stopping here while on a global tour, showed surgical mastery of his instrument, sometimes even using his guitar body as a drum.

Three young women from Ironwood shared solid voices while each distinguishing themselves with their own brand of personality.

Gracie Lou, formerly of Chicago, filled the theatre with energetic cheer as she played her ukulele while singing various ditties and schmoozing the audience.

Kate Averitt accompanied herself on piano while perfectly executing a soulful, original composition called "Bad Thing (That They Call Love)."

Desiree Walowinski, who was introduced by emcee Nichole Lahti as having a voice that "makes me melt," offered a classic stage presence, with accompaniment from Tim Mesun.

Mesun, who was introduced by Mark Silver as "the master of music, the sultan of sound," accompanied Walowinski and also offered his own organ music.

The show also included an ethereal scarf dance by several, mysterious female dancers.

Andy and The Griffins tied the show together with Andy Makey's rockstar vocals and flawless backup by band members Peter Grewe on keys, John Grewe on drums and Danny Osier on bass. The band performed in the show, but also offered condensed songs during transitions between acts. Whether performing covers or original work, they often had the emcee and some performers unable to resist strutting to their tunes.

Aurora Nights was a HIT directorial debut for board member Nichole Lahti, known as "Lahtida." She contributed lots of smiling style and also joined Desiree Walowinski to sing "Let's All Go to the Lobby" directly before the intermission.