Audiences will have an extra opportunity to catch A Night at the Palace this year at the Errington Hall. The popular vaudeville show will run for four nights over two weekends in February, as opposed to the three nights in a row in 2014.
“Last year there were more people in the line than there were tickets,” said Hall treasurer and rental co-ordinator Denise Schmidt, who said adding the extra show means “more people have access” to the event.
“Your chances of getting tickets are better,” agreed Nayana Yukich A Night at the Palace organizer.
There will also be several other changes to the vaudeville show for 2015. Foremost, Yukich said they have reduced the number of acts to 23 as many people felt last year’s show of 30 acts ran too long.
“Last year was the 10th anniversary, so we just let everyone in,” explained Schmidt, adding that organizers are trying to keep the show to around two hours this year.
And while Yukich said that a lot of people have been involved “since day one,” all of this year’s acts will be brand new.
A Night at the Palace will also see a new emcee in Alan Micelli, husband to long-time props manager for the show Brandy Micelli. “I was very excited he was game. It’s a big job,” said Yukich. “He doesn’t take himself too serious, which is great for an emcee.”
One thing that always stays the same, however, is the spirit behind the show. “It’s the community event that brings us all together,” said Schmidt. And thanks to this support, Schmidt also said that A Night at the Palace has become the Errington Hall’s major fundraiser of the year. The show brings in around a quarter of the Hall’s budget, which has paid for renovations, mics, lights and more.
Yukich adds that this comes full circle as the vaudeville show gets “more technical each year” thanks to these improvements.
“It’s an entity of its own,” she said. “It feels unstoppable.”
This year’s shows will be Feb. 20, 21, 27 and 28. All dates start at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets will be on sale Jan. 25 at the Old Fire Hall in Errington (which is right beside the Errington Hall) from 1-3 p.m., or until they are sold out. According to Schmidt, it’s better to get in line early as tickets often sell out quick. Last year, tickets sold out in around half hour. She also warned that Feb. 28 tickets might be hard to come by as the cast has “first dibs” and tend to take tickets for the last show.
Each ticket costs $25 and there is a limit of four tickets per person. If any tickets remain, they will be available for purchase at the Errington Store.
Also, remember this is an adults-only show and the audience is invited to dress in vaudevillian era costume.