The Amish Country Theater has been entertaining tourists and locals alike since 2011, and now its been named as one of the Top 100 Events in North America for 2016 by the American Bus Association.
North America is a big deal, Dave Conn, an actor with the theater who plays the older Jonas Brother in the show.
The theater, situated on state Route 39 to the west of Walnut Creek, features a family-friendly variety show complete with Ken Groves, a nationally acclaimed ventriloquist, Lynyrd, the hapless countrified host, and a number of musical groups like The Beachys, Fannie Mae and one of three bluegrass bands.
The show runs about two hours and is intended for all ages. Charlie Jones said we were the best kept secret in Holmes County, Dave Conn said. One of the things I enjoy the most is we have stuff in the script that locals are intended to catch (but not everyone would understand).
Co-owner Jeff Conn Mike Conn is also a co-owner said he thinks part of the reason the theater has been so successful is that it was created to fill a need in the community. My dad and I started in 2011, he said, just as we saw a need in the area. We wanted to provide after-hours entertainment for tourists.
Dave Conn said he has been a Berlin resident his whole life and has seen a need to expand evening entertainment options for a while.
Jeff Conn said at the time he also heard from many hotel representatives that guests werent staying overnight because there was nothing left to do in the area after 5 p.m.
The idea started small, he said. And then when we did it, it got bigger.
Once the idea for the show was put into production, the owners needed a space big enough to house the shows and built an entirely new theater, complete with a banquet hall.
Both Conns said they feel the show reaches a new audience in the area, which was previously untapped. Were reaching locals, kids, people on one-day car trips from Cleveland and bus tours, Jeff Conn said. I think locals dont realize what it is, and then they come and watch it, and they come back and bring their friends.
Showgoers can see Dave Conn as a Jonas Brother during any show, but Jeff Conn is a little bit harder to spot, as he plays multiple characters as an understudy.
The guys that deserve the award are the ones that do this day-in and day-out, Jeff Conn said.
Events on the list are considered on a number of criteria, including the events broad appeal, its expertise at handling large groups and a variety of other relevant criteria, according to a press release from ABA.
Although the theater was chosen from hundreds of event nominations for this honor, Dave Conn said the real joy is just getting to work with other cast members. It is a close-knit cast, he said. Everyone gets along really well so it is a blast.
We get a lot of people that say (they) needed to laugh, and they havent laughed like that in 20 years, Jeff Conn said. If nothing else that makes it worthwhile.
