O-G alum returns to direct dinner theater

OTTAWA — A popular Ottawa-Glandorf tradition is returning after a two-year hiatus, directed by an O-G alum who performed in the popular dinner theater productions 20 years ago.

For three days this weekend, O-G choir students will sing, dance and serve dinner during the high school’s annual dinner theater production.

The popular O-G tradition was founded two decades ago by former choir director Ted Ellerbrock, who retired in 2019, to raise money for the music department.

Rachel Gibson was one of the first students to perform in the dinner theater productions, which started one year before she started her freshman year.

She’s now directing the production 27 years later, having recently started working as the high school’s choir director after 10 years of teaching in Ohio, Georgia and the Chicago area.

“It’s come full circle,” said Gibson, who graduated from O-G in 1999.

The productions have grown considerable since Gibson was in high school. The program was still in its infancy, held in the school’s multi-purpose room for a smaller audience.

Today, Gibson’s students will perform a collection of classic and modern hits in the O-G gymnasium, joined by eight graders from Ottawa and Glandorf Elementary schools.

The proceeds benefit the O-G choir boosters, which purchases everything from new risers and robes to paying registration fees for students who want to enter ensemble contests.

This year’s theme is Hometown Favorites, a tribute to the past.

But the production is also a tribute to being together again, as many of the students performing this weekend were unable to participate in a normal dinner theater for the last two years because of the pandemic.

“It’s nice to bring that back and let the kids have those experiences that I had too,” Gibson said.

Choir director Rachel Gibson leads students through an in-school rehearsal on Thursday.

Ottawa-Glandorf choir students are preparing for their first major dinner theater production in two years. The popular program, which was halted in 2020 and scaled back in 2021 due to the pandemic, will debut Friday evening.

Ottawa-Glandorf alum Rachel Gibson is returning to her roots as the school’s new choir director. Gibson will direct the O-G dinner theater production this weekend, 23 years after she performed in the concert as a student.