Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame member dies: 'A wonderful friend to all'

Russell Florence Jr., Dayton Daily News, Ohio
·2 min read

Nov. 30—John A. Falkenbach, a 2018 Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame inductee whose specific contributions as a lighting designer accented numerous community theater productions across the Dayton area, died Nov. 23. He was 65.

Falkenbach was born July 23, 1958 in Mansfield. He was involved in community, educational and professional theatre for almost 50 years. In addition to his outstanding lighting expertise, he served as director, producer, actor and technician.

His local associations included Beavercreek Community Theatre, Dayton Playhouse, Dayton Theatre Guild, Troy Civic Theatre, Xenia Area Community Theater and Springfield Civic Theatre. He also served on the board of Beavercreek Community Theatre as treasurer. Furthermore he was active in the Ohio Community Theatre Association for over 35 years and was an alumnus of Ohio Northern University.

Falkenbach was a 54-time DayTony Award winner, including 43 awards for lighting design and four for set design. One of my personal favorites was his beautiful lighting of Dayton Theatre Guild's intimate, imaginative production of "The Old Man and the Old Moon." His final credit was lighting Beavercreek Community Theatre's production of "The Gingerbread Lady," which was held Nov. 3-12.

"BCT is devastated at John's passing," said BCT President Doug Lloyd. "He was such a key member of what we call the BCT family. He was a director for us, appeared on stage, was our resident lighting designer, our OCTA representative, and on top of that, he was an amazing treasurer for our board that kept impeccable books for us. But above all, John was a wonderful friend to all with the biggest heart. He always had a smile and warm greeting. I'm not sure of anyone that knew John that didn't love him. It is not only a huge loss for us at BCT but the Dayton theatre community in general."

A gathering of family and friends will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1 at the Littleton & Rue Funeral Home in Springfield with services beginning at 7 p.m. A meal will follow services in The Landing at Littleton & Rue.