A & E

While it might look like they have achieved the American dream of the 1950s, in reality, the couple's picture-perfect suburban life is a tense and empty parallel existence.

The characters confront themselves and each other onstage Friday and Saturday at the Geyer Performing Arts Center, in Scottdale, when the Greensburg American Opera presents "Trouble in Tahiti," Leonard Bernstein's satire on a decade when life was supposed to be swell.

Although there are hilarious scenes and sad moments, this show is neither a comedy nor a drama.

"It's about a couple struggling to rediscover their love for each other, and there's a variety of moods and feelings throughout the opera," said Christina Farrell, founding director of the Greensburg American Opera.

Dinah longs for a quiet place and consults a psychiatrist to try to understand her unrest.

"She's a very likable character, and she's frustrated because her marriage is falling apart," said Eva Rainforth, of Pittsburgh, who plays Dinah. "She doesn't know how it happened, and she's a little sad and frustrated, and sort of desperate and wanting to save the marriage."

Rainforth worked in children's opera theater in New York City and is with the Mendelssohn Choir in Pittsburgh. Tom Octave, of Greensburg, is cast as her husband who is caught up in playing handball.

"Tom is a very likable guy, so I knew he could play this role and not have the audience turn away from the character," Farrell said.

Octave is director of music ministry at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, in Greensburg. He has performed with the Fort Worth (Texas) Opera, the Segal Music Colony in New York, the St. Vincent Camarata and the Westmoreland Symphony.

The plot of "Tahiti" is interjected by an ever-smiling trio that sings radio-show jingles that comment on life in the suburbs. Those performers are Bridget Steele, of Monroeville, and Robert Frankenberry, of Lawrenceville, who are both Act One soloists; and Scott Dix, Farrell's husband who has been in several local musicals.

Frankenberry has a master's degree in opera from Carnegie Mellon University, where he met Farrell and accompanied her on her senior recital. He has performed with the Pittsburgh Opera, and recently in Chicago and New York City.

Steele studied opera in Italy, is in the chorus of Pittsburgh Opera Company and does educational programs for its artistic department.

"The Greensburg American Opera is the first sort of community opera company that the Pittsburgh area has seen, and I was really impressed with the voices when I came to my first rehearsal," Steele said.

The fledgling opera company made its debut in May at the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center, and is in residence this season at The Geyer Performing Arts Center, formerly the Scottdale Showtime Theatre.

"I'm excited about being there, because it was originally built as an opera house," said Farrell, of Greensburg. "It seats a little more than 300, and there's a balcony and an orchestra pit, so it's small enough to be close to the audience and there's enough grandeur to make you feel like you are in an opera house."

"Trouble in Tahiti" is not a Brunhilde-style performance with a heavy plot in a foreign language. American opera is lighter and in English, and this weekend's performance is by a popular American composer.

As a tribute to Bernstein, Act One will feature a cabaret of his most beloved songs including from "West Side Story," "On the Town" and "Candide." Act Two, "Trouble in Tahiti," has music in a number of Bernstein's styles.

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