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Theater initiative to showcase local talent
Alice T. Carter is the theater critic for the Tribune-Review. She can be reached via e-mail or 412-320-7808.
This year's show begins at 8 p.m. Saturday at Butler County Community College's Succop Theater in Butler. Ten schools from three counties will perform excerpts from musicals both contemporary and classic -- Pine-Richland ("Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"); Vincentian Academy ("Honk"); Big Beaver Falls ("Peter Pan"); Hampton ("Bye Bye Birdie"); Ambridge ("Big"); Quigley Catholic ("Guys & Dolls"); Karns City ("Damn Yankees"); St. Joseph, Natrona Heights ("Children of Eden"); Montour ("Working"); and Riverside, Ellwood City ("The Music Man").
The North Pittsburgh Musical Showcase was developed to give students and faculty from throughout the area the chance to experience each other's programs, spur interaction among schools and give young thespians the opportunity to perform for a new audience. "These kids work so hard for months to create these productions, and it's over after one or two weekends of performances," says Claudia Thies, event coordinator for the initiative. "We're happy to provide them with a new forum to express their talent."
Tickets are $8, $6 for students and senior citizens. Proceeds will benefit the initiative, which plans to turn Zelienople's old Strand Theater into a cultural, education and community outreach center.
Details: (724) 742-0400 or www.thestrandtheater.org.
Gene Kelly Awards sold out
Meanwhile, organizers for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera's Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musicals program report that tickets did not go on sale Monday as scheduled.
The event, scheduled for May 29 at the Benedum Center, Downtown, has already sold out through a priority-seating pre-sale to participating schools.
'Camping' at Apple Hill
The 2004 summer schedule at Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont includes a regional debut of a play with local interest.
"We're especially pleased to present 'Camping with Henry and Tom,' a play about a camping trip taken by Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and President Warren G. Harding," says executive producer Pat Beyer. "What's really interesting is that the camping trip actually took place here in Westmoreland County, on the site of (what is now) Westmoreland Mall." The play will run Aug. 5 through 21.
The season already is under way with the comedy "In One Bed and Out the Other," which runs through May 1.
Another regional debut included in Apple Hill's season plans is "Humble Boy" (June 10-26), a new work by Charlotte Jones, the winner of the 2001 London Critics Circle Award. This tightly woven comedy examines broken vows, failed hopes and the irony of looking for a unified field theory in all the wrong places.
Rounding out the schedule is "Beau Jest"(May 13-29) and "Out of Order" (Sept. 9-25,) as well as the Stephen Sondheim musical "Into the Woods" (July 8-24), a stage adaptation of Stephen King's novel-turned-movie "Misery" (Oct. 7-23) and the seasonal music revue "A Taffetas Christmas" (Nov. 26-Dec. 11).
Details: (724) 468-5050 or www.applehillplayhouse.org.
More Alice T. Carter headlines
- Sharing an experience requires a little sacrifice
- Give a gift that shares your interests
- Economics to blame for dearth of non-musical productions
- It's not enough to put on a show
- It's not summer, but it's time to think about internships
- Will audiences find abridged musicals more to their tastes?
- Theaters face the reality of ticket lines
- Honor Wilson by attending his plays, and those of other African-Americans
