The summer of 2015 promises a great deal of variety in its theatre offerings, from the ambitious production of “Les Miserables” to the hilarious comedy titled “Vonya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”
Three companies will be seeking to please every theatrical taste and preference in Happy Valley.
FUSE Productions is a company that combines the talents of local performers, Penn State students and faculty, and professionals from Broadway and other theatres. It will present the musical “Parade” from May 14 -16 at Penn State’s Downtown Theatre Center.
“FUSE” started at the State Theatre several years ago and has since moved into other venues. “The Downtown Theatre Center is perfect for ‘Parade,’” says Richard Biever, FUSE Artistic Director. Biever will direct the production with choreography by Jill Brighton and music direction by Sarah Hirsch.
“The show has been revised by its authors. It has a smaller cast than the original. It’s very powerful and really appealed to me,” says Biever. “It is a true story about Leo Frank, a Jewish man accused of murdering a girl in his company. So much of it is relevant today.”
Later in the summer, FUSE will offer a production of “Les Miserables” at Eisenhower Auditorium. It will be the last local production before the show goes on a national tour.
The State College Community Theatre (SCCT) group will continue its relationship with the Downtown Theatre Center offering up a production of the Christopher Durang play “Vonya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.” The comedy will run May 21-24.
“Dan Carter (Head of Penn State’s School of Theatre) and Travis DeCastro, (Head of Production for the Penn State School of Theatre) want to reach out to the community. They have been very supportive of our efforts,” states Bruce Fleischer, president of the SCCT.
“As we moved out of the Boal Barn and the State Theatre, we knew we had to find more venues for performances. We had to get financially straight from our relationship with the State Theatre. Our goals for this year are more financial than anything else.”
The SCCT 2015 season will include productions of the musical “Grease”at the State Theater, directed by Rachael Giger a Penn State School of Law student; “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” the great American classic by Tennessee Williams; and “Gypsy” a Golden Age musical at the State Theatre.
With the SCCT leaving the Boal Barn Playhouse, the new Nittany Theatre at the Barn stepped into the breach to keep the famous playhouse open.
David Saxe has been the driving force behind the move to keep the Barn doors open.
According to the company’s website, they plan to merge good old-fashioned summer stock theatre with state-of-the-art-technology.
With the SCCT looking to offer shows on a year-round basis, Nittany Theatre at the Barn saw an opportunity to keep the Barn open in the summer.
This summer, the NT will present a full slate of musicals and end with a world premiere of a 50’s era comedy.
The season includes “Always Patsy Cline,” May 7-May 30; “Forever Plaid” and “The Taffetas” June 4-June 27; “1776”, July 2 through July 25; “Betty Crocker, Kinsey, and Rock n Roll,” July 30-Aug. 15; and “The Addams Family,” Aug. 27- Sept. 19.
