musical

Greensburg Musicals 

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By: Kerrick Shaw  

No seats have been left empty with musicals rolling through Greensburg stages left and right this Fall season. 

Evil Dead the Musical, Into the Woods and The Rocky Horror Show each drew full houses into their respective theatres this October and into November. 

Evil Dead the Musical was shown over three nights – Oct. 18, 19 and 20 – at the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center. Primarily following the plots of the first two Evil Dead movies, this official musical adaptation warps the classic horror into a campy comedy with showtunes and blood-covered audiences in over 500 productions across the globe. 

“I put this on for the first time in the back of a small bar in Toronto and thought there’d be seven performances,” Evil Dead the Musical book and lyrics writer George Reinblatt said. “All these years later, it being shown all over the world blows my mind. There has been a lot of lucky breaks for us over this process, I’m really fortunate.” 

The story follows five college students who unleash evil from within an abandoned cabin in the woods, turning them all into demons that Ash Williams, warehouse worker turned hero, must kill. The show is accompanied by elaborate sets, props and a blood splatter zone to take the audience through what Reinblatt considers a “crazy, fun ride.” 

 “The first time I saw it, I wasn’t expecting that level of intelligence and thoughtfulness in the construction of the whole thing,” English teacher Mrs. Mary Logan said. “If someone likes the movie, they have to see the musical. It’s fun, dark and hilarious all at the same time; it checks every box. Everything is so cleverly done.” 

Combining the fairy tales of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and several more, Into the Woods explores beyond the happily ever afters with stories from the lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Presented by The Seton Hill Department of Theatre & Dance, it was shown at the Ryan Theatre over one week late October and early November.  

“Into the Woods is an exploration of the characters and stories of well-known fairy tales,” Into the Woods director Mr. Joseph Domencic said. “It’s a world filled with people trying to move forward and do what’s right as they follow their dreams, caught between what they want and what may be best for their neighbor and the community.” 

Into the Woods set.

Photo By: Kerrick Shaw

This production encouraged the audience’s use of imagination, keeping set and wardrobe changes to a minimum and various props only being present through sound effects. Described as “funny” and “tragic” by Mr. Domencic, Into the Woods begins as a musical comedy and becomes a heartfelt music drama with the second act. 

“This is a classic Sondheim musical, a perfect initiation to arguably the most influential and iconic writer of musical theatre ever,” Domencic said. “It ultimately has a message of hope.” 

Westmoreland Performing Arts put on another year of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show for the weekend following Halloween, this year being the musical’s 50th anniversary of its US Premiere. Rocky Horror had both 8 p.m. and midnight showings for a total of four performances over two days at the Garden and Civic Center. 

“It’s a show I look forward to putting on every fall,” The Rocky Horror Show’s Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter, Cav O’Leary, said. “There is a comfort in returning to a role you know inside and out and can do in your sleep. All of the leads have done it together for three years in a row now, and this time felt like we finally settled into our characters and relationships with each other in a way that allowed us to trust ourselves more than before.” 

The Rocky Horror Show follows Brad and Janet, college students whose lives are tainted after encountering the mad scientist Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter and the wild cast of characters within his bizarre household.  

“The show was funny and iconic,” junior Veta Scherff said. “I had never seen it before, so I was definitely surprised by the storyline. My favorite part was the character Frank ‘N’ Furter; he was amazing and looked great too. It was such a cool experience.” 

More musicals are on the horizon for Greensburg with three January 2025 shows announced by WPA: Tink!, Peter Pan: a Musical Adventure and The Shadow of Peter Pan. Auditions are open to ages 13-18, 8-13 and 4-8 respectively.  

Seton Hill just held their auditions to all SHU students for their spring 2025 productions: Lysistrata, a modern translation of an ancient Greek comedy and Small Mouth Sounds following six people on a five-day silent retreat. 

GS’ 2025 musical auditions were held on Nov. 8 for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a show based around the story of Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis. The musical will be held in the auditorium next year from Feb. 28 through March 2. 

“Younger generations need the arts,” Domencic said. “I think the arts are central to being human. They recognize that the imagination isn’t just for kids, it is something sacred, something that we must respect. The arts are an avenue to truth and beauty.  They challenge us, make us laugh, heal us, inspire us, and ennoble our spirits.” 

GSHS Footloose Musical

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By Kerrick Shaw

Photo by: Kerrick Shaw

The cast and crew of Footloose are nearly prepared to hit the stage, break the rules and dance ‘till they can’t no more. 

The students involved are incredibly excited to present it in front of audiences. Junior Wesley Heverly, who last year played SpongeBob in GS’ The SpongeBob Musical, will be playing the lead role of Ren. 

“… we have the entire show blocked and choreographed,” Heverly said. “All we have to do now is put it all together and run through the whole thing a bunch of times and we’ll be set.” 

Blocking allows the Director to choreograph the show and take advantage of the space they have, mapping out each movement the actors make. 

This point in the musical making process is where a lot of the work goes in, from both the students and the staff.  

“… We have to add costumes, props, more set pieces, lighting, microphones and special effects,” Director and Producer Mrs. Sue Glowa said. “We’re finishing up adding all these components and bringing alive the magic of the show.” 

It will be accompanied by an orchestra of local professional musicians playing live each night. Mrs. Glowa said that the performances will be “amazing.” 

The cast and live music will bring a great deal to the show, but behind the scenes there is also the stage crew helping bring each scene to life. 

Photo by: Kerrick Shaw

“What I do on stage crew is help move the big set pieces to where they need to be for each scene,” junior Logan Lewis said. “Once we get everything taped where they’re needed to be, I get to do flies; the pieces that are controlled from the air. I’m excited to do those and just to see the finished project for this amazing show.” 

The students must work hard to act out each scene together, keeping in mind who is going to be where and what is about to happen.  

“It’s a super fun show to be working on with how super dance heavy it is,” Heverly said. “… SpongeBob was such an energetic character last year. With Ren, he is also really energetic from his love for dancing. It’s great, the characters fun to be.” 

Tickets are on sale now for Footloose, coming to the stage on March 1st and 2nd at 7 pm, as well as March 3rd at 2:30 pm. Tickets will also be available at the box office an hour and a half prior to each showtime.