PERFORMANCE DATES
Friday, August 10 @ 8pm
Saturday, August 11 @ 8pm

Cast

RACHEL VOLPE Cathy

MICHAEL MCCLURE Jamie

Production Staff

JENNIFER DECOSTE Director, Vocal Director

TOM COY Assistant Director, Stage Manager

ERIC FOOSE Instrumental Music Director

JAMES E. GATEHOUSE Make-up Design

STEVEN C. HELSEL Set Design

CHASE FIORE Light Board Operator

JENELLE LOCKARD Props, Set Décor, Assistant Stage Manager

BRIAN MCCONNELL Sound Design

JULIE PIOTTI Costume Design

MOLLY RIVA Board Liaison

MAURA TRIMBLE Lighting Design

KAREN VOLPE Production Manager

 

The Last Five Years

"LAST 5 YEARS" MOVED TO MISHLER...

In live theatre, unexpected happenings can take us by surprise at any moment, and just such an occurrence took place a few days ago regarding this week's Dinner Theatre production of THE LAST 5 YEARS.

On Friday, one day before we were to load-in our production into the Paul R. & Margery Wolf Kuhn Theatre at Penn State Altoona, we were notified by the college that a safety inspection of the stage rigging at the playhouse had revealed a potentially dangerous situation and a decision had been made to prohibit all use of the stage area behind the curtain for the next 30 days pending further assessment and correction.

This, naturally, threw quite a big monkey into our production plans. But fortunately, we were able to move the show into our home venue, the Mishler Theatre, where we will proceed with performances at 8 p.m. this Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11. Unfortunately, moving the pre-show dinner to a new location convenient to the Mishler proved problematic so "“ after discussing a couple of different scenarios which we felt ultimately were unsatisfactory -- we have canceled plans to serve dinner as part of the evening.

ACT will be making phone calls to all patrons who have purchased tickets for THE LAST 5 YEARS to notify them of the new location and issuing refunds to those who had purchased the dinner option. We also will be making an announcement of the change in venue through the local media during the week, and will station someone outside the Penn State theatre Friday and Saturday to re-direct anyone who happens to show up there.

Please help us spread the word to anyone you know who may have been planning to attend so they don't show up at the wrong location. While unfortunate, we certainly understand Penn State Altoona's decision to close the stage responsibly on the side of safety, especially in light of recent unexpected, catastrophic mishaps elsewhere in the country. We hope Penn State is able to resolve the situation without too much disruption to their upcoming schedule at the college.

And while you're at it, help us spread the word to anyone else you know who you think might enjoy the show. THE LAST 5 YEARS really is a great musical that hasn't been produced in this area before, with an excellent contemporary score. But many people have never heard of it, so we've been trying to emphasize what a unique, little-known gem it is. Besides, we have two truly impressive young performers in Rachel Volpe and Mike McClure plus a great six-piece onstage instrumental ensemble backing them up, so we want to make sure they have an audience to enjoy them. Break-a-leg to Director Jennifer de Coste, Assistant Director and Stage Manager Tom Coy and everyone else involved in the production -- because of the changeover, this final week has become a little crazy, but we're sure everything will be in fine form by Friday.

Tickets for THE LAST 5 YEARS, which contains some mature language, are $15 each and can be purchased at the ACT office by calling (814) 943-4357 or at the theatre prior to the performances Friday and Saturday. Seating is General Admission and the doors to the theatre will open at 7:30 p.m. And yes, the Mishler probably will be a bit warm, now that we're experiencing an extended period of high temperatures and high humidity, so casual summer attire is suggested!

By the way ... a special "Break a Leg" to Tom Coy who will be departing Altoona and ACT this Sunday immediately after finishing his duties with THE LAST 5 YEARS, to begin a new job at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI, on Monday. Tom has been a vital member of ACT's Artistic Committee this past year (recently assuming chairmanship) as well as a dedicated crew worker backstage, performer onstage and a valued connection at Penn State Altoona. We hate to see you go, but are pleased, indeed, you were able to postpone your start date so you could finish working on this weekend's show and wish you all the best on your new endeavor.