Mountain Playhouse still looking for a home in Somerset County, but the show must go on

JOHNSTOWN — The Mountain Playhouse 2024 productions will again be presented at the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center in Richland Township on the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown campus.

There is still an active search, however, for a theater home by the nonprofit to move back into Somerset County, where it began and existed for more than 80 years.

“We are getting closer to re-establishing our home in Somerset County in the heart of the Laurel Highlands," said the Rev. Joseph Beer, chairman of the board of directors of the Mountain Playhouse.

"The stars are not aligned just yet, but we are very hopeful. When and if it is a successful effort, it will take at least another season at UPJ before productions can resume in Somerset County," he said.

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The Mountain Playhouse productions have been on the UPJ campus since 2022. Before 2020, the playhouse held theatrical shows in Jennerstown, Somerset County, starting in 1939 after its founding by James Stoughton.

In 1987, Teresa Stoughton Marafino took over as producer and initiated the playhouse's transition into a nonprofit arts organization. Ticket sales make up approximately 60% of the playhouse's budget.

In 2020, the nonprofit, helmed by Executive Director Patty Carnevali, attempted to purchase the original playhouse property and gristmill theater from Oak Leaf Lane LLC, but an agreement could not be reached.

The productions

Meanwhile this year's season begins with a musical tribute to Johnny Cash, "Ring of Fire," followed by a comedy, "The Play That Goes Wrong" and a family musical, "A Year with Frog and Toad."

"This year we are swinging for the fences,” said producer Joseph Domencic. “It’s an ambitious season for us, but one that we believe will be unforgettable."

The season begins May 15 with the roof-raising, hand-clapping, toe-tapping tribute to Johnny Cash. "Ring of Fire," was conceived by William Meade, created by Richard Maltby Jr. and directed by Larry Tobias, who also stars in the production.

The musical contains 38 of Johnny Cash's songs, including "Country Boy," "A Thing Called Love," "Five Feet High and Rising," "Daddy Sang Bass," "I Walk the Line," "I've Been Everywhere," "The Man in Black," "Hurt," and of course, "Ring of Fire."

The show delves into Johnny Cash's life and his music. "But it's not only his story. Many see themselves in the ages-of-man path from green country-boy idealism through the sloughs of a hard-living musician's disillusionment and on up to the mountains of spiritual redemption," according to Judith Crookston, the playhouse committee vice chair, in a press release.

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"The Play That Goes Wrong," is the area’s professional premiere of the smash Broadway hit. "Imagine the curtain going up on a play that is doomed from the very start. It’s non-stop silliness as anything that can go wrong does," she wrote.

It’s the opening night of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s newest production, "The Murder at Haversham Manor," the1920s whodunit that has everything never wanted in a Broadway show – a ramshackle set, a leading lady with a concussion and a corpse that can’t play dead. Directed by Mountain Playhouse veteran Chan Harris, "The Play That Goes Wrong," a classic murder mystery, opens on June 13.

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"A Year with Frog and Toad," the whimsical family musical for audiences of every age, with a jazzy, upbeat score brings the beloved Arnold Lobel books to the stage in another Mountain Playhouse premiere. This three-time Tony-nominated musical is a delightful, heartwarming tale of friendship for the young and young at heart. Directed and choreographed by Jake Emmerling, shows are May 29-June 2.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting mountainplayhouse.org or by calling the box office at 814-629-9220. There are evening performances as well as matinees, and discounts for students and groups available.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Mountain Playhouse looking for Somerset site, but the show must go on