Time, ticket price set for Westmoreland Night of the Stars musical revue

Shirley McMarlin, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
Updated ·2 min read

Apr. 18—The showtime and ticket price have been finalized for Westmoreland Night of the Stars, after the annual showcase of area high school musicals was in peril of being discontinued earlier this year.

The show will go on at 6:45 p.m. May 3 at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg. Tickets will be $20 each.

County schools scheduled to perform include Hempfield Area, Kiski Area, Greensburg Central Catholic, Burrell and Mt. Pleasant Area high schools; Greensburg Salem Middle School; and Westmoreland Performing Arts Home/Cyber School.

For the first time, an Allegheny County school will be represented, with Riverview High School in Allegheny County also on the bill, said producer Tony Marino.

When representatives of Riverview asked about participating, Marino said, "The discussion was that Night of the Stars takes place in Westmoreland County and features Westmoreland County schools, but would it be right to deny someone who's outside of the county, but close, and wants to take part?

"If your school doesn't have anything like this, and you'd like to come and perform at The Palace, here's the opportunity," he continued. "This is more of a celebration of high school theater than anything, and we'll probably look forward to doing more of this."

Each group will stage a 10-to-12-minute segment from its spring musical, Marino said. Several seniors from Apollo-Ridge High School in Armstrong County also will sing.

Night of the Stars founder John Noble will be the emcee.

Marino and his Westmoreland Performing Arts organization stepped in to produce Night of the Stars after Noble, 67, said he was retiring from the "labor of love" he founded in 1997. Noble's daughter, Ellie Carr, had intended to take over but, as the mother of two young sons, she didn't have time.

Over the years, Noble estimated he put in more than 4,800 volunteer hours preparing for and running the shows.

Marino said Barb Rolla, director and choreographer for Mt. Pleasant's musicals, has come on board to help organize the event. The Kiski Area stage crew also will be working backstage.

"It's a work in progress this year. It's totally new, but it's totally the same," Marino said. "As always, we continue to welcome people who would like to be part of the evening in any way."

Potential volunteers can contact Marino at 724-672-3322 or westmorelandperformingarts@gmail.com.

For Night of the Stars tickets, call 724-836-8000 or visit thepalacetheatre.org.

This story was updated April 19 to correct the start time of the show.

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .