Greensburg Civic Theatre welcomes audiences to live show to open 69th season
Greensburg Civic Theatre (GCT) is delighted the state has amended indoor event capacities to enable them to welcome an audience of 50 per show to its 69th season opener, John Cariani's "Almost, Maine," at Greensburg Garden & Civic Center, October 15-17. The show will also be livestreamed for those more comfortable viewing from home. Performances are 8 PM Thursday and Friday, October 15 and 16, and 2 PM Saturday, October 17. All attendees and GCT volunteers shall wear masks inside the building throughout the performance. Actors will remove masks when appearing on stage, and the first two rows of seating will not be utilized. Safety protocols including social distancing will be in place with hand sanitizer available in the lobby.
Cariani's play, under the direction of Jessica Zack of Uniontown, is unique in that it's a series of nine vignettes about love. As the NY Times wrote, "....with a touch of good-natured magic realism…witty, romantic, unsentimental. A beautifully structured play, with nifty surprise endings (most but not all of them happy).” The publishing company summarizes it: "Welcome to Almost, Maine, a place that’s so far north, it’s almost not in the United States. It’s almost in Canada. And it’s not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it almost doesn’t exist. One cold, clear, winter night, as the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost, Maine, find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night’s dream."
“Sweet, poignant, and witty. Nearly perfect. ALMOST, MAINE’s charm is real. [It] packs wit, earns its laughs and, like love, surprises you.” —NY Daily News.
The cast of five, each playing numerous roles, has been rehearsing since early September and includes Lara Daigle of Greensburg (Woman 2, Ginette, Sandrine, Shelly); Shannon Riley of Irwin (Waitress, Gayle, Marci, Rhonda); Erik Smith of Scottdale (East, Steve, Phil, Dave); Jordan Rodriguez of Carnegie (Glory, Marvalyn, Deena, Hope); and Stuart Ford of Greensburg (Pete, Jimmy, Lendall, Randy). Stage Manager is Vince D'Angelo of Oakmont. An audience of only 13 was expected prior to the recent amendment to indoor event capacities permitting 20% of occupancy instead of 25 people for venues up to 2,000 seats, counting for cast and crew as well.
Tickets for in-person attendance are available online at www.GGCCevents.org or by calling 724-836-8000, priced in advance at $16 for adults, $14 for seniors 55+, and $11 for students; tickets are $2 more at the door, subject to available due to capacity limits. Seating will be sold as General Admission to enable the box office to best place patrons in socially-distanced seating limited to 50 per show in the 320-seat auditorium. Greensburg Garden & Civic Center is located at 951 Old Salem Road, Greensburg PA.
Livestream tickets to view each performance on a laptop, computer, tablet or cell phone in real time are $10 (per device, which permits sharing) through www.ShowTix4U.com . Service charges apply to all advance in person and livestream tickets.
GCT is grateful for critical funding this season to The Pittsburgh Foundation's Covid-19 Emergency Action Fund and Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA Program Stream), with funding via Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.