Arts & Entertainment

Area Students Ready for 'Zombie Prom'

Students from around the South Hills are putting on a play this week at the Mt. Lebanon Fine Arts Theater.

Students from all over the South Hills are gathering this week to put on an unusual play that can only be described as "Grease" meets "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

The Center for Theater Arts, which is based in Castle Shannon, is kicking off its annual play Tuesday night with a show of “Zombie Prom.” Nearly 50 students from , , Mt. Lebanon, , South Fayette and will perform the play throughout the week.

“They’ve had a blast and they’re ready to take it to the stage,” said Billy Hartung, who is directing the play and the center’s executive director.

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The play is a 1950s sci-fi musical in which a boy from the wrong side of the tracks is turned down by the girl of his dream. He throws himself into a nuclear power plant and strangely returns as a zombie. Hartung said the kids are excited “to tackle a musical they’ve never seen” and he thinks the audience will like the G-rated show.

“I’ve been able to guide them as the director in an environment that takes great risks to create this comedy,” Hartung said. “They’ve been laughing for five months.”

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He pointed to the work of a former Chartiers Valley student who “found a passion” in acting at the center. Mark Pintea, who lives in Bridgeville and now goes to the Lincoln Park Performing Arts School in Beaver County, plays one of the starring rolls as a newspaper reporter.

“The center was a place where he found a passion, but also found things that are important to him and how he fits in,” Hartung said. “You can have a million friends in show business because everyone is working together to do something great and he loves that experience.”

Hartung said they did some afterschool work with a few and discovered Pintea and his hidden talents.

“Mark’s a pretty special kid,” he said. “But no one there knew the guy we released. These theater classes discovered something in him beyond just a voice.”

The play at Mt. Lebanon High School’s Fine Arts Theater can be seen Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with a special 2 p.m. matinee performance on Saturday. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by calling 412-563-5080 or going to www.centerfortheaterarts.org.

The center, which is located at 250 Mt. Lebanon Blvd. in Castle Shannon, serves about 450 families a week through performing arts, singing, acting, musical theater and dance.

This article first appeared on Chartiers Valley Patch.


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