
Community theater continues its robust presence in the region, with several shows opening this month, including:
Peter Pan’s backstory gets explored in the prequel “Peter and the Starcatcher,” opening later this month for a three-week run by the Lewiston Civic Theatre.
The Tony award-winning show teems with “magic, music, pirates, mermaids and a lot of imagination,” according to a Lewiston Civic Theatre news release.
The audience learns how Peter got his name and Captain Hook lost his hand in the adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s best-selling novel.
Children will enjoy the story, director Amanda Marzo said, “but it also transports adults into feeling like kids again.”
Sets and props constructed using found objects contribute to the production’s aura of whimsy, Marzo said, recalling the way children use materials at hand when they play make-believe.
“If you were going to put on the play ‘Peter Pan’ when you were a little kid, what would you use?” she said.
Civic theater volunteers collected items, many of them donated, to create bushes and trees (umbrellas), a ship on the ocean (ropes and fabric “waves”) and a mermaid grotto with a coral reef (coin rolls, ketchup packets, packaging peanuts and painted coffee filters).
The mermaid costumes, assembled by cast members during a work party, employ hand-crocheted bras made by members of a local fiber arts group, donated seashells and fans for fins.
“Every mermaid costume looks different,” Marzo said.
Performances are set for 7 p.m. March 22-23, 29-30 and April 5-6 with 2 p.m. matinees March 24 and 30 and April 7 in the old Lewiston High School auditorium on the Normal Hill Campus, 1114 Ninth Ave. Tickets, $12-$20, are available at lctheatre.org.
APOD Productions’ staging of the comedy “You Can’t Take It with You” opens Friday and runs through March 16 at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, 508 S. Main St., Moscow.
Shows are at 7 p.m. tonight and Friday and next Thursday through March 16 and 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and March 16.
The play, by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The story takes place in the home of an eccentric New York family, and this production features local actors of a variety of ages. A story about the show is in this month’s Golden Times senior publication, available online at issuu.com/lewistontribune and issuu.com/dailynews.
Tickets, $15-$20, are available at apodproductions.org/show-tickets and at the door.
Pullman High School’s production of the student edition of “Les Misérables” opens today at the school, 510 NW Greyhound Way, Pullman.
Performances are at 7 p.m. tonight through Saturday, next Thursday through March 16 and 2 p.m. Saturday and March 16.
The show, with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, tells the story of Jean Valjean, a former prisoner in 19th century France, who is pursued by the police inspector Javert throughout his lifelong struggle for redemption. It is rated PG for mild thematic effects.
Tickets, $10 for adults and $5 for students, are available at the door with cash or check.
Auditions for Troy Community Theatre’s summer show, “Oklahoma!,” are scheduled for later this month in the multipurpose room at Troy Junior/Senior High School, 101 Trojan Drive, Troy.
Singing and acting auditions are set for 5-9 p.m. March 22, with callbacks from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 23. Mover callbacks are from 6-7 p.m. March 29 with dancer callbacks from 7-9 p.m. the same day.
Auditions are open to those of all experience levels ages 10 to adult.
Rehearsals run from June 17 through July 23 at Troy High School; performances will be July 24-27 at the Troy City Park gazebo.
The show, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first musical, premiered in 1943 and remains one of the duo’s most well-known collaborations. Kenn Wheeler will direct this production, with choreography by Abigail Rebekah and music direction by Kaitlyn Atchison.
More information is at troycommunitytheatre.com/auditions.