STERLING — The Sterling Community Theatre Troupe promises a summer filled with music, nostalgia, laughs, and a little drama as they prepare to present not one or two but three summer musicals. The first will be presented in June, the second in July, and the last in August.
For most of the last 40 years now, the Sterling Community Theatre Troupe has presented a summer musical in conjunction with Sterling’s Old Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration. This year they are expanding to add a show in June and the last in August as school starts.
Forever Plaid
The whole idea of doing three musicals this summer came up when four Sterling College Theatre students approached the Troupe to present the show “Forever Plaid” this summer. “They were eager to do that show but we still wanted to do something more community based for the Fourth,” said troupe director Dennis Dutton. “Once ‘Plaid’ was set for Father’s Day Weekend, and we had our Fourth of July show, it wasn’t a huge stretch to offer a final summer show in August as school starts,” he said.
First up will be the nostalgic musical revue “Forever Plaid.” The show follows a quartet of harmonizing male singers from the 1950s who met their untimely demise in a collision with a bus full of Catholic schoolgirls. In the show they are reunited on earth to create the one perfect performance they never had. Featuring 1950s pop music standards like “Three Coins in a Fountain” and “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing,” “Forever Plaid” mixes lush four-part harmony with great comedy for a show that has proven popular with audiences of all ages for over 30 years. The Sterling production will be staged June 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 16.
Gypsy
This year’s July 4th show is the Broadway classic “Gypsy” which will be presented July 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. and on July 7 at 2 p.m. With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents, “Gypsy” is considered by many to be the perfect musical. It is loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee the famous burlesque entertainer. The show focuses on her ambitious mother, Rose, as she pushes her daughters into show business during the vaudeville era.
The Sterling production will feature a multi-generational cast with grade school, high school, and college students along with community members. The show includes memorable songs like “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Let Me Entertain You,” and “Some People.”
Pet ‘n’ Keely
The final show of the summer will be the unique “Pete ‘n’ Keely,” a musical comedy that takes audiences on a nostalgic journey back to the 1960s. The show tells the story of Pete Bartel and Keely Stevens, a once-famous singing duo whose careers and romance hit a sour note, leading to their breakup years earlier. However, they are reunited for a live television special, reigniting old sparks and rekindling their complicated relationship. The duo performs a series of beloved standards from the 1950s and 1960s, ranging from lively show tunes to tender ballads. The show will be presented in August when school starts.
Details and ticket information will be released later.
