Ƶ University Theatre Presents “Head Over Heels” February 24 to March 5, 2022
The Ƶ University Theatre and Dance Program will present “Head Over Heels,” book by Jeff Whitty, music and lyrics by The Go-Go’s and script adaptation by James Magruder, Feb. 24 to March 5, 2022 in the William Granger Ryan Theatre, Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, Pa. Tickets are $15, with student and group rates available. Call the Ƶ Performing Arts Center Box Office for tickets at 724-552-2929 or purchase tickets “Head Over Heels” is produced by special arrangement with
As part of its COVID-19 risk mitigation efforts, the Ƶ University Performing Arts Center requires all guests to wear masks at performances, regardless of vaccination status.
Performances: February 24, 25, 26 and March 3, 4 and 5: 8 p.m.; February 27 and March 5: 2 p.m.
This musical spin-off of Sir Philip Sidney’s The Duchess of Pembroke’s Arcadia will have audiences rolling in the aisles - to the tunes of the Go-Go’s! It’s one rollicking romance. But seriously, the royal family of Arcadia must, by all means, get and keep "The Beat."
The Ƶ student cast of “Head Over Heels” includes Delaney Bortz of Delmont, Pa.; Connery Brown of Aliquippa, Pa.; Veronica Buell of Duxbury, Mass.; Mya Clay of McDonald, Pa.;Todd Griffin of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Kenzie Hartnett of Bridgeville, Pa.; Alexandra Hellinger of Allison Park, Pa.; Logan Brooke Hensell of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Michaela Isenberg of Bethel Park, Pa.; Diante Jackson of Greensburg, Pa.; Carolyn Jerz of Greensburg, Pa.; Ryan Deshyla Jordan of Liberty Township, Ohio; Mila Liberto of New Kensington, Pa.; Kate McCarty of Butler, Pa.; Gabriella Oxley of Molendinar, Australia; Abigail Rocks of New Salem, Pa.; Corisa Saitta of Bethel Park, Pa.; Samantha Sheldon of Catonsville, MD; Daniel Velasquez of Summerhill, Pa.; and Penelope Zamborsky of Homestead, Pa.
The band for the Ƶ production of “Head Over Heels” includes Joseph Domencic, Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance, Keyboard I and Conductor; Michelle Walters, Director of Community relations in the School of Visual and Performing Arts, Keyboard Bass; student Lindsey Lamagna of Murrysville, Pa., Drums; student David Hilderhoff of Greensburg, Pa., Guitar I, and December 2021 graduate Justin Anderson, Guitar II.
The Ƶ student technical staff includes Abigail George of Gibsonia, Pa., stage manager; Rowan Mentzer of Greenville, Pa., assistant stage manager; Madison Buckley of Westlake, Ohio, assistant stage manager and electrician; Christopher Brown of Forestville, MD, deck/run crew and scene shop and production crew; Melanie Frye of Greensburg, Pa., dresser; MaKayla Morocco of Rockwood, Pa., dresser; Sage Sneith of Scenery Hill, Pa., dresser; Channing Griffin of Munhall, Pa., lightboard operator; Catherine Balaban of North Huntingdon, Pa., electrician; Corisa Saitta of Bethel Park, Pa., electrician; Tess Stiffler of Penfield, NY, electrician and scenic paint and props production crew; Anna Wilson of Latrobe, Pa., electrician; Hadassah Cowen of Pittsburgh, Pa., costume shop crew; Julianna Eyer of Pittsburgh, Pa., costume shop crew; Alexandra Hellinger of Allison Park, Pa., costume shop crew; Kayla McCargo of North Brunswick, NJ, costume shop crew; Penelope Zamborsky of Homestead, Pa., costume shop crew; Devon Young of Pittsburgh, Pa., scene shop and production crew; Tara Dougherty of Jefferson Hills, Pa., scene shop and production crew; Isabel Papariella of Pittsburgh, Pa., scene shop and production crew; Julia Wingard of Pittsburgh, Pa., scene shop and production crew; Gabriella Oxley of Molendinar, Australia, scene shop and production crew; Tanner Maue of Swissvale, Pa., scene shop and production crew; Mya Clay of McDonald, Pa., scene shop and production crew; Gabriel M. List of Irwin, Pa, scenic paint and props production crew; Taylor Humenay of Clearfield, Pa., scenic paint and props production crew; McKenzie Myers of Pittsburgh, Pa., scenic paint and props production crew; and Minami Matsuhisa of Nagoya, Japan, scenic paint and props production crew.
The Ƶ University production of “Head Over Heels” is directed by Kellee Van Aken, Dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts and Associate Professor of Theatre. Her Ƶ directing credits include Letters to Sala, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Little Night Music, Urinetown, Salvation Road, Running in Traffic by Denise Pullen (world premiere), Cabaret, Macbeth, Kindertransport, Life is a Dream. Other directing credits include Mercy Train (Microscopic Opera), Rachel Carson Saves the Day! (Shakespeare in the Schools), Tammy Ryan’s Lost Boy Found at Whole Foods (reading), Phantasmagorilla (premiere) Opera Theater Pittsburgh, The Pirate Queen, Timeout with Didi and Rose!, autodelete (readings City Theatre Momentum). With visual artist and puppet maker Cheryl Capezzuti she has created and directed over half a dozen performances including Random Teleology, Songs from a Lost Civilization(Lovelace Puppet Festival), Mismatched Pair (Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Women’s Work Festival, Penn State Arts Festival, Black Sheep Puppet Festival), the musical Colorfast, with composer Douglas Levine, Night Flight, and Stuff (all for Pittsburgh International Children’s Theatre Festival. ) She worked for eight years as City Theatre’s Artistic Associate under Marc Masterson and Tracy Brigden. Kellee works as an audio describer for the visually impaired and describes for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, City Theatre, J-Film, and Pittsburgh CLO. She has her Ph.D. in Theatre History and Performance Studies from the University of Pittsburgh.
Professional artistic staff for the production includes Dwight Brown of Good Sounds, LLC, sound design, sound board operator, microphone technician; Ken Clothier, Assistant Professor of Theatre, lighting design and master electrician; Joseph Domencic, Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance, music director; Karen Glass, Assistant Professor of Theatre, set design, charge scenic artist and properties manager; Lisa Leibering, assistant professor of theatre, costume design and costume director; Elaine Montgomery, costume shop manager; Joe Nickel, Adjunct Instructor of Theatre and Dance, choreography; Michael Petyak, fight choreographer; Amanda Roberts, costume first hand; Denise Pullen, associate professor of theatre, artistic director; Michelle Walters, Director of Community relations in the School of Visual and Performing Arts, associate music director, and Caila Yates, technical director, production manager and COVID-19 compliance officer.
Venue Information: All Ƶ Theatre performances are held in the William Granger Ryan Theatre in Ƶ’s Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Avenue, Greensburg, Pa. The Performing Arts Center is a fully accessible and climate-controlled facility. Parking is available in four nearby Greensburg parking areas: the Bell Parking Garage on North Otterman Street (across the street from the Performing Arts Center), the Hellman-Ghrist lot on North Main Street, the Albert Grillo lot on Ƶ Drive and the Wib Albright lot off West Otterman Street. Ticket Information: Single admission tickets are $15. Ƶ students (with valid ID) can purchase tickets for $5. Non-Ƶ students (with a valid school ID) can purchase advance tickets for $13. Students from any school can purchase rush tickets five minutes before curtain, subject to availability, for $5 (with valid school ID). Groups of six or more can purchase tickets at a rate of $11 each with a reservation and advance payment. Order tickets by phone at 724-552-2929, or by mail at SHUPAC Box Office, Ƶ University, 1 Ƶ Drive, Greensburg, Pa. 15601-1599. Box Office Hours are Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. and three hours before a performance.
Ƶ University’s Performing Arts Center is 73,000 square feet of everything a performing arts major needs to move from student to professional. The Center houses two dedicated, flexible performance spaces, the Carol Ann Reichgut Concert Hall and the William Granger Ryan Theatre. The Center also includes a performance studio, new classrooms, rehearsal rooms and technical areas that include the best equipment for learning and performing, from Steinway pianos to the latest in lighting, sound, video and acoustics. The Center is located in downtown Greensburg, putting it squarely in the middle of the city’s cultural district yet still only minutes from Ƶ’s main hilltop campus.
The Ƶ University Theatre and Dance Program has a long history of educating performing arts majors for professional careers while playing a vital role in the educational life of the campus. Ƶ’s Theatre and Dance Program offers five full-length productions (as well as a number of shorter works) each year that generate audiences of over 3,500 and speak to topics addressed in courses across Ƶ’s curriculum. For more information on the Theatre Program at Ƶ, please call 724-552-2934.
PHOTO: Diante Jackson, Kate McCarty, Alexandra Hellinger and Abigail Rocks in the Ƶ University Theatre production of "Head Over Heels."
