Trumbull senior group has a love for the stage

By REBECCA SLOAN

entertainment@vindy.com

Forget the rocking chairs on the front porch. Members of the Trumbull Senior Production Company do their rockin’ and rollin’ under the bright lights of the stage.

This vivacious group of 50-and-over singers, actors and dancers will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Raidel Auditorium at Lakeview High School in Cortland.

TSPC Vice President Carol Bovee said the upcoming event, which is titled “On With The Show,” features an eclectic mix with something to please everyone.

“There’s truly a little bit of everything — we open with a patriotic number in honor of Sept. 11 and close with a dance routine to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller,’” she said.

TSPC’s mission is to enrich the lives and health of people over 50 through performances and participation in annual musical productions.

TSPC performs mini shows throughout the year, but this is the group’s much-anticipated main event that will last about two hours and 45 minutes.

Bovee hopes for a large turnout at the 840-seat auditorium and said thus far the public has been very enthusiastic in its response to TSPC.

“What makes our group so special is that we are all over 50 and we’ve all been entertaining for years,” Bovee said, adding, “We are multitalented locals and have so much love and excitement for what we do.”

Bovee, for example, has been singing all of her life and is the daughter of a nightclub singer. She manages the group’s singers and also is in charge of public relations.

TSPC consists of about 60 Mahoning Valley residents and was formed more than a year ago.

The group was previously affiliated with SCOPE.

“Our president, Jason Burgermyer, produced for the Warren SCOPE Follies for 19 years, but then ventured out on his own. Several of us decided to form a new group under his direction,” Bovee explained.

Burgermyer, 49, got involved with SCOPE after helping direct a production his grandparents starred in.

He has 25 years experience in theater, dance and choreography and received a 2007 Valley Legacy Award.

When Burgermyer isn’t busy presiding over TSPC, he works at Trumbull Memorial Hospital as a Unit Tech in Mental Health, a job he’s held for more than 30 years.

Bovee, who is 67 and works in Girard as a nail technician, said the members of TSPC treat one another like family.

“All year long we act as a family,” she said. “We love working together and doing what we enjoy. In addition to our roles on stage, we make all of our own costumes and backgrounds as well.”

The group members spend a lot of time at their new studio at 3323 Parkman Road in Warren.

Working together and entertaining together apparently helps with the zest for living. The oldest member of TSPC is 89 and will dance and act in this weekend’s show.

“We have another very active member who is 83,” Bovee said. “Doing what we love keeps us young.”