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Playhouse to mark 90th anniversary with musical revue
YOUNGSTOWN PLAYHOUSE’S 90TH ANNIVERSARY MUSICAL REVUE
THEY DID IT FOR LOVE
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Joe Scarvell was there for the Youngstown Playhouse’s final show at its old location on Market Street, and its first show at its present site.
It was the fall of 1958 and Scarvell, then in his 20s and a school teacher, got his first taste of acting in the Playhouse’s production of “A Visit to a Small Planet.”
He liked it so much that he returned a few months later for the first show, a revue, at the then-new theater on Glenwood Avenue. More than a half-century later, Scarvell is still involved at the Playhouse, where he has been part of about 75 shows.
His is just one story of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of people whose lives have been linked to the venerable community theater.
The Youngstown Playhouse is now in its 90th anniversary season, and to mark the milestone, it will stage a special gala show this weekend titled “What We Did for Love.” Scarvell will join dozens of returning Playhouse alumni, as well as many current actors, in the show.
“What We Did for Love” is a musical revue, compiled by Playhouse director Bernie Appugliese and music director Matthew White. It will feature more than 20 numbers from many of the greatest musicals staged by the theater in its long history. Performances will be Friday and Saturday.
“It’s an evening of songs from shows that we have done in the past that were either milestones or big successes for us,” said Appugliese. “Some [numbers] will include the people who were originally in them. We have several performers coming back from the ’50s, when we were on Market Street, and others from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. We also have people who are making their mark here now.”
Some of the shows that will be sampled in the revue include “Chicago,” “A Chorus Line,” “Guys and Dolls” and “Dreamgirls.” There also will be a medley of show tunes toward the end of the revue.
As its name implies, “What We Did for Love” represents the labor of love of the theater’s performers.
Appugliese explained how it was assembled.
“What Matt and I did first was look for a structure,” he said. “You are not seeing a story, but there is a thread of tradition going through it. It is songs about show business and performance, a tribute to the performers. That’s why we called it ‘What We Did for Love.’ Then we found the songs and reached out to the people who did them here. Everybody in this show has a history here, some that are long and some short.”
The list of returning alumni includes many who went on to have long professional stage careers.
A couple of numbers in the revue will include dancers and choreography by Ballet Western Reserve. “There was a time when the ballet and the Playhouse would collaborate once or twice a year on a musical,” said Appugliese.
“What We Did for Love” will begin with an introduction that includes a brief history of the Playhouse by Scarvell.
Other actors will introduce segments of the show. For example, Lynn Nelson Rafferty, who began at the theater in the ’50s, will introduce a segment on the women of the Playhouse, while John Cox and Eugene DiCaprio will introduce a segment on the men.
The show will include a six-piece musical ensemble led by White.