‘Smokey Hollow’ play begins to rise
“Smokey Hollow,” a new play set in 1890 Youngstown that was written by Boardman native Rob Zellers, will take its first step toward being produced when it gets a staged reading next month.
The play takes place in the teeming ghetto that was Youngstown’s Smoky Hollow neighborhood. It focuses on a 20-year-old Polish immigrant named Frank and an older freed slave named Jacob who share a room in a run-down tenement. The two fend for each other while planning their escape to a better life.
Today, of course, Smoky Hollow is a much different place. It’s mostly empty with a lot of grass and wide-open spaces. But it also has some new life, thanks to Youngstown State University’s construction of apartments, a parklet and a softball field. The most famous resident of the tiny neighborhood, of course, remains the MVR restaurant.
The reading will be Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Playhouse’s Rauh Theater, 222 Craft Ave., in that city’s Oakland section. A cast of seven actors will read the lines before an audience. For information, go to pittsburghplayhouse.com.
Zellers had been on the staff of the Pittsburgh Public Theater for many years, but recently left in order to give his full attention to his play writing. He’s hoping that “Smokey Hollow” gains the attention of a theater and gets a full-blown production.
All of Zellers’ plays are set in Youngstown, including his most famous, “Harry’s Friendly Service,” which takes place in a gas station in downtown Youngstown as the steel mills are beginning to close. The Pittsburgh Public Theater produced “Harry’s” in 2009.
“I am sticking to my feelings that this is my calling – chronicling 120-plus years of history of this region,” Zellers told me during an earlier interview.
Another theme that runs through all of Zellers’ work is the loss of the middle class, usually during a time when drastic changes are underway.
CATCH A GLIMPSE OF CITY CIRCA 1981 IN MOVIE ON TMC
Speaking of Youngstown history, a little-known movie that was partially shot here will get a rare television screening early Sunday morning.
“All the Marbles,” a 1981 comedy-drama starring Peter Falk, includes some scenes in old Idora Park and elsewhere around the town, including the steel mills. It will air in the ungodly time slot of 4 a.m. on TMC.
The movie is about the trials and travails of a female wrestling tag team and their manager. Pittsburgh Steelers hall of famer “Mean” Joe Greene plays himself.
JIM FRANK AT VEGAS CASINO
Jim Frank, one of the Mahoning Valley’s busiest musicians and leader of the Jim Frank Trio (and Duo), recently returned from Las Vegas where he performed at the Venetian Hotel and Casino on the Strip. Frank played Italian music on his accordion for guests as they arrived at the hotel to check in.
The Venetian, of course, has an Italian theme and a very real recreation of a Venice canal scene.
Frank will be at the Fractured Grape Winery in New Wilmington, Pa., on Friday evening.
CHARDON POLKA BAND ALBUM
The Chardon Polka Band’s reality-TV series “Polka Kings” on the Reelz network premiered in April and quickly got the ax. But while the show was a flop, the band – which likes to give pop music an infectious polka twist – is more active than ever. It played close to 200 shows this year.
This weekend, the CPB will release a new CD featuring some polka-fied renditions of Christmas tunes. Go to chardonpolkaband.com. The CPB will perform at the Magic Tree in Boardman on Dec. 10.