Maureen Collins in Playhouse cabaret

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Playhouse will have a special fundraising event, “Maureen Collins and Friends,” Friday and Saturday in the theater’s Moyer Room, as part of the new cabaret series “Music in the Moyer.”

The event will feature Collins, the Playhouse veteran and Easy Street Productions co-founder, singing with a group of the area’s finest women vocalists. They are:

Mary Jo Maluso, who performs locally and regionally with her husband, Rick Blackson.

Janeen Williams, whose concert appearances with her brothers Eric and James McClellan have played to capacity crowds for more than 20 years.

Colleen Chance, a frequent Easy Street performer, Playhouse choreographer and creative director of Inspire Dance Center in McDonald.

Brandy Johanntges, a broadcast news producer whose recent Playhouse acting credits include “Cats,” “Bullets Over Broadway” and this July’s “Mamma Mia!” revival.

Up-and-coming Playhouse performers Sarah Jane Demetruk (“Young Frankenstein,” “Pippin”), Cortney McKay (“Mamma Mia!”) and Natalie Kovacs (“Women of Heart and Mind,” “Mamma Mia!) also will be included in the program.

This one-of-a-kind gathering of female talent will include show tunes and standards, with Collins acting as hostess, in the intimate Moyer Room setting. Seating is limited to 75 capacity.

Tickets are $30 per person. For reservations, call the Playhouse at 330-788-8739 or go to theyoungstownplayhouse.com.

The evening will include a pre-show mixer, with hors d’oeuvres Friday night provided by Rulli Bros., and desserts Saturday night courtesy of Jimmy’s Italian Specialties, as well as an open bar.

Both nights, the mixer begins at 6:30 p.m. with the performance starting at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds will benefit Youngstown Playhouse operating costs.

The Playhouse is off Glenwood Avenue.