Entertainment

May 23, 2006 Last Updated: May 23, 2006 01:53 PM Special Sections

Theater & movie events this summer

Here are some of the scheduled theater and movie events occurring this summer:

Movies in the Park will be shown for free on Mondays from July 10 to Aug. 7 at the Masonic Shelter just outside the pool at Alameda Park.The movies will start at 8:30 p.m., or whenever it gets dark enough.For more information, call 724-284-5383.

ALAMEDA PARKFree concerts will be presented by the Butler County Parks and Recreation Department.All concerts begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Carousel Shelter at Alameda Park.Scheduled acts include:• Air National Guard of the Mid-Atlantic, July 6• Beckers Brew, July 18• Waldo Young the One-Man Band, July 25• Crossfire, Aug. 1• Jim and Chuck's Acoustic Duo, Aug. 8• Street Level, Aug. 15.

The Butler County Symphony hosts Concerts to Munch By on Wednesdays in the summer.Here is the list to date of the scheduled concerts. There will not be a concert July 5. Performers are still to be named for July 12 and 19 and Aug. 9 and 16.• Unit 7, a Jazz combo, June 7• Erin Black, piano, June 14• Brooks Decker, tenor, June 21• Eliot Roth, piano and vocals, June 28• Bob Ficca and Friends, July 26• Beethoven Septet, members of the Butler County Symphony Orchestra, Aug. 2• Bryan Helsel, piano, Aug. 23.The free concerts take place from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. in the symphony office building, 259 S. Main St. Bag lunches are available on site for $3, or patrons can take their own.The music is broadcast into Diamond Park also.For more information, call 724-283-1402.

Cranberry Township's Parks and Recreation Department hosts Thursdays in the Park, a summer concert series, beginning June 15.On seven Thursdays, the evening will begin at 7 p.m. at the Rotary Amphitheatre lawn in Community Park, 115 Park Road just off Route 19.Those attending should take lawn chairs or blankets to site on. Admission is free.The schedule is:• Ambridge Steel Drum Band, Caribbean sound, June 15• Kardaz, rock classics, June 22• Dwayne Dolphin, jazz, July 13• Burgh Big Band, big band music, July 20• The Eldorado Band, country music, July 27• Pittsburgh Banjo Club, American classics, Aug. 3• Donna Bailey, vocal standards, Aug. 10.Additionally, a concert especially for young families is planned for July 11 with Joe Negri and the Neighborhood Friends playing music from "Mister Rogers Neighborhood."All performances are supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

The concerts are free and so is the watermelon on Watermelon Wednesdays at Slippery Rock Area Parks and Recreation building, 320 N. Main St.The bands will play from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Other concessions will be available.Scheduled concerts are:• Moses, neo-classical rock, July 5• 16 Eyes, classic rock and blues, July 12• Electrons, original music, July 19• Crickside, acoustic music, July 26.For more information, cal 724-794-8181.

The schedule for the performing arts series that takes place at the amphitheater at Hartwood Acres along Middle Road in Hampton Township is.Admission is free except where noted.• River City Brass Band, big band music, 7:30 p.m. June 4• Bluegrass Jamboree, with Allegheny Drifters, Mountain Therapy and Blue Shades, among other, 6:30 p.m. June 11• Dixie Hummingbirds, gospel, 7:30 p.m. June 18• Ike Reilly's Assassination, rock music, 7:30 p.m. June 25• Pittsburgh Symphony, classical, 8 p.m. July 2• Black 47, Irish rock, 7:30 p.m. July 16• Pittsburgh Blues Festival to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Band, July 21, 22 and 23. Admission is free with a bag of groceries to donate on Friday. Admission for Saturday and Sunday is $18 in advance and $20 at the gate for each day, or $30 for a two-day pass. Call 412-460-2583.• Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, with the Billy Price Band, blues, at 7:30 p.m. July 30• Original Beatles drummer Pete Best, along with Denny Lane from the Moody Blues and John Mullond from Bad Finger, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 6• David Sanborn, jazz, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 13• Singer/songwriter Daniel Lanois, who produced "The Joshua Tree" for U2, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 20, tentatively• Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 24• Poco, country/rock, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27.All seating is on the lawn so those attending should take a chair or blanket. Alcohol is prohibited.All dates are subject to change. For information, call 412-350-7275, or visit the Web site, www.county.allegheny.pa.us.

BUTLER SUMMER DRAMATICSButler Summer Dramatics program will stage "Seussical, The Musical" on Aug. 3, 4, 5 and 6 at the Succop Theater at Butler County Community College.Auditions are planned for 7 p.m. May 28 and 30 at St. Peter Roman Catholic Church hall on Franklin Street.For information, call 724-287-4214.

Comtra Theatre's shows for this summer include several children's shows at the theater on Route 19 in Cranberry Township.Shows start at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays unless otherwise noted.Admission is $10 for plays and $12 for musicals.• "Evita," June 2 to 17• "Hercules," a children's show, at 7 p.m. Tuesdays from June 6 and 13 and Thursdays from June 8 and 15• "Footloose," July 14 to 19• "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," a children's show, at 7 p.m. Tuesdays July 18 and 25 and Thursdays July 20 and 27• "Over the Tavern," Aug. 4 to 12• "Beauty and the Beast," Aug. 18 to Sept. 2.

This summer the Freeport Theatre Festival will open its 17th season with the premiere of Rennick Steele's historical drama "Follow the Northern Star."Set before, during, and after the Civil War, this story brings to light the history of the Underground Railroad in the Allegheny and Kiski Valleys; the bravery of slave Billy Shafer, who died in this area on his way to freedom; and, the 11th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, Company G, which fought in some of the most bitter battles of the Civil War.The play includes many local historical people who lived through those trying times; and, who are buried in Brookland Cemetery, which overlooks the theater.Performances dates are July 14 to 16, 21 to 23 and 28 to 30. The curtain goes up at 7 p.m.FTF's second offering will be "Arsenic and Old Lace," a comedy written by Joseph Kesselring and the comic muse. Directed by Louise Russell, to tickle one's fancies.Dates for "Arsenic and Old Lace" are Aug. 11 to 13, 18 to 20 and 25 to 27. These shows will begin at 8 p.m.Both shows take place on the Steele Farm on White Cloud Road, two miles south of Freeport off Route 356.Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for senior citizens and students. Call 724-295-1934.A dinner theater is offered at River Forest Country Club. for reservations, call 724-295-2298.

The Musical Theatre Guild of Butler will stage one show this summer."110 Degrees in the Shade" will be presented at 8 p.m. July 21 and 22 and at 2 p.m. July 23 at the Succop Theater at Butler County Community College.Tickets cost $15 in advance and $17 at the door. Call 724-284-7258.

The Red Barn Theater at 3101 McCully Road in Hampton Township will present the following shows for the 2006 summer season:• "Talk Radio," May 30 to June 11• "Apt. 3A," June 27 to July 9• "Angels Fall," July 25 to Aug. 6• "Full Moon," Aug. 22 to Sept. 3• "The O'Connor Girls," Sept. 19 to Oct. 1.Shows start at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.A subscription costs $52. Individual tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for senior citizens and students.For more information, call 412-487-4390.

The Red Barn Players at their Red Barn Theatre on Ellwood-Zelienople Road, Franklin Township, Beaver County, will stage four shows for the 2006 summer season:• "Nobody's Perfect," running June 9 and 10, 15 to 17 and 21 to 24.• "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," a musical, running July 14 and 15, 19 to 22 and 26 to 29.• "The Last of Jane Austen," running Aug. 18 and 19, 24 to 26 and 30 and 31, and Sept. 1 and 2.• "Rumors," running Sept. 22 and 23 and 28 to 30 and Oct. 4 to 7.For more information, call 724-773-7150 or 724-728-0260.