Hershey Area Playhouse Announces Upcoming Dark Night Series Productions

Hershey Area Playhouse is proud to announce two upcoming productions of its newly relaunched Dark Night Series.

In the first of the two productions, the Playwrights Alliance of Pennsylvania (PAPA) will present A Summer Smorgasbord of Plays, featuring six new works by local area playwrights, based around the theme "food." The featured works and playwrights include: The Best Apple Pie in the County by Marjorie Bicknell; The Fruits of Our Labor by Julie Cullings; The New Holden by Joe O'Connor; The Bombcatchers by Cindy Rock Dlugolecki; Scars by Gale Sherrid; and The Three-Headed Coin by Bill Roddey.

Emceed by Dr. Kevin Pry, associate professor of English at Lebanon Valley College, the staged readings will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 10, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at The Playhouse, located at 830 Cherry Drive, Hershey. Dr. Pry will also emcee a post-show questions and answers session with the local playwrights. Tickets are $15 and will be sold at the door the evening of the event. There will be no advance ticket sales.

The Playwrights Alliance of Pennsylvania is a 501(c)(3) artistic organization dedicated to helping playwrights develop and promote new work.

In the second Dark Night Series production, the Rebel Heart Irish Dancers bring their Irish dance production, Enchantment of the Dance, to The Playhouse stage the following weekend on Sunday, Sept. 18, beginning at 2 p.m. Taking the standard Irish dance fair of traditional hornpipes, jigs and reels, the Rebel Heart Irish Dancers infuse their own flavor of innovative choreography and stage presence.

Although Enchantment of the Dance is a brand new tour, the troupe members are not shy to the stage. Ranging in age from 12 to their early twenties, the Rebel Heart Irish Dancers have performed over 450 shows, from central Pennsylvania to New Jersey, Ohio, Georgia, Montana and California. They have also been featured in concerts with recognized musicians, including Celtic Crossroads and Scythian. For more information about the Rebel Heart Dancers, visit http://www.enchantmentofthedance.com/.

Tickets for the Rebel Heart Irish Dancers' Enchantment of the Dance are $15 and are available by visiting www.HersheyAreaPlayhouse.com or by calling The Playhouse's box office at 717-533-8525.

The Playhouse adopted the term "Dark Night," a term used by theatres when there is not a performance scheduled, a few years ago as part of a vision to incorporate a wider variety of entertainment to complement its five mainstage shows. The Playhouse is relaunching its Dark Night Series in 2016, bringing additional entertainment options, including different, edgier content shows to its mainstage. It will also include musical acts, as well as original works, comedy acts, and special events.