Whene the 2020 production of "Petite Rouge" was cancelled rdue to COVID, organizers have been wanting to get kids back on the Meadville Community Theater's stage in the Odd Fellows building on North Main Street.

According to the press release the set of that show "stood in the theater, as if frozen in time, for months." 

Geoff Hall and Alicia Greathouse decided starting with an entirely different show was the best plan of action.

"The Wind in the Willows is a timeless tale that can be enjoyed by children and
adults alike," the release stated. So that will be the show that opens on St. Patrick's Day and runs two weekends with Friday and Saturday shows opening at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

The story is an adaptation of a Kenneth Grahame book. "Mole and his friend the River Rat decide to visit the famous Toad of Toad Hall, who is as charming a gentle-toad as you could wish to meet. However, when Toad gets enthusiastic about something
— well, nothing exceeds like excess! Mole and Rat are unable to control their friend, and chaos at
the hands of the law and the Wildwood Gang ensues. With the help of his friends, Toad sets out to
recover Toad Hall and set things right." 

Hall and Greathouse have been directing youth productions for years in Meadville. Greathouse
emphasized that the greatest benefit is having kids gain confidence through performing. “I love to
see when it clicks and they come out of their shell” she says. 
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For many this is their first time taking part in a theater production. Part of the experience the release adds allows them to "learned stagecraft, cooperation, and how sets, props and costumes are put together."

The Cast includes:
Donovan Mascitti
Allison Kelly
Emmett Andrae
Lydia Green
Evaleigh McClymonds
Leah Hyatt
Izzabella Lutton
Levi Papinchak
Lennon Andrae
Anneliese Charles
Ayree Morrison–Metz.

The MCT’s theater is located in the Odd Fellows building on Allegheny College’s campus, 400 N. Main Street in Meadville. Tickets can be purchased at the door, online at www.mctbackstage.com/tickets or reserved at 814-333-1773.

Barrow Theatre Institute, a workshop series at the Barrow-Civic Little Theatre, continues with "Everyone's a Critic with Peter Greene" from 10 a.m. to noon on March 11. 
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The class will focus on how to develop useful criticism and analysis of theater and film (without simply turning into "That Person").

​Attendees will talk about the following topics:

• Separating personal tastes from objective criticism;
• Useful community theater criticism without losing all your friends;
• Strategies for breaking down the pieces for criticism; and
• Turning your criticism into useful writing.

Participants should go with examples in mind of the best and the worst and the very beloved and the horribly hated works that they know so they can practice dissecting them together.

The cost to attend the class is $10. Registration can be done online through the event page or by calling the theatre's box office at 814-437-3440.

Additional workshops planned in the upcoming months include "Musical Audition Prep Master Class" on April 22 and "Page to Stage: Creative Theatrical Design" on May 20. The series receives financial support from the Komatsu Mining Corp. Foundation.