ACT welcoming new members

Altoona Community Theatre will hold a general membership meeting at 7 p.m. today in the Barbara Titelman Spessard Rehearsal Hall of the ACT Workshop, 1213 12th St.

The meeting is open to anyone interested in any aspect of theater, whether or not they have been involved with ACT previously.

At the meeting, Molly Riva, director of ACT's upcoming production of "The Sound of Music," will discuss plans for the show and its auditions, which are set for March 1 and 2 (details to be announced).

The meeting will also feature Julie Settle discussing auditions for ACT's March presentation of the children's show "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse." Auditions will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at the ACT Rehearsal Hall.

Needed for the cast are approximately six adults or teenagers and six children - attending third grade or higher. No preparation is needed for the auditions, which will consist of readings from the script and possible improvisational work.

Copies of the script for perusal are available at the ACT office.

Performances of "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse," part of the Blair County Arts Foundation's Family Theatre at the Mishler series, will be at 12:30 March 17 and 18, 7 p.m. March 17 and 10 a.m. March 18.

For more information, call 943-4357 or visit www.altoonacommunitytheatre.com.

Irish group brings tour to Benedum

PITTSBURGH - The Irish music phenomenon Celtic Woman will bring their "Isle of Hope" tour to the Benedum Center at 7:30 p.m. March 3 and March 4.

The tour is in support of the recently released CD/DVD combo "Greatest Journey Essential Collection." Celtic Woman has sold more than four million albums during their career and have starred in three PBS specials.

Tickets for the shows range from $48.50 to $73 and are available at the Box Office at Theater Square, online at pgharts.org or by charge-by-phone at 412-456-6666.

For more information, visit www.celticwoman.com.

PSU Altoona presents puppetry

Penn State Altoona's Division of Arts and Humanities will feature the world of puppetry with two new works by Theatre Arts Instructor Laurencio Carlos Ruiz.

Performances of "Quenamican" ("The Place Where, Somehow, Life Goes On") and "Give Me a Hand" are at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 through Feb. 14 and 2 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Paul R. and Margery Wolf Kuhn Theatre of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts.

''Quenamican'' explores pre-Hispanic gods and goddesses that remain present in Mexican culture and throughout the world.

Tickets are $5 for Penn State Altoona students and $7 for the general public, with children under age 12 admitted for free.

Tickets are available at the Misciagna box office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and before and during all performances. Telephone reservations may be made by calling 949-5452.

Group working in miniature

HUNTINGDON - Great Small Works, a troupe of six theatre artists who stage miniature plays, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 25 in the von Liebig Theatre in the Halbritter Center for the Performing Arts on the Juniata College campus.

The performance will include four miniature productions by the troupe.

Great Small Works has toured throughout the county and internationally at such venues as the Jim Henson Foundation's International Festival of Puppet Theatre, the Puppeteers of America national festival and the Mikrofestival in The Netherlands.

Tickets are $20 for the general public and $12 for seniors age 65 and older and children ages 18 and younger. Juniata College students are admitted free with a student ID.

For tickets and more information, call 641-JTIX.

Neeley to return for 'Superstar'

UNIVERSITY PARK - "Jesus Christ Superstar," the first hit musical from the writing team of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, comes to Penn State for one performance at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3, in Eisenhower Auditorium.

The revival tour stars Ted Neeley, whose has won acclaim for his frequent portrayals of the musical's title character.

Neeley was nominated for a Golden Globe for the role in the 1973 film adaptation of the play.

''Jesus Christ Superstar'' tells the story of the last seven days in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

The musical, which debuted on Broadway in 1971, dramatizes Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, the unrest caused by his preaching and popularity, his betrayal by Judas, the trial before Pontius Pilate and his ultimate crucifixion.

Tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $49 and $55 for adults, $34 and $40 for University Park students and $44 and $50 for people ages 18 and younger.

Tickets are available at Eisenhower Auditorium, Penn State Tickets Downtown, HUB-Robeson Center and Bryce Jordan Center, online at www.cpa.psu.edu or by calling 863-0255 or 1-800-ARTS-TIX.

Dinner theatre sending 'Love'

Ebensburg - The dinner theater performance of A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters," benefiting the Bishop Carroll Drama Club and the Cresson Lake Playhouse, will be presented at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 13 and 14 at Bishop Carroll High School.

"Love Letters" tells the story of letters exchanged over a lifetime between two people who grew up together and went their separate ways, but continued to share confidences.

The evening includes dinner, the performance and music provided by John Stiffler of Ebensburg.

Tickets are $35.

Reservations are required and can be made by calling 472-4333.

The dinner is BYOB, but there is a one bottle limit.