As more and more areas of the large-event economy kick back into motion, live theater performances, whether plays, musicals or dance, are having a harder time than others.

For Larry Cervi, former owner of the Larry Cervi School of Performing Arts in Monroeville, it presented a unique opportunity for his performance group, the East End Kids.

“We had all this time to kill because of the pandemic, and I wanted to get these kids another kind of experience,” Cervi said. “The East End Kids have never done a full-scale musical.”

The group, which draws members from all over Pittsburgh’s east suburbs, performs musical revues and has created several Christmas shows staged at Kennywood, senior homes and other venues.

So Cervi reached back to the late 1920s for “Good News,” set during the Roaring Twenties at Tait College. The show debuted on Broadway in 1927, but had to compete with the now-legendary musical “Show Boat.”

“It’s a real kick back to another era, and I think it’s refreshing,” Cervi said. “It’s been a whole new experience for the kids, who are used to modern shows like ‘The Lion King.’ It was a real jolt for them learning the vernacular of the ’20s.”

The dance moves for one of the numbers, “Varsity Drag,” are being done by former New York City Rockette director and choreographer Eileen Grace Reynolds, a Murrysville native.

“It’s so exciting,” she said. “Larry and I have known each other for a long time. He gave me my first professional job when I was a student at Point Park, and we’ve stayed in touch ever since.”

After a successful career both on Broadway and with the Rockettes, Grace Reynolds moved back to the area around 2000, to North Huntingdon.

“I reconnected with Larry and he had me do some choreography for shows he was working on here,” she said.

So when Cervi called with an idea for a show whose performances and rehearsals would take place outdoors at a private residence in Murrysville, she jumped at the chance.

“By mid-March, there I was, outside in the driveway rehearsing for ‘Varsity Drag,’” Grace Reynolds said.

Cervi knew a couple of local high schools that had performed “Good News” in recent years, and was able to borrow a good deal of costumes and props, including old-time football uniforms.

And while he’s been directing shows for more than 60 years, the experience has been both challenging and rewarding, he said.

“We’ve been rehearsing on Sundays since January, on Sundays, so it’s been a challenge to pull this off,” Cervi said. “But we’re hoping to give people who haven’t seen theater in a while a chance to come out.”

“Good News” will be performed at 1 and 6 p.m., July 9 and 10 at the Monroeville Community Park West Amphitheater, 2399 Tilbrook Road in Monroeville. There is no cost to attend, but donations will be accepted. Attendees are asked to bring a chair or blanket to sit on.

For more, see Cervi-EastEndKids.org.

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