Ellington

The Signal Mountain Playhouse is celebrating its 40th anniversary this summer with a local star-studded rendition of “The Music Man” every Friday and Saturday night during the month of July.

Starring WRCB-TV 3 anchor Greg Glover as music man Harold Hill and featuring Signal Mountain Councilman Dick Gee as Charlie Cowell, local attendees are sure to see more than a few familiar faces on the amphitheater’s stage throughout the production.

“It’s really an all-American show,” said Signal Mountain Playhouse board member and publicity chair Anne Rittenberry. “It’s a story about classic small-town values where good wins out in the end, and the music is unbelievable. People are certain to recognize some of the songs. ‘76 Trombones’ is played at just about every 4th of July celebration across the country, and you can go anywhere, even in Europe, and hear street musicians playing ‘Til There was You.’”

The amphitheater, which is located at the corner of Rolling Way and James Boulevard, will open each performance night at 6 p.m. with the show beginning at 8 p.m. Rittenberry encourages attendees to come early for a good seat, bring lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy the affordable concessions including popcorn, pizza, soft drinks and candy.

Tickets cost $15 for adults and $5 for children age 12 and under.

“It’s so much fun and unusual to be outside for a performance,” said Rittenberry. “As the evening progresses the huge old-growth trees go from green to dark to black and it feels like you are just sitting in a bowl.”

The amphitheater is handicap accessible; anyone who needs to access handicap parking should enter on Rolling Way and drive through the traffic cones into the designated parking area. Rittenberry asks that anyone who accesses handicap parking through Rolling Way replace the cones if they need to move them for parking.

Directed by veteran director David Wood, Rittenberry said the show, which includes vocal direction by Mike Leese and Sandy Morris conducting a 28-piece orchestra, is sure to please an audience of all ages.

“It’s a great and patriotic show that shows the importance of forgiveness,” she said.

For more information about the Signal Mountain Playhouse visit www.smph.org.