SHAMOKIN - To borrow an adjective from the performance itself, "The Roads Family Christmas Musical Comedy" was, well, "weird."
Not that weird is a bad thing. In fact, to quote Dad Roads, played by Shamokin Area High School senior Paul Gurba, "We're the Roads, and you never know what direction we'll take."
The opening night of the musical comedy was presented by the Northumberland County Council for the Arts and
Humanities at the county Career and Arts Center Saturday evening.
It follows the tale of Abby Roads (played by Mount Carmel Area junior Jessica Pachuski) and her desire to be in a band. There's just one problem: the weirdness of her family.
Weird in the sense that her grandma and friends end up knitting on the roof. Weird in the sense that her father is using the cousins as Christmas decorations. Weird in the sense that the siblings think Oreos, sugar cane and sardines are acceptable snacks.
The audience spends 45 minutes with Abby as she handles the insanity of her household and asks her relatives to be normal so she can impress her new friends and the guy she has a crush on.
After the play, director Meagan Baumgartner said there were a few hiccups, but ultimately, it was a fun experience for the actors, who are all between kindergarten and 12th grade from Mount Carmel Area, Shamokin Area, Southern Columbia, Our Lady of Lourdes and Meadowview Christian Academy.
"It's great for the kids to have these experiences. There really isn't a lot of artistic things in the area," she said. "Thank goodness for the art center. It wasn't around when I was a kid."
Featuring the music of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Baumgartner wrote the script from scratch in a month and held auditions in September with the help of assistant director Rob Wheary.
Once each character was assigned an actor, Baumgartner tailored the script to match the personality of each person.
"These are all theater kids. They're doing this because they want to. They're into this," she said.
Baumgartner said she will tell the cast to keep up the enthusiasm for the second show this afternoon, but will advise them to be louder with their lines and songs.
In addition to Pachuski and Gurba, the cast includes Jessica Schleig, Emma Clark, Amy Frasch, Jacob Bartol, Tegan Heath, Peyton Shurock, Carson Quinn, Porter Kramer, Lewis Catino, Matt Schiccatano, Nastissja Lapotsky, Corey Mrowka, Krystoff Lapotsky, Patrick McGinn, Maggie Kushner, Patrick Rooney, Angelica Masser, Madison Pancher, R.J. Gurba, Richard Brown, Cole Supsic, Katianna Lapotsky, Desserae Allen and Mackenzie Koharski.
The band is comprised of Jill Britton, Shawn Khanna and Riley Feese.
The technical crew includes Ryan Shervinski, Jimmy Kramer, Tony Wondoloski and Johanna McGinn.
The second performance will be held at 3 p.m. today at the arts center, located at Eighth and Arch streets. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 12 and under.