This Friday The Charleston Light Opera Guild will present Paradise Park The Musical at their Tennessee Avenue Theater. Based on the 1992 cult movie by Daniel Boyd, this musical features a book by Boyd and music and lyrics by West Virginia Music Hall of Famer, Larry Groce (who was in the original movie).

Theatre West Virginia premiered the musical in 2018 at Grandview State Park’s Cliffside Ampitheatre and repeated it in 2019. Now Charleston’s Light Opera Guild will tackle this show at their workshop theater, which is great for folks who can’t handle outdoor theater in the summer.

The story contains themes familiar to citizens of West Virginia: poverty, religion, hopes and dreams and centers on people caring for other people through hard times, through natural disasters and through everyday life. The musical tells the story of an elderly woman in a West Virginia trailer-park who dreams that God will come to their community and grant them all a wish.

The large cast is filled with a great assortment of West Virginia-based talent, like Mark Bates, John Inghram, Julie Miller, Phil Washington, Ted Brightwell, Clint Thomas, Jim Damron and many more. Direction and choreography are by CLOG mainstay, Nina Denton Pasinetti. The musical director is David Patrick, and Tom Pasinetti is the technical director. You can find the full cast list HERE.

The show runs February 4-6 & 11-13, 2022  at the Charleston Light Opera Guild Theatre at 411 Tennessee Ave. Tickets can be purchased online HERE.  For folks who are squeamish about attending a show during the pandemic, note that Masks are required at all times in the theatre regardless of vaccination status. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 7:30 PM, while Sunday shows are 2 PM matinees.

If you are comfortable attending a live show in person, Paradise Park The Musical is your chance to support the local scene and witness the work of many great local creative talents. See the cast below (photo credits: Brian Marrs).