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Hanover High School will bring old Hollywood to the stage with the production of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Sunset Boulevard April 10-12. The spring musical will take the audience on a roller coaster of emotion during a visit 1949 Hollywood.

Director Rene Staub and a talented group of Hanover students will tell the story of Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era. Based on the 1950 Billy Wilder movie of the same name, Sunset Boulevard won seven Tony Awards in 1995 including Best Musical and Best Leading Actress for Glenn Close’s performance as Desmond.

The Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11 shows begin at 7 p.m. The Sunday, April 12 matinee is at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7 for students and $8 for adults in advance or $9 for students and $10 for adults at the door. Advance tickets are available at the Hanover High School office from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. All shows take place in the Hanover High School auditorium.

Amalea Williams leads the cast in the role of Desmond. Isaac Silver will play struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis while Bailey Kenworthy will play Desmond’s loyal butler and chauffeur Max. Madison Maloney plays Joe’s girlfriend Betty and Garrett Reichart rounds out the leading cast as famous director Cecil B. Demille.

More than two dozen students will fill ensemble roles in the lavish production. Deb Smith is the Music Director, Jessica Staub is Assistant Director and Dave Markle is Technical Director. Sarah Flynn is Choreographer, and Charles Sunday and Ben Warfield are Lighting Designers.

Living in the past in her decaying mansion on the fabled Los Angeles street, Desmond longs for a return to the big screen, having been discarded by tinsel town with the advent of “talkies.” Her glamour has faded in all but her mind. When she meets struggling Hollywood screen-writer Joe Gillis in dramatic circumstances, she sees in him the opportunity to make her comeback to the big screen. Their relationship leads to an unforeseen and tragic conclusion.

The show features the beautiful songs “With One Look” and “As If We Never Said Goodbye.” The music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. The book and music also won Tony Awards in 1995.

The Parents Association Supporting Theatre Arts recently elected new officers for the 2014-15 academic year. The group, founded in 2012, has also expanded its focus to support more students in the Hanover Public School District.

Kathi Martin is the new president and Stacey Zitto was elected vice president. Maureen Edelin is secretary and Idonia Klunk is treasurer.

PASTA was originally designed to raise funds to supplement drama staff positions not covered by the district budget. However, the school board and administration have returned those positions to the budget, giving PASTA more freedom to focus its efforts.

Beginning this fall, PASTA will also lend support to the district’s choral arts programs.

PASTA meets at 2 p.m. the third Sunday of each month in the Hanover High School choral room. For more information, email hanoverpasta@gmail.com.

Big Mama Smith will headline PASTA’s Piano Bar and Silent Auction on Saturday, March 29, from 6 to 10 p.m.  Deb Smith will play all your sing-along favorites on the grand piano in the Conservatory of the Eichelberger Performing Arts Center, 195 Stock St., Hanover. Appetizers, desserts and punch will be served. The BYOB event is for ages 21 and over.

The Silent Auction will include goods and services from S.E. Hagarman Designs, Thirty-One Gifts, R/C Theatres, Hanover Little Theatre, Hanover Bowling Center, K-2 Water Works, York Revolution, Just Jewelry, Signature HomeStyles and many more. Proceeds will benefit the drama programs at the middle school and high school as well as the Instrumental Music Parents Club.

Tickets are $15 each. Seating in the Conservatory is limited and only 60 tickets will be sold. To reserve tickets contact Kathi Martin at 521-7348 or kathimartin32@gmail.com.

Hanover High School will present an up close and personal theatre experience for its fall play “Dracula,” scheduled for Oct. 26 and 27 and Nov. 2.

Thanks to an extension of the auditorium stage, the audience will sit on stage with the actors for a theatre-in-the-round style experience. Because of the special configuration, tickets will be limited for each of the three performances.

All seats are $7 and can be purchased at the Hanover High School office. Show times are 7 p.m. on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 and 2 p.m. on Oct. 27. The play is intended for high school age students and up.

Hanover students will perform a Willian McNulty adaptation of the well-known tale where Professor Van Helsing (Finn Johnson) and his brave comrades must hunt down and destroy the profoundly evil Count Dracula (Garrett Reichart). But the Count is exceedingly resourceful, employing superhuman strength, psychic powers, and shape-changing to confound and frustrate his antagonists.

Culminating in a wild and shocking confrontation between the King of Vampires and those who would rid the world of him, this adaptation is an action-packed, macabre retelling of Bram Stoker’s classic tale of horror.

The show is sponsored by Kenworthy Funeral Home, Inc.